Hayes Carll is releasing a new album, What It Is. He has released the first single with lyrics built around two icons on a velvet painting, “Jesus and Elvis.”
The new track brings in a number of country music tropes. The singer references a son lost in a war, whiskey, redemption, Christmas lights, and a bar with a velvet painting of “the king of kings and the king of rock and roll.”
We do not learn much about the characters in the song, except that the singer seems to find comfort only in the bar, drowning in alcohol, beneath “Jesus and Elvis.” Check it out.
Hayes Carll‘s album on Dualtone Records, What It Is, hits stores and the Internet on Febuary 15, 2019.
Ryan Bingham’s new single from his upcoming album begins with memories of being a scared child and ends with advice for standing one’s ground. The new song, “Wolves,” appears on his upcoming album, American Love Song. With the song appearing on an album about America, one cannot help wondering if the song is about the current state of affairs in the country. After telling about learning as a child to keep the wolves at bay, the singer recounts a lesson that is coming now from a younger generation.
Years have gone by, And the callin’ carries on; Scars above my eye, Are tender to the bone; And though I’ve settled down, I hear the children say, “You have to stand your ground And keep the wolves at bay.”
There are other types of wolves humans have to keep at bay too. Another interpretation is that the song is about struggling with addiction. A great song often leaves much of the interpretation to the listener, so listen for yourself.
Through interviews, Bingham provides a little more insight into the song, consistent with both interpretations above. He explained to Billboard that the song is about “the constant effort of fighting the darkness.” And he recounted examples of standing up to bullies and fighting substance abuse. But additionally, he explained that the song was inspired by the March for Our Lives students who stood up to social media attacks while they were fighting for gun control in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. He added, “The courage of these kids was inspiring to me.”
Ryan Bingham remains a wonderful talent, even though many do not recognize his name. Yet, he won the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy for his fantastic song, “The Weary Kind.” The song appeared in Crazy Heart (2009), and probably helped win Jeff Bridges the Oscar too.
But Bingham has recorded several albums, and it is worth delving deeper into his catalog. And it sounds like American Love Song is something to look forward to. American Love Song hits stores and the Internet on February 15, 2019.
Patty Griffin has released a new song, “River,” from her upcoming self-titled album. The new album is inspired by Griffin’s successful battle with breast cancer, and the single compares a woman’s strength to that of a river.
Takes an army just to bend her; Be careful where you stand her; You can’t hold her back for long; The river is just too strong; She’s a river.
“River” is a beautiful song about resilience and comparing the woman’s strength to the “ever-changing” nature of a river that “doesn’t need a diamond to shine.” Check it out.
According to Rolling Stone, Griffin’s inspiration for “River” comes from Leon Russell’s classic “A Song for You,” recorded by Donny Hathaway. Other artists like Ray Charles, The Carpenters, and Michael Buble have recorded it too.
Listen to Hathaway’s version of that song below.
Patty Griffin will be released on March 8, 2019, and Griffin will be touring to support the new album, her first since 2015’s Servant of Love.
Steve Earle is releasing a new album as a tribute to Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark. The new album, Guy, will feature sixteen tracks, including the newly released single, “Dublin Blues.”
As a big fan of guy Clark, I am excited to hear that Earle is dedicating an album to his friend. But it will be difficult to surpass the wonderful 2011 multi-artist tribute to Clark, This One’s for Him. Still, Earle’s personal connection to Clark as well as his great talent make him the perfect person to spread the word about the underappreciated singer-songwriter. Earle did a similar feat for his other mentor Townes Van Zandt with the album Townes in 2009.
The new album will feature a number of Guy Clark’s classic songs, like “L.A. Freeway,” “The Randall Knife,” “Desperados Waiting For a Train,” and “She Ain’t Going Nowhere.” Earle recently released the first single, “Dublin Blues.” Check it out.
Interestingly, Clark’s song “Dublin Blues” is itself a tribute to another legend, Doc Watson. And the music for the song goes back much further than that. Check out our previous post on the story behind “Dublin Blues.”
What do you think of Earle’s cover? Leave your two cents in the comments.
One of my favorite songs by country singer-songwriter Marty Brown is “My Love Will Follow You.” The song is one of the many gems that Brown has written since his official albums in the 1990s, and it is one of my favorite songs that he has written.
Brown wrote “My Love Will Follow You” for his wife Shellie. It has yet to see an official release, and has appeared on an independently created created CD sold directly by Brown.
But the song deserves much wider distribution.
Below is an informal video of “My Love Will Follow You” that Brown made for his wife while she was out of town. The sound of the video is not great, but hopefully you can still hear the quality of the song in this heartfelt performance by Marty Brown. Check it out.
