#5
Deacon Claybourne | Chip Esten
appreciation thread







• • •

Deacon's quotes

"But for me, music's all I got. It's the only part of my life that I ever seem to be able to do halfway good, so... it means something to me."

"Don't you call me a legend, Kent. I'm not dead yet."

"I always used to say that I got sober for myself, you know? That's what you're supposed to say. It was never true. I got sober for Rayna."

Juliette: "Takes a lot of people to make a good show."
Deacon: "Really? Johnny Cash only needed three."

"All that mundane stuff, that's pretty much just what I've been waiting for."

Avery: "You know, I've wondered... why didn't you take your shot back in the day, when you had some heat?"
Deacon: "I don't know. I was... playing guitar for Rayna, writing hit songs. I guess I just didn't feel like I needed to be famous."

"You should've told me, Ray. I'm sorry. Look, I was... A mess when you found out you were pregnant. I get that. But I got better, and... I've been good a long time, right? So why didn't you tell me when she was like... 3, you know? Or 5 or 10 or... Why didn't you just give me a little more time to be her daddy."

"This morning, my daughter asked me where I was the night she was born. I told her I was on the road. Truth is, I was on the road to hell."

"Sobriety is not a onetime fight. It goes on... one day at a time, as we say... for your entire life. If you're gonna do a fight that long, you better have yourself a support system. For me, that happens to be my family. Got my niece Scarlett, who keeps me honest. I also got my daughter, Maddie, who's helped me... well, to see the world through brand-new eyes. And both of them have shown me what it means to love somebody more than I love myself, which has given my life meaning."

"This thing of ours... I know what I've done. I broke your heart a thousand different ways, and, God, I am sorry for that. But something changed. Me. I know how to love you now. That man you always wanted me to be... I am that man. And I can be a husband now, and I can be a father. And I can give you everything that we were always meant to have."

[x]

• • •

Chip about Deacon

C&I: What about you? Do you remember the moment when you felt totally comfortable as Deacon Claybourne?

Esten: There was a moment like that during my audition for the pilot, which is rare. It was like, I think I understand this guy. I get this guy. Auditioning as Deacon was almost easier for me because of all the things I knew I had to do, and what I had to look like. I had to look like I was a little weary, like I didn’t care one way or the other whether I got it. Life was going to kick me in the teeth somehow, no matter what, so let’s just do this and get it over with.

C&I: Deacon has gone through some wild mood swings during the past three seasons. He’s been up, he’s been down. He’s gone off the wagon, he’s crawled back onto it. We’ve seen him as the mature stud when he was first dealing with Juliette Barnes. And we’ve seen him trying to be a father for a daughter he didn’t know was his. This role must be a godsend for an actor. Even while you keep playing the same character, you get to go to extremes.

Esten: You’re absolutely onto something. That is, to me, the thrilling part of this character. Like, how many facets do you have? That’s a good measure of how good a character is, and how much fun you get to have playing him. As human beings we have these infinite facets, and I would say that’s what the writers have done with Deacon. There are so many facets, and I love how that comes across in the chemistry he develops with other characters. Stick him with Avery Barkley [Jonathan Jackson] and there’s the comedy thing that comes out. There’s that bang between old and young — “I know what I’m doing,” and “You’re not listening.” But then stick him with Maddie [Lennon Stella], and you see a whole ’nother side of this guy. Yeah, he was that guy you said was an older stud. But now he’s got a daughter he cares about, and there’s that softness that is organically, naturally going to come out when he’s in a scene with her.

It all comes down to the fact that Callie and our writing staff write a guy who is deeply human, and cares. He just cares. There’s no cynicism there. In fact, life might be a little easier for him if he didn’t care so much. That’s the lesson in life that you teach your children. Yeah, you could leather up a little bit and not care so much. That might be easier, but it’s not living.

[source]

• • •

Deacon's songs



1x01 Back Home
1x02 Matchbox Blues
1x02 No One Will Ever Love You (with Rayna)
1x03 Undermine (with Juliette)
1x05 Sideshow
1x07 Papa Writes to Johnny
1x19 The End of the Day (with Rayna)
2x05 This Town (with Scarlett)
2x06 | 2x07 You're The Kind Of Trouble
2x09 | 2x21 A Life That's Good (with Maddie | with Rayna, Maddie & Daphne)
2x10 Playin' Tricks
2x11 Believing (with Maddie)
2x14 Keep Coming Back
2x15 Like New
3x01 Postcard from Mexico (with Rayna)
3x01 I Know How to Love You Now
3x06 Breathe In
3x12 Friend of Mine (with Scarlett & Beverly)
3x15 The Rivers Between Us (with Rayna)
3x20 Trouble (with Beverly)
3x21 Surrender (with Rayna)
4x01 Hymn For Her



[x]

• • •

Chip's performances at the Opry



"It's All Good"
"He Ain't Me"
"Read 'Em And Weep"
"I Won't Fall In Love With You Tonight" (feat. Jaida Dreyer)
"Hillbilly Billy"


• • •

Supporters
01. littlelexipedia
02. arawen
03. TamiTaylor
04. dancing in the rain
05. Cadenf
06. soapbubbles511
07. YoursToHold
08. Static Waves
09. StrongerThanMe
10. Emes
11. MrღMrsStinsbatskys
12. Walt Reynolds
13. elledee
14. holding my heart
15. fractured moonlight
16. piratewench78
17. raphi1860
18. Froghorn
19. Heart of Rhythm
20. These Broken Stars
21. MidnightBlue85
22. LetsGoDutch
23. keep the starlight
24. socialfirefighter
25. caught each other
26. gingerp
27. Keke75p