I started into all of this stuff pretty young. My Dad used to say, "If I could sing and play like you fellas ( which meant me and whoever I was jamming with at the time) I'd be drunk every night of the week!" My father wasn't a drinker, but that was his way of saying that I should 'go for it' . I'd always argue that I didn't have the songs.."you can't make a living singing Steve Earle songs, Dad". He'd grumble something and wander off. He never made it to see the days when my own songs came, but I think of him every time I go to sing one.
I'm still singing them. Even through a pandemic. I pick up my guitar and sing one. I can't help it. Songs are a weird thing unto themselves. They give you a chance to have your say about some stuff, but they never stop talking back. They move and they change, and just when you think you have them figured out someone tells you something different about them. I don't suppose I'll ever stop singing them. I don't suppose my Dad would forgive me if I did.