This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. Theodore Bikel, who was an accomplished Broadway and film actor and won an Academy Award for his role in the film The Defiant Ones, plays Martin Kellums, a man of few words and a great singing voice. (CORRECTION: Bikel was only nominated for an Academy Award for the role, but he did not win. Thanks to reviewer janet-conant for the correction.) He travels through the Plains singing for drinks, although he has a much different past from which he is running.
Will Lukens, played by the recognizable character actor Robert F. Simon, passionately hates Kellums, wants him dead, and is willing to stop at nothing to carry out his mission.
Bikel was an accomplished folk singer, and he sings some classic cowboy/folk songs in this episode: "Old Paint," "Tell Old Bill," "Little Liza Jane," "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot," and "Streets of Laredo"/"Cowboy's Lament." (Bikel's mournful version of "Cowboy's Lament" highlights why some have called it one of the saddest songs ever written.) I suspect either this episode may have been written with Bikel in mind for the Martin Kellums part, or he suggested the addition of the songs after he was cast.
Bikel's performance in this episode is a real treat. Despite his extensive background on Broadway and in films, he clearly did not consider television roles beneath him, as he appeared in many television series throughout his career. He was an accomplished singer and a master of different accents. (Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the song "Edelweiss" for Bikel to perform in the Broadway version of The Sound of Music as Bikel was the original father of the Von Trapp family in that play.)
There are some interesting guest appearances in "Song for Dying." A young Lee Majors appears in early portions of the episode, and Roger Ewing, who would later play Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood during Seasons 11 and 12, appears here as one of the Lukens clan.
Note: This episode contains the first use of Doc's first name, Galen. Kellums and Doc are engaged in a conversation in Doc's office, and Kellums refers to Doc as "Galen." It would actually be a few more seasons before Doc's first name was ever mentioned again. Supposedly, the show's producers allowed Milburn Stone to choose the first name prior to the later episodes, and he chose the name Galen in honor of the Greek physician Galen of Pergamon/Aelius Galenus/Claudius Galenus who practiced in the Roman Empire.
There is a general air of gloom that permeates this episode. Will Lukens is consumed with hatred, and he is destroying everyone around him. Some of the Dodge City citizens want Matt to run Kellums out of town, because they are afraid of what might happen. Kellums is tired of running, and not just from Lukens.
This is a rather talky episode that seems headed toward a fateful conclusion. It probably isn't to everyone's taste, but I love it.