Texarkana Sings Happy Birthday to Pat Green
Not only was it country music star Pat Green’s birthday when he performed at Texarkana’s Solarbration on April 5, 2024, but it was also the perfect day to perform his single titled “April 5th.”
Green is most recognized for his hit song “Wave on Wave,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Country Song. He also received the Texas Regional Radio Humanitarian Award for assisting people in need through his non-profit, the Pat Green Foundation.
Lyrics to “April 5th” inform listeners that Green’s grandfather was also born on April 5, in 1911, sixty-one years before Green’s own birth, April 5, 1972, in San Antonio, Texas. He sang:
“April 5th, 1911, was a pretty good day
Oh, it was Wednesday afternoon
Momma said, ‘Daddy take me now ‘cause he’s on his way’
So, they saddled up the horse and rode into Houston town
He was the bounciest baby boy that you ever did see
By the name of Ewing Craven Green
He was my granddaddy, and I love him so
He taught mе everything a young man needs to know
Born on April 5th, the bеst way to make ‘em
They make ‘em kinda special, you’re never going to break ‘em, no
And they’ll stand by you, through the thick and thin
That’s the way it is when you’re born on April 5th”
“I have never played that song live in my life,” he said from the Crossties stage after singing some of his family history. I couldn’t think of a more appropriate time for that performance,” Green said. It had been over 15 years since he had last played in Texarkana, and, according to him, that was “outrageous.”
It was pretty cool to be there for his 52nd birthday and experience him singing the heartfelt single on that very day—and in Texarkana! Moreover, it was heartwarming to witness his delight in the traditional rendition of “Happy Birthday” sung to him by the audience, adding his own name seamlessly into the song at just the right moment: “Happy Birthday... Pat Green.” It was all a once-in-a-lifetime type of event for fans. I imagine it was for him as well.
I took this rare opportunity to wish him a happy birthday and asked, “What do you think about being in Texarkana?” “It’s awesome,” he said. “My mother is from here.” He also complimented the venue, claiming Crossties to be one of the “coolest places he has ever been.”
“I’m connected!” he said to Texarkanians, watching the concert with hands, phones, and glasses raised. “We are next-door neighbors, if you need to come over to Texas to borrow a cup of sugar or honey,” he offered, like a true Texas red-dirt artist.
I suppose Green’s testimony would be the lyrics from his single, “Songs About Texas,” another one enjoyed by Texas fans at the downtown concert:
“Nothing short of the gospel hymns,
I guess that’s why folks keep writing ‘um when I die,
I want to go there too, some day I hope to walk along Heaven’s street,
I’ll still be looking for my taco meat
And I swear I hear a steel guitar rising in the air”
I asked after the show, “How was your birthday party?” “Great!” he said. “I am going back to it now,” before stepping back on his bus to finish out the night. He may have been going back to sing one more song about good ol’ San Antone.
Watch Pat Green live at Crossties with this video by Nicholas Reed.
