Tag: David Rawlings

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

One of the nice movie surprises of recent years is Hell or High Water (2016), directed by David Mackenzie and starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, and Gil Birmingham. The movie, about two brothers who rob banks in order to keep one bank from foreclosing on family land, features a beautiful scene between the two brothers with a wonderful song about dying in the background. It is Gillian Welch’s haunting voice on her song, “I’m Not Afraid to Die.”

The song works well in the film, portraying the bond between the two brothers and highlighting the risks they are taking. There is a overall sadness to the film that reflects on hard times for struggling people who are often left behind in modern society. Hell or High Water deals with nuances, even while the movie written by Taylor Sheridan also features action. The characters are flawed and human, even the sheriff played by Bridges.

So “I’m Not Afraid to Die” works well against the West Texas landscape. There are moments of confidence in the song written by Welch and David Rawlings, as you can see in the title about not being afraid.

Forget my sins upon the wind;
My hobo soul will rise;
Lie-d Lie-d Lie
I’m not afraid to die.

Yet Welch’s voice reveals a deep sadness underlying the boast. And if you listen carefully, you find some fears: “Sometimes it finds me fast asleep,/
And wakes me where I lie.”

“I’m not Afraid to Die” works like some of the best hymns. It finds faith within doubt, buried deep within a melody and voice that comforts you while confronting the terrors of this world.

Above, Welch and Rawlings perform “I’m Not Afraid to Die” in Atlanta at Variety Playhouse. “I’m Not Afraid to Die” originally appeared on Welch’s 1998 album Hell Amongst the Yearlings.

Hell or High Water has a great soundtrack. What is your favorite song from the movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Some related Chimesfreedom posts:)
  • When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings
  • The Flying Burrito Brothers Song That Includes a Tribute to Bobby Kennedy
  • Song of the Day: “The Weekend” by David Rawlings Machine
  • Hierarchies of Hate and Healing? Thoughts on “Wind River” from Charlottesville
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    • When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings

    Buster Scruggs Song

    During repeated viewings of the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), I began to fall in love with the duet at the end of the first segment of the Netflix movie. This first chapter that provides the title for the film ends with a funny duet on the song, “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” which I later discovered was written by two artists I admire.

    Well, it is funny on first viewing, but in subsequent viewings I found the song to be deeper and sadder, even as the tune is presented with humorous visuals. [Spoilers ahead.] In the tale, we meet Buster Scruggs (wonderfully played by Tim Blake Nelson), a quirky, funny, singing, and deadly cowboy. As in old Westerns, the character is the fastest gun until someone else comes along and kills him. Then, The Kid (played by Old Crow Medicine Show‘s Willie Watson) and Buster’s spirit engage in a duet about dying.

    Let me tell you, buddy,
    And it win’t be long,
    Till you find yourself singing
    Your last cowboy song.

    Yippee-ki-yi-yay;
    When the roundup ends;
    Yippee-ki-yi-yay;
    And the campfire dims.

    Yippee-ki-yi-yay;
    He shalt be saved,
    When a cowboy trades
    His spurs for wings.

    The wonderful musicians Gillian Welch and David Rawlings wrote “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings.” Once I found out who wrote the song, it did not surprise me that I would fall in love with the song. It also did not surprise me that the song received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

    Welch and Rawlings recorded their own version of the song. Their version takes a sweeter, more mournful approach than the humorous visuals in the Coen Brothers movie. Without Buster Scruggs, “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” becomes a more realistic dying cowboy’s lament. Check it out.

    What is your favorite cowboy movie song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (Short Review)
  • What Is That Song About Dying in “Hell or High Water”?
  • The Flying Burrito Brothers Song That Includes a Tribute to Bobby Kennedy
  • Song of the Day: “The Weekend” by David Rawlings Machine
  • What Is the Murder Ballad That Holly Hunter Sings to Nathan Jr. in “Raising Arizona”?
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    The Flying Burrito Brothers Song That Includes a Tribute to Bobby Kennedy

    Flying Burrito Brothers I have probably heard “Sin City” by the Flying Burrito Brothers more than a hundred times.  But I never realized that one of the verses is about Robert F. Kennedy until reading an interview with Steve Earle.

    In the interview, Earle recounted how the song’s co-writer Chris Hillman explained the Bobby Kennedy connection.  The following verse is about Kennedy.

    A friend came around,
    Tried to clean up this town;
    His ideas made some people mad;
    But he trusted his crowd,
    So he spoke right out loud;
    And they lost the best friend they had.

    In another interview from many years ago in The Los Angeles Times, Hillman confirmed the above verse was about Kennedy. Hillman also explained how he and Gram Parsons came to write the song.

    Hillman woke up one morning with the opening lines of the song in his head: “This old town’s filled with sin, it’ll swallow you in….”  He immediately woke up his roommate Parsons, who soon came up with the melody for the song.

    Parsons and Hillman, who both had recently experienced relationship breakups, completed the song in about thirty minutes.  And they both ended up singing it on the first Flying Burrito Brothers album, The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969).

    Bobby Kennedy was not the only person referenced in the song.  Hillman, who still had bad feelings about the breakup of his former band The Byrds, included an allusion to that band’s manager Larry Spector.  Hillman considered Spector a thief, and the man lived on the thirty-first floor of a condo.  Hence the line:  “On the thirty-first floor a gold plated door / Won’t keep out the Lord’s burning rain.”

    Hillman further explained that they wrote “Sin City” as a cautionary tale to “people like Gene Clark from the Byrds, who came here from Kansas with all that talent and all bright-eyed and talented and idealistic, and the whole thing just swallowed him up.”  Unfortunately, that cautionary tale could equally refer to the tragic young death of Parsons.

    “Sin City” remains one of the great collaborations between two great singer-songwriters. While the original recorded by the songwriters remains definitive, there have been a couple of nice covers through the years. Below in a performance from 1989, k.d. lang and Dwight Yoakam do the song justice.

    Finally, here is a wonderful version by Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, and David Rawlings (Buddy Miller is also there on guitar).

    And that is the story behind the song.

    What is your favorite song by the Flying Burrito Brothers? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Great Song, Bad Name: Hot Burrito #1
  • What Is That Song About Dying in “Hell or High Water”?
  • When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings
  • Dwight, Lucinda, and Steve: “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (and Loud, Loud Music)”
  • The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris
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    Song of the Day: “The Weekend” by David Rawlings Machine

    The Weekend

    The David Rawlings Machine recently released its second album, Nashville Obsolete (2015). In the video for the lead track on the album, “The Weekend,” David Rawlings and Gillian Welch take us on a fast road trip from Nashville to California.

    Before The David Rawlings Machine released its first album A Friend of a Friend in 2009, David Rawlings already had an established music career doing things like producing Old Crow Medicine Show and co-writing songs with Ryan Adams such as “To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High).”

    Now Rawlings is making great music with Gillian Welch with harmonies that remind me of the Jayhawks. Check out the video for “The Weekend.”



    Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • What Is That Song About Dying in “Hell or High Water”?
  • When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings
  • The Flying Burrito Brothers Song That Includes a Tribute to Bobby Kennedy
  • New Music from Ryan Adams and The Jayhawks
  • New Jayhawks Album: “Paging Mr. Proust”
  • Tom Jones: “Elvis Presley Blues”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)