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Keeping the Wolves At Bay

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.

What Song Does the Sergeant Sing About a Sparrow in “Hostiles”?

Ryan Bingham: “Radio”

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What Song Does the Sergeant Sing About a Sparrow in “Hostiles”?

Sparrow Hostiles

While watching the Western Hostiles (2018) you may have noticed a character singing a beautiful song while playing mandolin around the campfire. What was the song?

Although it sounds like it is a timeless folk song, it is a new song written by Ryan Bingham called “How Shall a Sparrow Fly.” Bingham recorded the song for Hostiles, which stars Christian Bale. And that is Bingham playing the song as a sergeant in the movie.

In the video below, Bingham plays “How Shall a Sparrow Fly.”

Bingham also co-wrote with T. Bone Burnett the excellent Oscar-winning song “The Weary Kind,” which appeared in Crazy Heart (2009). That film, which starred Jeff Bridges, was directed by Scott Cooper, who also directed Hostiles.

Bingham recently explained to Variety that Cooper asked Bingham to be in Hostiles when he saw some video of Bingham on horses. After getting the script, Bingham worked up “How Shall a Sparrow Fly” on his mandolin while touring.

Unfortunately, “How Shall a Sparrow Fly” did not receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. But it is a wonderful song from the singer-songwriter.

“How Shall a Sparrow Fly?” appears on the Hostiles soundtrack with a full orchestra.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

A Dark Humorless Somewhat Revisionist Western: “Hostiles” (Short Review)

Keeping the Wolves At Bay

Ryan Bingham: “Radio”

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The Dark Knight Rises . . . In Legos

The Myth of Redemptive Violence (Part Two): The American Western

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Ryan Bingham: “Radio”

Ryan Bingham, probably best known for his Oscar win for “The Weary Kind” from the Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart (2009), has a new album called Fear & Saturday Night. Most of the new album was recorded live, and the first single is “Radio,” a song about facing a darkness in one’s life.

Below, Bingham performs “Radio” live in West Hollywood, California at the Filth Mart with Jam in the Van. Check it out.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Keeping the Wolves At Bay

What Song Does the Sergeant Sing About a Sparrow in “Hostiles”?

What Is That Song About Dying in “Hell or High Water”?

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10 Genres Defined by Robert Duvall Movies

Is there another actor who has been in more classic movies from different film categories than Robert Duvall? If you consider various movie genres and the top handful of movies in each category, a large number of those groups include movies with Robert Duvall. Consider:

(1) Gangster Movies: Godfather I and II
(2) Sports Movies: The Natural
(3) Lawyer Movies: To Kill a Mockingbird
(4) War Movies: Apocalypse Now
(5) Westerns: Lonesome Dove (and True Grit)
(6) Social Commentary: Network
(7) Satire: M*A*S*H and Network.
(8) Preacher Movies: The Apostle
(9) Singer Movies: Tender Mercies (and Crazy Heart)
(10) Cop Movies/Car Chase Movies: Bullitt

In each category, the movies listed are among the top few. And yes, we are using a loose definition of “genre,” and the list is starting to stretch for categories a little at the end. But we stopped before adding “Military Family/Angry Father Movies” (The Great Santini).

The list is for movies where he appeared, so To Kill a Mockingbird qualifies even though he had a very small (yet important) part. Also, Lonesome Dove was a TV mini-series, but it still ranks up there among the very top classic westerns, and Duvall has said it was his favorite role. But if you do not like that one, replace it with the original True Grit (see the Chimesfreedom comparison of the two versions of True Grit). Two other Duvall westerns, Open Range and Broken Trail were excellent, but not top classic status.

Although Duvall is respected, he usually is not mentioned with quite the same respect as actors like Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. But few actors have the range of work shown from the genre list above, due largely to his ability to become a character besides “Robert Duvall.” In one great scene from Lonesome Dove where he embodies the classic character of Gus McCrae, you can see the pain in his face when he has to hang an old friend who has fallen in with a bad gang. In particular, he conveys a world of meaning in the first few seconds after the hanging just through his face and his body language. [Update: Unfortunately a clip of that scene is no longer available on YouTube, but another scene from the miniseries is below.]

The movies in the genre list are true classics, among the best in each category. Through acting skill, excellent movie choices, and some luck, maybe no other actor has accomplished a similar feat of being in classic movies in so many different categories.