Steve Earle Archives - chimesfreedom

In Praise of Fuel Efficiency: Justin Townes Earle’s “Champagne Corolla”

Justin Townes Earle wrote a rare love song that praises a woman for driving a fuel-efficient car, “Champagne Corolla.”

With the price of gasoline surging recently, it is a good time for the rare song that praises the choice of a fuel-efficient car. Perhaps there is no better song referencing the topic than Justin Townes Earle‘s song about the singer’s love for a woman driving a “Champagne Corolla.” In the song, the singer notes how the woman must have a good head on her shoulders because, “She can run all week on just one tank.”

“Champagne Corolla” appeared as the lead track on Justin Townes Earle’s 2017 album, Kids in the Street. At the time, Allmusic praised “Champagne Corolla” as a “stompin’ exercise in New Orleans-influenced R&B.” The song also appeared on the posthumous 2024 All In: Unreleased & Rarities (The New West Years) in a version Earle had performed on his father Steve Earle’s Satellite radio show (see below). Steve Earle also recorded a nice version of his son’s song on his 2021 album made in tribute to Justin Townes Earle, J.T.

I don’t care what no man say,
She can run all week on just one tank;
Goes to show you,
Maybe baby got a head on her shoulders, yeah;
And she sure looks sweet driving by in that champagne Corolla.

I know every man think that he need some high tone woman,
Something built for speed;
But you can’t trust a rich girl,
No farther than you can throw her;
Need a middle class queen riding by in a champagne Corolla.

As for the car, Toyota has been making Corollas since 1966. As the singer in the song implies, the Corolla is seen as a practical compact car known for its fuel efficiency.

In the video below, Justin Townes Earle, who passed away on August 20, 2020, performs “Champagne Corolla” in May 2017 on Steve Earle’s Hardcore Troubadour Radio show on SiriusXM.

Until there is a great song about an electric car, is “Champagne Corolla” the champagne of songs mentioning fuel efficiency? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Nanci Griffith’s Superstars on Letterman: “Desperados Waiting for a Train”

In 1998, Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Eric Taylor appeared on David Letterman’s stage to support a new release from Nanci Griffith.

There are not many times there has been such a collection of talent onstage together since July 21, 1998, when Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Jeff Walker and Eric Taylor appeared together on the Late Show With David Letterman. Griffith had just released the excellent album Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful). And the album featured an all-star version of Guy Clark’s song “Desperados Waiting For a Train.”

Only such an outstanding talent as Griffith could shine even while ceding so much of the song to these other legends of music. On both the album and the Letterman performance, she does not even sing solo until late in the song.

The songwriter Guy Clark starts off the song, and it is clear that the beautiful performance is all about respect. There is Griffith’s respect for Clark’s song and the legendary talent of the other singers. But there is also an amazing amount of respect from those legends for Griffith, coming together for this performance on both the album and on Letterman’s show.

Check out the performance of “Desperados Waiting for a Train” below.

Most who love music of this genre will recognize the big names here for their work as singers and songwriters: Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, and Jerry Jeff Walker. But you might or might not recognize Eric Taylor, who is probably the least well-known of the group. Taylor also was a well-respected Texas singer-songwriter, and his songs have been covered by people such as Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith. He also was married to Griffith for 1976-1982. So it is also cool to see Griffith invite her ex for this amazing performance. Taylor passed away less than two years after this performance from liver disease.

Of the group on stage that night, we have also lost Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Letterman clearly knew he was hosting a special gathering on his show at the time, but many may have missed it. We were certainly lucky to have the music of these folks, and extra lucky to have them together for this song.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

Why “GUY”? (Steve Earle album review)

Tribute to Guy Clark CD is “Stuff That Works”

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New Documentary About Guy Clark

Steve Earle: “Dublin Blues”

The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris

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I woke up this morning, and none of the news was good: Steve Earle’s “Jerusalem” (Song of the Day)

In 2002, Steve Earle released “Jerusalem,” about hope for the people in a troubled land that remains ever as troubled today.

It is difficult to find any optimism out of what is going on right now in Israel and Gaza. But in 2002, during another period of darkness in the world, Steve Earle tried to find some hope in his song “Jerusalem,” the title track of his 2002 album. There, he sang a fine day where “all the children of Abraham / Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem.”

And there’ll be no barricades then;
There’ll be no wire or walls;
And we can wash all this blood from our hands,
And all this hatred from our souls.

At the time of the album’s release, William Bowers, who was not a fan of Earle generally, in a Pitchfork review mocked such a utopian take on the complicated situation in the Middle East. Bowers saw some attempts to follow John Lennon’s “Imagine” but finds such a plea ultimately doomed for a land divided by religion and race. He concludes, “the song is dang hard to take seriously.”

Earle, though, realizes his song’s dream is a long-shot and, as he explains in the video below, that the dream may remain a dream until he dies. And in the lyrics, he sings, “maybe I’m only dreamin’ and maybe I’m just a fool.”

It is foolish to think of any hope now during all of the horrors going on while people are suffering and dying. But maybe trying to imagine peace is not a bad thing to do, even if it feels futile at the moment.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

Steve Earle Covers Justin Townes Earle’s “Harlem River Blues”

Steve Earle has released a cover of “Harlem River Blues,” part of an upcoming album recorded in tribute to Earle’s late son, Justin Townes Earle.

Steve Earle & The Dukes are releasing the album J.T. as a tribute to Earle’s son Justin Townes Earle, who passed away on August 20, 2020. Steve Earle has released the first song from the album, a cover of one of the younger Earle’s more popular songs, “Harlem River Blues.”

J.T. will feature ten songs written by Justin Townes Earle. The album also will include a song that the father wrote for his son called “Last Words.”

Earle’s cover of “Harlem River Blues” stays close to the original version, much as Earle has done on his tribute albums to close friends Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. Earle still allows the Dukes some leeway to inject joy into the music, making sure that the song is also a celebration of Justin’s life and career.

“Harlem River Blues” originally appeared as the title track on Justin Townes Earle’s 2010 album Harlem River Blues. Below, check out Justin performing the song with the Americana All-Star Band at the 2011 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards.

New West Records will release J.T. digitially on January 4, 2021, which would have been Justin Townes Earle’s 39th birthday. The CD and vinyl versions will be released on March 19, 2021. All of the artist advances and royalties from J.T. will be donated to a trust for the three-year-old daughter of Justin and Jenn Earle, Etta St. James Earle.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

Steve Earle Takes On Confederate Flag in “Mississippi, It’s Time”

In Praise of Fuel Efficiency: Justin Townes Earle’s “Champagne Corolla”

You’ll Miss The Time You Waste

Steve Earle & The Dukes Are Back: “So You Wannabe An Outlaw”

Nanci Griffith’s Superstars on Letterman: “Desperados Waiting for a Train”

I woke up this morning, and none of the news was good: Steve Earle’s “Jerusalem” (Song of the Day)

( Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

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You’ll Miss The Time You Waste

Justin Townes Earle passed away on August 23, 2020, leaving behind an impressive catalog of music starting with a debut song on one of his father’s albums.

The first time I heard Justin Townes Earle’s voice was on the final song of his father Steve Earle’s 2003 album, Just An American Boy. The father gave his son the final track on the album on the son’s song, “Time You Waste.” Although I still had to wait several years for an album from the talented son, that wonderful debut led to a career of stellar music and albums. So, like many fans, I was heartbroken to learn that 2020 had claimed the life of Justin Townes Earle at the age of 38.

The news sent me back to listen to many of his albums that I had in my collection, including from his debut EP Yuma (2007) through his much acclaimed Harlem River Blues (2010) through his personal exploration in Single Mothers (2014) and Absent Fathers (2015) to his latest The Saint of Lost Causes (2019). Earle had carved out his own niche, separate from his father, but still influenced by him as well as the singer-songwriter he was named for, Townes Van Zandt.

Like his father and the man he was named for, Justin Townes Earle faced his own substance abuse problems throughout his life. We always rooted for him to succeed in controlling the demons, as his father had done. So we are heartbroken that he died even so much younger than his namesake, who had died at the age of 52.

Thinking about the music of Justin Townes Earle in this age of the pandemic where we have lost so many, I keep going back to that debut recording of “Time You Waste.”

Don’t think that I,
I wouldn’t take every minute back
If I could bring myself
To live like that.

Cause all the other ones,
You only get one chance;
It’s seeing life through the eyes of the innocent;
So take it slow;
No need in haste,

Because the time you’ll miss
Is the time you waste;

Yeah the time you’ll miss, babe
Is the time you waste.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of Justin Townes Earle, including his wife and daughter, his mother, and his father Steve Earle.