FRIDAY: He was some mother's darling...

FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2026

Or so Hank Williams said: Is something "wrong" with President Trump? At this site, we would assume that it seems like there is. 

Next week, we'll be examining some of the basic concepts involved in this somewhat complex conceptual arena. Early this morning, as we pondered the possible dangers involved in the current state of affairs, we also thought of Hank Williams. 

The president's niece believes that her famous uncle is seriously unwell. She regards this as a very dangerous state of affairs—though she also takes us back to what she regards as the start of the story, when her uncle was two years old.

We've suggested that (serious) "mental illness" should be regarded as a deeply unfortunate illness. This morning, we found ourselves thinking of where this sort of thing can start—and of these Hank Williams lyrics:

Tramp on the Street

[...]

He was some mother's darling, he was some mother's son.
Once he was fair and once he was young.
And some mother rocked him, her darling, to sleep
But they left him to die like a tramp on the street.

Some mother rocked him, her darling, to sleep? 

Mary Trump suggests that it actually wasn't that way inside her uncle's dysfunctional childhood home. She also says, sympathetically though only up to a point, that it went downhill from there.

That said, Williams was one of the greatest of our American voices, and you can hear him sing those lyrics simply by clicking this. 

(As you'll see if you click that link, you'll hear him do that as part of a radio show called "The Health and Happiness Show.")

In fact, "A Tramp on the Street" was a hymn. At this particular time in the Christian calendar, it may have a specific resonance for believing Christians.

In the larger sense, the song encourages us to know how to pity those who may be deeply afflicted in various ways. We strongly recommend that performance by one of this nation's most resonant voices, by a giant star who died at an early age—29!—a bit like his "tramp on the street."