Customer Reviews

Tom Paxton - The Honor of Your Company

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For all Tom paxton fans most of his song lyrics are found here.
I also found out some unknown info ( Trivia) on the man himself.
Did you know that Paul Simon warmed up for him on one occasion.
Harry Chapin also. The book is not really an autobiography and is mainly taken up with Song Lyrics and where the songs came from what inspired them etc. Tom tells very little about his travels and rarely mentions the various artists that were around the coffee houses of the 60's. This is not for someone who is looking for any indepth reading. It is short of detail. Worth having for the ardent fan but disappointing that it wasn't a biography.

Tom Paxton's The Honor Of Your Company is primarily a songbook, containing many of his most-loved songs. For musicians looking to play Paxton songs, it doesn't get much better than this: 89 songs with chords, lyrics, and melody written in standard notation. The only real problem I've had with this book is that some of the songs are not presented in their original keys. Tom often plays with a capo, so it's up to the reader to figure out which fret to capo, using the chord shapes presented. (For example, the chorus chords for "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" are Dm/G7/C/Em/Am/Dm/G7/C, as the book states, but you need a capo on the second fret in order to play in the key that Tom originally performed on the album.) The songs are diverse, including a fairly even sampling from across the years of Tom's career up until the book was written.
The biography portion of the book is also nice, albeit brief. The story is told by the man himself and, although he doesn't delve into much detail, you'll learn everything about Tom Paxton that you need to know. Tom's life story is an easy and pleasant read. Apart from his love for what he does and the people who've inspired him along the way, what shines through the most in this book is Tom's sense of humor. I bought the book to learn the songs, but ended up enjoying Tom's humorous anecdotes and quips almost as much. He also tells the stories of how many of his songs came to be and a generous amount of photographs are contained throughout the book.
I would say that non-musician fans of Tom might feel slightly short-changed in buying this book, but I still recommend it. For those guitar-playing, folksinging, ramblin' boys (and girls), I simply can't recommend this book more!

This book isn't about Tom Paxton's personal life but you get a very good idea of what motivated him to write so many wonderful songs. Being the ever so generous man, he has included music and lyrics so others can introduce and play his songs for future generations. Some of my favorite songs are "All night long, "Leaving London", "The Things I Notice Now" and of course "Now that I've Taken My Life". This is a good buy.