"Take" That! Top Ten: The Taker (#7)

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I'm counting down ten favorite songs that have the word "take" or a variation in the title. And, for today's song, we have that "variation" show up (which is why I always put the disclaimer in). Here's the next song on the list. #7: The Taker - Waylon Jennings And just what better way to follow up a Neil Sedaka song (yesterday's "That's When the Music Takes Me") than with a hard-driving Waylon Jennings tune, written by Kris Kristofferson?! (This is why my brother won't ride in the car with me: he's not afraid of my driving, he's afraid of my iPod! ) Neither man was a well-respected "outlaw" at the time; rather, just struggling singer/songwriters. Jennings had scored a number of successes but Krisofferson was just taking off. Songs like this, "Me and Bobbie McGee" that Roger Miller covered (and then some gal named Janis ), and "Sunday Morning Coming Down" got him on the map quickly, however. Put the two together and you get this great tune about a smooth-talker who's out to steal a woman. He's going to, too ("he's a charmer, and he'll charm her with money and manners that I never learned"), but he has plans to dump her ("after he's taken the body and soul that she gives him he'll take her for granted"). One of the best things about this song is the way the descriptor is turned into a verb in every line ("he's a doer, and he'll do her," etc.). Very clever writing...but do you expect any less from a legend like Kris Kristofferson? Or any less of a delivery from a legend like Waylon Jennings? Didn't think so. The Taker Written by Kris Kristofferson and Shel Silverstein Recorded by Waylon Jennings From The Taker/Tulsa, 1971 He's a lover, and he'll love her: