you don't have to go

Another day, another tbc break-up song that I love. You Don't Have to Go is off the bonus disc of By Your Side. It's only been played live two times^[1], and one of those times was just last month!! Consequently, there's not much written on this song, but it's actually quite good. I really love the way Chris' voice vibrates when he sings "There's one thing that you ought to know
/ It's just got me got me feeling out of control," and the subsequent guitar riff after that. The other thing I love about You Don't Have to Go, and what I'm noticing more and more about By Your Side, is how romantic it truly is. It's about breaking up, ostensibly, but it's much more about telling someone to stay. I think the band means the lyrics, "And I promise you / Oh baby, when I am through / Of all of my crazy days / I will take you away." That is, when the crazy road life is over, if it could ever truly be over, they'll come back to you. I can't even imagine touring as much tbc did/does...and I'm sure it's hard on all of their families and loves...and this song just speaks to that. There are just so many good lines in this song, it's one my favourites.

Well you wrote to me
And you made me see
That love is real, and it's not make believe
And I promise you
Oh baby, when I am through
Of all of my crazy days, I will take you away

You know I've nothing
That I've got nothing to hide
See, I've been a little
A little messed up inside

And it's alright with me
And it's easy to see
There's one thing that you ought to know
It's just got me feeling out of control
Cause you touch me to my soul
And baby you don't have to go

You don't have to leave, no, no

When you speak to me
It's like a dream
And I feel every word
And I know just what each one means, yes I do
When you sleep with me
Oh girl, the safety that it brings
In my heart, in my mind
I will love you for all time, yes I will

You know I've nothing
That I've got nothing to hide
I've been a little
A little messed up inside

And it's alright with me
And it's easy to see
There's one thing that you ought to know
It's just got me got me feeling out of control
Well you touch me to my soul
And baby you don't have to go

Never go away
No, no, no, no

Don't ya know, don't ya know

Well if it's alright with me
And it's easy to see
The thing that you ought to know
It's just got me feeling out of control
Because you touch me to my soul
And baby you don't have to go

I said it's alright with me
And it's easy to see
The thing that you ought to know
You just got me feeling out of control
Because you took me to my soul
And baby, you don't have to go

[1] 4/1/98, New York, New York; 7/29/08, House of Blues, Cleveland, Ohio.

twice as hard

I've been hesitant to write about any songs from Shake Your Money Maker, because, honestly, it's the album with which I'm least familiar (aside from Lions which is a whole other entity). I've listened to it only a handful of times, whereas I've listened to most of the other albums more times than I can count. And I don't think it's because Shake Your Money Maker isn't as good. It's maybe that everyone knows it's good. But, unlike most, my favourite song off of this album isn't She Talks to Angels. If I can even surprise myself, I must say I don't love that song, and I don't cherish it above all tbc songs like most people do. Rather, I prefer something like Twice as Hard. Twice as Hard still engenders that early tbc sound, but without the polish or magnetism of She Talks to Angels and Hard to Handle (which I do love but it isn't a tbc orginal, and that's what I'm trying to focus on with these posts-- the beauty of tbc originals).

Regarding Twice as Hard, Crowesbase quotes Chris as saying, "There was a pain in my heart. Feeling lonely and knowing. I was losing touch with someone. Hoping that maybe the next time around it'll be different but it never is. A love song, plain and simple." And as you know, if there is a category of tbc songs I love that isn't about breaking up, it's that I feel so many of their songs are about love, in all its forms. So that's Twice as Hard, it's still kind of about breaking up, or, maybe, just about the hardship of love . . .never easy, but it makes for a great song. That is, "Love ain't funny / A crime in the wink of an eye."

Clean as a whistle
Smellin' like a rose
She got no dirty little fingers
Bloodshot eyes are gone
Tell me I'm wrong

Twice as Hard
As it was the first time
I said goodbye

And no one ever wanna' know
Love ain't funny
A crime in the wink of an eye

Your sister always singing
She play the step child
A broken little memory
Her heart was never kind
Tell me I'm blind

Yeah, bloodshot eyes are gone
Tell me I'm wrong

Twice as Hard
As it was the first time
I said goodbye

Twice as Hard
As it was the first time
I said goodbye

Twice as Hard
As it was the first time
I said goodbye

Twice as Hard
As it was the first time
I said goodbye

Twice as Hard
As it was the first time
I said goodbye

nonfiction

From Crowesbase, "[Nonfiction] was written a couple of months into The High As The Moon Tour in 1992. On the VH-1 Behind The Music episode, Chris described the song being about paranoia. It was originally written and recorded as an acoustic song, but took on a different character as a heavy electric number when played live. by the entire band."

Nonfiction is off Amorica, which is another great album. Before reading the description on Crowesbase, I wouldn't have said this song was about paranoia. To me, it's more like love. And how appropriate that it's called Nonfiction, in that instance. It's like real love...but the part that always gives me pause is "And if we had a child I'd like a son, not a daughter." How curious that Chris did have a son...even if this song was long before Kate, I always just think about that lyric. But again, this song embodies love to me...the oft kind of love tbc sings about, it's real and it's not perfect. And maybe real love does involve a moment of paranoia before you can ever let yourself really go, and accept it...but that's never easy. TBC captures that, again.

I don't know my telephone number
But you kiss good and I'd like to
See you tomorrow
And I don't beg, I pay, I don't barter
And if we had a child I'd like a son,
Not a daughter
'Cause she'd be just like you
You know that would not do

I'm no builder, I'm no gardener
I sing some songs, have a friend
Who's a photographer
There ain't no other language
I know how to speak
Some like their water shallow
And I like mine deep
Tied to the bottom
With a noose around my feet

The clouds conspire
Above my head
I overheard them
Say I wish he was dead
Today the sunset
Burned my eyes
And in the next room I hear someone cry

I like to dress up like the jury
To eat like a king, to poke fun at clergy
To talk like dirt
To love you like tar
But never fall in too fast
With my north star
While you pull your hair out
I buy the drinks at the bar

The clouds conspire
Above my head
I overheard them
Say I wish he was dead
Today the sunset
Burned my eyes
And in the next room I hear someone cry

hear an amazing studio version from the npr session!

good friday

Why do I love all of tbc's break up songs so much? I don't know, but I do. Good Friday was actually the first single from Three Snakes and One Charm. To me, Good Friday is as much a tbc staple as something like Thorn in My Pride. But yes, getting back to it, Good Friday is by all accounts a breaking up song. In the iTunes exclusive, Chris says that Good Friday is as "as good a song as any that represents that whole record." They call Three Snakes and One Charm a "dissent album," when all of them were going through a lot of personal stuff. Slower stuff than Amorica, a darker place. And as Chris describes, Good Friday is "a good bye song...and whether or not you can say it's easy to put a song in the perspective of a relationship."
I'm surprised to hear Chris say that Three Snakes is his favourite album, even after all the years (not including Warpaint). But I won't disagree because of songs like Good Friday. When he sings "I will not forgive you / Nor will I accept the blame," once again, it just reminds me why I love tbc-- the honesty. Who hasn't felt like that? And to be able to write and sing it with such tenderness....the iTunes exclusive live version is phenomenal, if you get a chance.

We've been avoiding this for so long
Luxury is temporary then it's gone
I thought that we would happen
I guess I'm wrong
We'll say "hi" on the street then
We'll move along
I know this will be awkward
But not for long
Cause soon you'll have a new boy
to sing you songs

I will not forgive you
Nor will I accept the blame
I will see you on Good Friday
On Good Friday

I'm sorry I couldn't do this yesterday
And tomorrow I am busy
And what it is I can't say
And Saturday is no good
We got a show
So it has to be Good Friday
Then it's so long

I will not forgive you
Nor will I accept the blame
I will see you on Good Friday
On Good Friday

You, you come and go when you please
I know unfulfilled needs
I know you do too
But I, you know I didn't see things through
I didn't pay attention to you
But honey I tried

soul singing

Soul Singing is always better live. I don't know if that's because of the turmoil surrounding the album it's on, Lions, or if it was just written to be played live. Lions was the last album tbc recorded before a long hiatus and the release of Warpaint, which was definitely worth the long wait. Regardles, unlike a lot of tbc songs, the lyrics to Soul Singing aren't complex or varied; the chorus is perfect and maybe that's why it's so good live. I don't actually have a lot to wax poetic about Soul Singing, I love hearing it, but mostly live. The album version doesn't have the richness or any of the textures that make is so good live. So watch the video linked at the end and you'll know to what I'm referring...

I've been down
Cascading and blue without a sound
Now I've traded my black feathers for a crown
So feed me milk and honey lay me down
Lay me down
Look around
Show me holy places not yet found
Lets disappear and we'll hide underground
And we'll get high and we'll feel safe and sound
It comes around
Around

Chorus:
Got my soul singing my soul singing
Soul singing got my soul singing
Got my soul singing my soul singing
Soul singing got my soul singing
Got my soul singing my soul singing
Soul singing got my soul singing
Got my soul singing my soul singing
Soul singing got my soul singing
Come on now come on now

Home bound
Tired of tired of running town to town
Tired of my heart turned upside down
Now my life a smile and not a frown
The sound
The sound

Chorus

Video of Soul Singing from the VH1 unplugged set

locust street

Locust Street is off tbc's latest album, Warpaint, which is a revival and reunion of the band in so many ways. The album is stellar and if you haven't listened to it already, what are you waiting for? The first few times I listened to Warpaint, Locust Street is the song that stood out to me. Is it the melody? Probably. But I think it's also the intro-- the twangy guitar contrasts perfectly with Chris' voice in this song...he's almost subdued, just letting the music wash over you.

The other great thing about Locust Street is the lyrics, and the meaning Chris attributes to them. Essentially Locust Street is about that other America, the one that isn't always portrayed in music, that's maybe a bit hidden. It's not always shiny or pretty, but it's life, and sometimes that's a struggle but that's the best part. As Chris said, "Locust Street is a song for everyone's who's lost. Don't forget in this squeaky clean world that sometimes you lose, and there can be songs about losers and where that can take us. Everybody goes through these things. There's a Locust Street in every town in America, at least east of the Mississippi."

My favourite verse is just so perfect: "Just a glimpse of what love can be / Once a dream that I owned / One of many lonely, longing souls / At least I'm not alone" The emotion in Chris' voice in this lyric is just.....awe inspiring

Dry bread on the table
Burn the milk
Salt the paper

And it's easy pickins
On locust street
There's no place to hide
And you can't find love on locust street
But you can hear the sunrise crying
Can't you hear the sunrise crying?
A song for you alone

Sad eyes
Weeping willow
Black cat blues
Blacked out window

And it's easy pickins
On locust street
There's no place to hide
And you can't find love on locust street
But you can hear the sunrise crying
Can't you hear the sunrise crying?
A song for you alone

Just a glimpse of what love can be
Once a dream that I owned
One of many lonely, longing souls
At least I'm not alone
Well at least I'm not alone

Ripe off the vine
Now lay rotten
Like a dead end street
Forever forgotten

And it's easy pickins
On locust street
There's no place to hide
And you can't find love on locust street
But you can hear the sunrise crying
Can't you hear the sunrise crying?
A song for you alone

See live, unplugged performance here!

And listen to a version from their live session with NPR here

how much for your wings?

Apparently written on the 4th of July, 1995, and played 56 times live...this song is unique. It's on Three Snakes and One Charm which is a really cohesive album in that a lot of the songs perfectly transition into one another, but particuarly Bring On, Bring On into How Much For Your Wings?. These two songs seem perfect companions, so much so that they were played together in what is largely considered one of tbc's best live performances, that of 12/30/05 at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island. And actually I will need to talk about that live performance of How Much For Your Wings? in this post.

But first, I said this song is unique and that's my first word to describe it because it begins with Rich's vocals, and they are perfect...in fact, it almost seems like Rich should sing the whole song. But just as Rich starts, Chris comes in and their harmony in this song is off the charts. Chris has often talked about the harmony that only brothers can have and How Much For Your Wings? exemplifies that theory. And I wonder if this song isn't really about the relationship between Chris and Rich-- "If I were you and and you were me / We'd know / And could it be what you perceive / Is wrong? / And what I mean what wrong could be / I don't know." So that harmony was perfect in that Rhode Island show-- it was just amplified, as if every word was meant, and Rich, again, was just touching everyone's soul that night with the way he sang each lyric:

How much for your wings?
How much for your wings?
Well it comes and it goes
How much for your wings?
And it's high and low

How much for your wings?
I can name a price
How much for your wings?
Many forget their pridechorus

If I were you and and you were me
We'd know
And could it be what you perceive
Is wrong?
And what I mean what wrong could be
I don't know
I'm not naïve but I believe
So I may grow

How much for your wings?
The soul you kiss good-bye
How much for your wings?
Watch the stars collide
How does it feel
When you're the only one?

thorn in my pride

Ok, so this is a classic tbc song-- as Crowesbase describes, it's "one of the songs that defines The Black Crowes."^[1] Played 653 times live (!!!!), it's off my favourite tbc album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion....this is the album that started me on the Crowes. To be honest, I came to them rather late...but here goes: I saw Chris Robinson at the airport the night before Vegoose 2006 (there will be other entries on this, don't worry!). And, I just couldn't believe it...him...so I made sure to listen and watch their set the next day, and I can quite confidently say that it was life changing. The song that really hooked me was their encore of Remedy. However, that's another song for another time. What Remedy did do though is make me buy TSHMC. And I dare anyone to listen to TSHMC and not be instantly awakened by the entire album-- I truly love each and every song on it. But there are three highlights which are all in my top ten TBC songs now....Remedy, Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye and Thorn in My Pride.

So I was thinking it's nearly impossible to really describe a song, which is why I focus more on why I like certain songs, why I pick them to write about here.....and Thorn in My Pride....has it all! Perfect lyrics, perfect harmony-- the jamming ability... My favourite part is the end when Chris lets the words linger....when he sings "Lover . . . cover me . . . with your sleep / Let your love light shine (let it shine)." The hitch in his voice is just breath-taking. It's so sweet and yet, the song is about something bigger than just a sweet moment. Wanting something for all the right (and wrong) reasons because you physically can't not want it...I'll stop rambling now, but just so you know TSHMC and this song, in particular, are a great place to get started on tbc....just look at me!

Wake me when the day breaks
Show me how the sun shines
Tell me about your heartaches
Who could be so unkind?
Do you dream to touch me?
And smile down deep inside
Or could you just kill me?
It's hard to make up your mind, sometimes.

My angels, my devils, my thorn in my pride.
Are you wanting inspiration
You spill your secrets on me
Then you tell me with a whisper
Of things that will never be.
Do you hear me breathing?
Does it make you want to scream?
Did you ever like a bad dream?
Sometimes life is obscene.

My angels, my devils, my thorn in my pride.
Lover cover me with your sleep
Let your love light shine
Lover cover me with a good dream
Let your love light shine

[1] and Rich calls it the springboard for so many things, including TSHMC

grinnin'

For anyone that hasn't listened to what is now known as the The Lost Crowes recording session, there are some serious gems on it. One of which is the song for today, Grinnin'. Played live three times in 1995^[1], there are several versions of this song. Crowesbase details that Okay By Me (from Band) is a related song because they're the same song, except not. Different Chorus, different jam, different intro...So the speculation is that this was written in that infamous Thanksgiving 1993 @$df#%! Either way, the version on The Lost Crowes is gorgeous. My favourite lyric is definitely "And remember when this did start / It was real, never a lark." There's just such truth in it, and it's even crazier that this was recorded in such a tumultuous time for tbc. Lark is defined as "a source of or quest for amusement or adventure." So the fact that the relationship, the song, the band was never a lark is spot on. This is almost a break-up song . . . but it's far too perfect to be the end of anything. Let me reiterate, if you haven't heard The Lost Crowes yet, listen NOW!

One time we were down and out and out and in
Yes we all have problems
But that's not where I want to begin
Time's gone by, overnight, just like that
And I can tell by what you don't tell me
How much you mean by that

And remember when this did start
It was real, never a lark
It was as deep as we can go
Now I want you all to know

This is not a reflection of you
Or a portrait of me
It's not make believe
It's all too real you see

I want nothing but to know
It was all it seems
I just want to think some of the things you said
You really did mean

If you wanna go
Why should I say no?
That'll be okay by me
I don't want you to leave
You can believe what you believe
That'll be okay by me

I remember when this did start
It was real never a lark
It was deep as deep as it can go
Now I want you all to know

If you wanna go
Why should I say no?
That'll be okay by me

I don't want you to leave
You can believe what you believe
That will be okay by me
That'll be okay by me
That'll be okay by me

[1] 01/25/95, Neue Welt, Berlin, Germany; 3/12/95, Stranahan Theater, Toledo, OH; 3/18/95, Beacon Theater, New York, NY.

diamond ring

I'm just going to begin with my absolute, number one, favourite song by tbc. And, as the title suggests, it's Diamond Ring. Off By Your Side (released in 1999), it's only been played live three times.^[1] After reading reviews of the three shows in which it was played, I just may be alone in loving this song above all other songs by tbc. But, here's the thing: the person about whom this song was written (if such a person even exists and it's even more stilling if it's just fiction), is the luckiest person alive. It's difficult to admit, but I think I love this song so much because I just wish someone would feel that way about me. There are the other obvious perks, too...the refrain of "Baby baby say I do / And I'll spend my life with you." Furthermore, Chris' background vocals singing "Yeah, you know you're the one baby" is just intensely personal. I mean, for me, it doesn't get any better. And the ending chorus of "you" feels like it was just meant for the listener, as if it really was just a whisper in a sea of pillows. Recently, in the iTunes Originals interview/session with Rich and Chris, Chris alluded that Diamond Ring is "a great song on that album" (By Your Side). I have to disagree....Rich and Chris, it is the best song you've ever written, and I really wish I knew the meaning/inspiration behind it.

So, here it is...I would pretty much kill to hear this song live.

Come on baby say my name
Well do you want to play a game
It feels so good it's almost pain
And every time is always the same

It could make a man insane
Well baby that's okay, that's okay

You're the reason I want to sing
You make me feel like a king
I love the sunshine that you bring
I think I'll buy you a diamond ring
A diamond ring
Baby baby say I do
And I'll spend my life with you

Baby lay down by my side
Baby don't you look divine
The way you smile should be a crime
You do it to me every time

It's a feeling that no one could deny
Baby tell me why
Tell me why

lyrics & song history courtesy of my favourite site: http://crowesbase.com/

[1] 03/05/99, The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA; 03/16/99, McCalister Auditorium, Greenville, SC; 04/26/01, House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC.