LELAND — The Mississippi Delta bluesman eased onto the stage in front of a few hundred scattered blues enthusiasts at Railroad Park. Taking his seat in front of a microphone, T-Model Ford began picking away at his guitar.

The notes, though, lacked the fire and zeal of his previous performances. T-Model Ford was a step behind. After each song, the man nicknamed the “Taildragger” told the crowd how sorry he was.

“I’m doing all I can,” he said.

Other living Delta bluesmen — the ones who drank from separate water fountains and played jukes and dives from Clarksdale to Vicksburg— followed in Leland, most needing a bit of assistance getting on stage for the annual Highway 61 Blues Festival.

For sure, to get a piece of the true Delta blues, fans should get out quickly because these men will not be around forever and the likes of the old men will never be seen again.

David “Honeyboy” Edwards will turn 95 on June 28 and still tours. T-Model is, depending on which periodical one reads, between 85 and 90. Big George Brock is nearing 80. The great B.B. King, the most famous of the Delta bluesmen, is closing in on 85.

Many younger artists have taken up the mantel of playing Delta blues, but they will never see what these men have seen. They will never live the lives the others did. It’s a different time, a different Mississippi and a different America.

Watching T-Model struggle so mightily reminded me of watching an athlete feeling the effects of age, yet still trying to perform at the top of his game. Every once in a while, T-Model would hit those notes he’s hit so well for so long, playing the guitar like he used to and the visions of his rocking jukes in his prime would fill my mind, only to be flattened when he would miss a note or fall behind his teen-aged drummer’s rhythm.

T-Model is scheduled to play the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic at Potts Camp on June 26. How many more shows he will do is anyone’s guess.

Mississippi has such a rich musical tradition, especially in the advent of the blues. Time, though, will eventually win over all of us. There is still time to catch them live, though, and even a step or two slow, they represent a huge piece of this state’s cultural history and are worth seeing.

It might not be the original Delta Blues obituary yet, but time catches up to all of us.

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Sean P. Murphy is web editor. He can be reached at smurphy@vicksburgpost.com