♪ this living alone will drive me crazy ♪ ♪ oh, you don't know the shape i'm in ♪ ♪ i'm gonna go down by the water ♪ ♪ but i ain't gonna jump in, no, no ♪ ♪ i'm just here looking for my maker ♪ ♪ and i hear that that's where she's been ♪ ♪ out of nine lives, i spent seven ♪ ♪ now, how in the world do you get to heaven ♪ ♪ oh, you don't know the shape i'm in ♪ [instrumental music]

♪ i just spent 60 days in the jailhouse ♪ ♪ for the crime of having no dough ♪ ♪ now here i am back out on the street ♪ ♪ for the crime of having nowhere to go ♪ ♪ save your neck or save your brother ♪

♪ looks like it's one or the other ♪ ♪ oh, you don't know the shape i'm in ♪ ♪ now two young kids might start a ruckus ♪ ♪ you know they feel yoyou trying to shuck us ♪ ♪ oh, you don't know the shape i'm in ♪ [instrumental music]

[applause] please welcome to the stage one of our greatest songwriters, mr. john hiatt. [applause] [instrumental music] ♪ i pulled into nazareth, i was feelin' about half past dead ♪ ♪ trying to find some place where i can lay my head ♪ ♪ "mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed?" ♪

♪ you know he just grinned and he shook my hand, ♪ ♪ and "no", was all he said ♪ take a load off, fannie, take a load for free ♪ ♪ take a load off, fannie, ♪ and (and) (and) you can put the load right on me ♪ ♪ i picked up my bag, i went lookin' for a place to hide ♪ ♪ when i saw carmen and the devil ♪ ♪ standin' side by side ♪ i said, "hey, carmen, come on, let's go downtown" ♪ ♪ she said, "i gotta go, ♪ but my friend can stick around" ♪

♪ take a load off, fannie, take a load for free ♪ ♪ take a load off, fannie, ♪ and (and) (and) you can put the load right on me ♪ [instrumental music] ♪ go down, miss moses, ♪ there ain't nothin' you can say ♪ ♪ you know it's my friend luke, ♪ ♪ and he's waitin' on the judgement day ♪

♪ "well, tell me, luke, my friend, ♪ ♪ what about young anna lee?" ♪ he said, "do yourself a favor, boy, ♪ ♪ stick around and keep anna lee company" ♪ ♪ take a load off, fannie, take a load for free ♪ ♪ take a load off, fannie, ♪ and (and) (and) you can put the load right on me ♪ [instrumental music] ♪ crazy chester followed me, and he caught me in the fog ♪

♪ he said, "i will take your rags, ♪ ♪ if you'll take jack, my dog" ♪ ♪ i said, "wait a minute, chester, ♪ ♪ you know i'm a peaceful man" ♪ ♪ he said, "that's okay, boy, ♪ won't you feed him when you can" ♪ ♪ take a load off, fannie, take a load for free ♪ ♪ take a load off, fannie, ♪ and (and) (and) you can put the load right on me ♪ [instrumental music] ♪ catch me a cannonball, now, to take me down the line ♪ ♪ you know my bag is sinkin' low and i do believe it's time ♪ ♪ to get back to miss fannie, you know she's the only one ♪

♪ fannie sent me out here tonight ♪ ♪ with her regards for everyone ♪ ♪ take a load off, fannie, take a load for free ♪ ♪ take a load off, fannie, ♪ and (and) (and) you can put the load right on me ♪ [instrumental music] [applause] >> welcome back everybody.

what a great song. there is not a still foot in the studio. everybody was rocking out. levon helm, ramble at the ryman. that song is called the weight, released in 1968, an amazing song. in fact it was number 41 on rolling stones' top 500 songs of all time. it's been covered by a lot of people but boy, nobody does it like levon helm and that incredible all star cast. did you see that great mandolin player behind him, also rocking out on the fiddle? that was the great sam bush. he's here right now. we're trying to talk him into doing a little airman dough lynn. i don't think it will work but maybe if you call the number on the screen who knows what we'll convince him to do. an incredible program you have been watching. that's the kind you're used to on public television and that's the kind of program you want to keep coming into your home, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. if you're anything like me or my family, you have grown-up watching a public television

and public television worth watching is worth paying for. that's why we need you to call the number on the screen right now and we have great gifts. you can own a little piece of ramble at the ryman. if you call in on the $100 level we'll give you the dvd of levon helm, ramble at the ryman. again with that all star cast. the dvd has three bonus songs and is just an incredible program. call now and make the difference. brian mansfield and sam bush. >> thanks. sam, i'm watching and not only am i seeing like john hiatt and buddy miller and you going on with levon but then they do the cutaways and you see grace potter from the nocturnals on the front rowan steve earl and his wife allison moore and off to the side sheryl crow who already has song and she's rocking out on the side. it must have been an incredible night. >> well it was and even though it was recorded in nashville at the ryman auditorium you

have the great musicians and when they wouldn't be on the stage performing it wasn't like people went to the dressing room and wasn't paying attention. we were all watching the show all the time because you wanted to be a fan of the music and just to see what was going on because it was something that didn't happen every day, that's for sure. >> so, what do you remember, what, was there a favorite song you had that night? i mean i remember on the shape i'm in, watching you, you seemed to be enjoying yourself. >> i tell you i have been a fan of the song rag, mama, rag so larry campbell and myself getting to play the fiddle on that but once again it doesn't matter if levon is playing the mandolin or drums or just singing it swings and it's hard to describe but the man just swings. whatever he dogs. >> great. we hope you enjoyed -- what's he dos. >> we hope you enjoyed the show watching levon helm, sam bush, buddy miller, john hiatt,

great artists on a great show. levon helm ramble at the ryman so if you did please call the number on the screen, make a pledge, support public television so that we can continue to bring you great programming like this, and great musicians like levon helm, and sam bush. call the number right now, it's so important that you make that pledge to keep supporting great programming like this. sam, thank you for being with us. >> only on public tv can you get this kind of thing. >> thanks brian and sam. what a true thrill to meet an artist the caliber of sam bush. again this is the kind of programming that you have really grown used to tuning in, any time you'd like to see on public television and so many of us have grown-up watching the cartoons and the educational programs on public television and the amazing thing about it, have you ever watched a child watching public television? they're having so much fun watching whether it's the early morning cartoons or the educational shows or the

scientific shows or the really in depth documentaries, you get so involved in that programming and you're enjoying it so much you don't realize you're learning and that's part of the magic of the whole process. it is good quality television that you can sit down and watch with your children, with your parents, with your grandparents any time and just let it sort of wash over you and know that you're really watching something quality on television. you know television is expensive and we're all trying to get the very most for our money these days and just for the price of a cup of coffee you can make a huge difference. you don't have to call in a huge pledge of $100 or $150, anything that you can pledge will make a difference. if you call the number on the screen you can call in with a $20 or $50 pledge, if you call in with a $75 pledge we'll send you the gift of the cd of electric dirt and this is levon helm's new cd and it's absolutely wonderful so call the number on the screen right

now and make a difference. brian? >> thanks. on this program you have been watching some great american music, little bit of rock and roll, little bit of blues, little bit of country, kind of all thrown together in the form of levon helm and a great all star cast in ramble at the ryman and it's just part of the great music programs that you see on your public television station and maybe this is your thing or maybe you also love the classical music or the opera or the jazz or folk or blue grass, whatever it is, you can see music programming on public television that you simply cannot see anywhere else. nobody else brings you the variety and the quality of music programming that you can see on public television but that kind of quality, that kind of programming takes your support so please call the number on the screen right now and consider pledging today at the $175 level and if you do

that we'll send you the show that you have just seen, levon helm ramble at the ryman a long with two of his most recent cd's, electric dirt, that's the brand new one and dirt farmer, that's the one that won a grammy back in 2007, so please make that call, show your support so we can continue to bring you the same kind of high quality music programming you have come to expect from public television. >> so true, brian, and you know when you really think about going out for the evening, when you think about getting a babysitter and think about spending the gasoline to get wherever it is you have to get, then you think about the really expensive cost which is purchasing a ticket to the event and usually two tickets, sometimes four tickets for the entire family, you have really gotten a lot of money tied up into an evening so why not stay at home, stay with your family, stay at the best seat in the house which is in the comfort of your own home and watch a truly great program on public television and again, these are the kinds of

programs that really start conversations, all throughout the entire family. they start to make you think and maybe you'll talk about your parents or your family or something funny that's happened in your life and it really makes a huge connection with your family and that is what it is all about. we all have great memories of watching great programs when we were growing up with parents or grandparents and chances are those programs were on public television because public television has always been therefore us but it's something we never want to take for granted. you have to remember television worth watching is certainly worth paying for. that's why it's so important that you call one of the numbers on the screen right now. we have some incredible gifts we could give you tonight from the levon helm show but really what is important is that you give the gift to yourself of quality television that will always be therefore you. >> thanks. your gift to public television is something that can make a big difference and it's a gift

that can make a positive impact on your community. a lot of the television programming that you see these days is made on the national scale. it's made, those decisions are made in places that have very little to do in the communities in which they actually air but the programming on public television that you see those decisions are made locally so whu you make a gift to the, when you make a gift to the public television station it impacts your community positively so please make a call, look at the number on the screen, pick up the phone, make a call, make a pledge tonight, whether it's $10, $25, $50, or $100, make the call, make the pledge to support your community. if you make $100 pledge tonight then you'll get the levon helm ramble at the ryman dvd which has everything that you have seen on this program as well as three bonus songs from that ryman show. >> thanks, brian. we certainly want to thank you for joining us, thank you for

watching this levon helm ramble at the ryman, taped in nashville, tennessee, at the mother church of country music, the beautiful historic ryman auditorium, so many super stars on that stage and we want to thank you again for being with us and give you your very last chance of calling in and getting some of these incredible gifts. if you start out at the $75 level, we'll send you electric dirt which is the brand new levon helm cd. it has all of the great, great songs on it. if you call in at the $100 level we're going to give you an actual dvd of the program that you just saw, levon helm, ramble at the ryman. then, take a look at this. if you call in on the $175 level, we're going to give you the dvd plus two cd's so please call the number on the screen now and thank you for supporting public television. (cheering)

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