While walking the dog I had a random thought: Why did I use “Local Boy Done Good” instead of “Local Boy Done Gone” in TP?
This question came out of nowhere. There was no internal debate over the name of Local Boy or his album during the writing phase. I honestly don’t remember any distinct inspiration. It had a nice rhythm, the LBDG letters looked and sounded good together, and that was that. But now that this new “Done Gone” thing had entered my head I couldn’t shake it, leading to this chain of revisionist history…
- One of the songs the narrator taught Local Boy in the past could have been “Another Man’s Done Gone” from the Billy Bragg & Wilco collaboration Mermaid Avenue.
- The “DG” in the LBDG album found in the record store would link back to that reference.
- In the Local Boy recap chapter, LB could be wrapped up in the mild controversy between Woody Guthrie’s estate and Bob Dylan over the rights to Woody’s leftover lyrics, leaving the narrator in a bit of hot water for “borrowing” a song that he considered to be “from the future” which had actually been written but unreleased in the past.
- And best of all, it would set up an awesome title for a career spanning box set: Local Boy Done Gone Called It Quits Live At The Coverville Barnstormer.
(Confused? Refresh your memory on the adventures of Local Boy in Chapters 15 through 17 of Timely Persuasion either online, in paperback, or on the Amazon Kindle.)
What happened happened, and all things considered I’m fine with the Local Boy Done Good album title. But what might have been if I fully explored the above thread? I leave you with this:
So when you think of me, if and when you do
Just say, “Well, another man’s done gone”