Feels so good, Feelin good again

Standin' down on Main Street 

Across from Mr, Blues

In my faded leather jacket 

And my weathered Brogan shoes

A chill north wind was blowin'

But the spring was comin' on 

As I wondered to myself

Just how long I had been gone 

*

So I strolled across old Main Street

Walked down a flight of stairs 

Stepped into the hall 

And saw all my friends were there 

A neon sign was flashin' "Welcome come on in"

It feels so good feelin' good again

*

My favorite band was playin' 

An Otis Redding song

When they sang the chorus 

Everybody sang along

Dan and Margarita 

were swayin' side by side 

I heard they were divorcin' 

But I guess they let it slide

And I wished I had some money with 

which to buy a round

*

I wished I'd cashed my paycheck 

Before I came to town

But I reached into my pocket 

Found three twenties and a ten

It feels so good feelin' good again

*

There was old man Perkins

Sittin' on his stool

Watchin' Butch and Jimmy John

Talkin' loud and playin' pool

The boys from Silver City

Were standin' by the fire

Singin' like they thought

they were the Tabernacle choir

And I wanted you to see them all

I wished that you were there

I looked across the room

and saw you standin' on the stair

And when I caught your eye

I saw you break into a grin

It feels so good feelin' good again

ROBERT EARL KEEN

Rather appropriately, mystery pervades the career of Robert Earl Keen, the most successful artist that many Americans have never heard. He’s had his songs recorded by George Strait, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, the Dixie Chicks and the Highwaymen (Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson); appeared in such prestigious publications as Playboy and Men’s Journal; performed on Late Night With Conan O’Brien and The Today Show; had Garth Brooks mention his music in one of his own songs, and played concert venues steadily for more than 20 years. By his own admission, he’s never had a song hit the Top 10 of a major chart, and yet he consistently plays sold-out shows for audiences that number sometimes as many as 25,000.

Keen’s career—hugely successful while dodging the music industry’s most obvious channel of exposure, mainstream radio—remains a bit of a mystery even to him.

“As time goes by, it becomes a greater and greater curiosity,” he confesses. “I literally can play a 90-minute show and almost everybody in the room will be singing every song. To me, that’s what it’s all about. If people are recording your songs and singing your songs, then you’re successful. If you play these songs and nobody cares, then you’re not successful. My thing is like I’m extremely successful because so many people know so many of my songs. They don’t know one song—they know them all!” This high-energy fan participation can be, not only heard, but experienced on Keen’s latest release, recorded live at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium (the longtime home of the Grand Ole Opry before it moved to the permanent Grand Ole Opry House). Keen delights a packed house with first class renditions of some of his biggest hits and best loved songs including "What I Really Mean," "Broken End of Love," and "Amarillo Highway." Live at the Ryman captures the high energy experience that has made Keen a favorite of audiences all over the country. “Sometimes I say this jokingly, but I think this is pretty much the key,” Keen observes. “I don’t think I intimidate anybody with my voice. My vocal range is so limited that anybody that’s even had a tracheotomy can follow what’s going on. Everybody can sing a Robert Earl Keen song. You’re not gonna be thrown a big curveball by some huge falsetto piece in the middle of it. They work, and they sound good, the words fit together well, and they’re easy to sing. I think people like that.”