The Hog of the Forsaken
From the album, The Sound of the Word
Listen to The Hog of the Forsaken. Scroll down to find the lyrics.
In all my years of making music I have never encountered anyone who writes songs quite like Michael Hurley. I’m no Hurley expert, or a “Snock,” as his most ardent fans consider themselves, but I have loved his music for decades and regard him as a real inspiration.
Michael Hurley emerged from the Greenwich Village scene during the folk revival in the 1960s. Influenced by early jazz, blues and country, Hurley sounded as if the entire history of American music was distilled down into his off-kilter melodies and pithy guitar riffs. The thin midrange tone of his Harmony and Kay guitars beautifully matched his own reedy and warbly voice. That voice and guitar combo created a sound primitive, elegant, and undeniably original.
What captures my imagination the most, however, are Hurley’s subjects and his writing. His characters inhabit a super-human universe of ne’er do wells, misfits—the forgotten and misbegotten from the margins of society. His songs are at once tender and timeless, unhinged and surreal. There’s a force of energy in his language which imbues his creations with real agency and brings them to life.
There is great liberation in playing a Michael Hurley song. Giving voice to his lyrics is like stepping into an alternate reality—a Narnia of dive bars and diners, forests and barnyards, pool halls and pawn shops. And bringing an audience into that world is what the songs were made for. Oh, the delight that spreads across people’s faces as they view the scenes playing out! The experience, I think, can be compared to watching an old Buster Keaton film or reading a great comic strip. With even doses of loneliness, humor, and humanity, it’s analog entertainment at its best.
Michael passed away in April 2025 at 83 years of age. I had been playing “The Hog of the Forsaken” for going on 20 years, and I figured it was finally time to record it. Having the song on an album now gives me occasion to sing it out at shows, say his name, and express appreciation for someone who was true to his own artistic path. Michael Hurley never tried to be anything other than himself. He was Snock through and through.
PS: There is an abundance of great writing about Michael Hurley out there. I recommend Justin Taylor’s article in Portland Monthly. Also, Emily Hilliard’s article in Smithsonian Folkways is a wonderful read. Videos too… Take a dive down the Michael Hurley rabbit hole! And I didn’t even mention that he was a prolific illustrator, cartoonist, and painter!
The Hog of the Forsaken by Michael Hurley
Oh the hog of the forsaken he’ll be taking all your dues boy
Standing on the corner with the hip shaking blues boy
There goes Elwood Zydeco it wont go so far
Oh the hog of the forsaken's got a boogie woogie boogie blues bar
Of the hog of the forsaken got no reason to cry
Got to chew the angels fallen from on high
Waiting for no answer baking woeful pie
Pie of eye sight pie of blue back
Oh that pie, pie of by and by
Oh the hog of the forsaken well he ain’t like you and I
With bones always breaking and no place to go and lie
In the bog so dark and wet he got so much time
He ain't even worried yet the hog of the forsaken
He is the pork of crime
Oh the hog of the forsaken he’ll leave you one more chance
Which if you won't be taking he’ll leave it for the hence
Sings out in the wilderness
Sings for friends and foe
Sings for these and those times as well as the time to go