Like Jimmie Rodgers Woody Guthrie Robert Johnson and Hank Williams Townes Van Zandt was the embodiment of that mythic American figure the troubled troubadour. A Deeper Blue traces Van Zandts background as the scion of a prominent Texas family; his troubled early years and his transformation from promising pre-law student to wandering folk singer; his life on the road and the demons that pursued and were pursued by him; the women who loved and inspired him; and the brilliance and enduring beauty of his songs.