Gillian Welch
Gillian Howard Welch (born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwrite… Read Full Bio ↴Gillian Howard Welch (born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, country and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms."

Welch and Rawlings have collaborated on seven critically acclaimed albums, five released under her name, and two released under the name Dave Rawlings Machine. Her 1996 debut, Revival, and the 2001 release Time (The Revelator), received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Her 2003 album, Soul Journey, introduced electric guitar, drums, and a more upbeat sound to their body of work. After a gap of eight years, she released a fifth studio album, The Harrow & The Harvest, in 2011, which was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Welch was an associate producer and performed on two songs of the soundtrack of the Coen brothers 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a platinum album that won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002. She also appeared in the film attempting to buy a Soggy Bottom Boys record. Welch, while not one of the principal actors, did sing and provide additional lyrics to the Sirens song "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby." In 2018 she and Rawlings wrote the song "When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings" for the Coens' The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, for which they received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Welch has collaborated and recorded with Alison Krauss, Ryan Adams, Jay Farrar, Emmylou Harris, the Decemberists, Sam Phillips, Conor Oberst, Ani DiFranco, and Robyn Hitchcock.

Gillian Howard Welch was born on October 2, 1967 in New York City, and was adopted by Mitzie Welch (née Marilyn Cottle) and Ken Welch, comedy and music entertainers. Her biological mother was a freshman in college, and her father was a musician visiting New York City. Welch has speculated that her biological father could have been one of her favorite musicians, and she later discovered from her adoptive parents that he was a drummer. Alec Wilkinson of The New Yorker stated that "from an address they had been given, it appeared that her mother ... may have grown up in the mountains of North Carolina". When Welch was three, her adoptive parents moved to Los Angeles to write music for The Carol Burnett Show. They also appeared on The Tonight Show.

As a child, Welch was introduced to the music of American folk singers Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and the Carter Family. She performed folk songs with her peers at the Westland Elementary School in Los Angeles. Welch later attended Crossroads School, a high school in Santa Monica, California. While in high school, a local television program featured her as a student who "excelled at everything she did."

Welch and Rawlings incorporate elements of early twentieth century music such as old time, classic country, gospel and traditional bluegrass with modern elements of rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll, jazz, and punk rock. The New Yorker's Alec Wilkinson maintained their musical style is "not easily classified—it is at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms".

The instrumentation on their songs is usually a simple arrangement, with Welch and Rawlings accompanying their own vocals with acoustic guitars, banjos, or a mandolin. Welch plays rhythm guitar with a 1956 Gibson J-50 (or banjo), while Rawlings plays lead on a 1935 Epiphone Olympic Guitar.The New Yorker's Wilkinson described Rawlings as a "strikingly inventive guitarist" who plays solos that are "daring melodic leaps". A review in No Depression by Andy Moore observed that Rawlings "squeezes, strokes, chokes and does just about everything but blow into" his guitar.

Many songs performed by Welch and Rawlings contain dark themes about social outcasts struggling against such elements as poverty, drug addiction, death, a disconnection from their family, and an unresponsive God. Despite Welch being the lead singer, several of these characters are male. Welch has commented, "To be commercial, everybody wants happy love songs. People would flat-out ask me, 'Don't you have any happy love songs?' Well, as a matter of fact, I don't. I've got songs about orphans and morphine addicts." To reflect these themes, Welch and Rawlings often employ a slow pace to their songs. Their tempo is compared to a "slow heartbeat", and Cowperthwait of Rolling Stone observed that their songs "can lull you into near-hypnosis and then make your jaw drop with one final revelation".
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Gillian Welch Lyrics


02. Tear My Stillhouse Down Put no stone at my head, no flowers on my…
03 Wrecking ball Look out boys, 'cause I'm a rollin' stone That's what I…
08. Tear My Stillhouse Down Put no stone at my head, no flowers on my…
204 Not Afraid to Die Nobody knows what waits ahead Beyond the earth and sky Lie-d…
Acony Bell The fairest bloom the mountain know Is not an iris or…
Annabelle We lease twenty acres and one Ginny mule From the Alabama…
April The 14th When the iceberg hit How was I to know That God moves…
April the 14th Part 1 When the iceberg hit Oh, they must of known God moves on…
April the 14th Pt. 1 I was thinking that night about Elvis Day that he died,…
April the 14th, Part 1 When the iceberg hit Oh, they must have known God moves on…
Back In Time Standing on the corner With a nickel or a dime There use…
Barroom Girls Oh the night came undone like a party dress And fell…
Beautiful Boy Oh, beautiful boy What did I do to win your love? I…



Black Star I get home from work and you're still standing in…
Breadline Blues 2008 The latest news Has struck me funny Says you have no friends…
By The Mark When I cross over I will shout and sing I will know…
Caleb Meyer Caleb Meyer, he lived alone In them hollarin' pines He made …
Dark Turn of Mind Take me and love me if you want me Don't ever…
Dear Someone I want to go all over the world And start living…
Down Along the Dixie Line Way down in Dixie, oh do they miss me Down along…
Elvis Presley Blues I was thinking that night about Elvis Day that he died,…
Everything Is Free Everything is free now, that's what they say Everything I ev…
Good Til Now Balled out wasted and I feel I'm going down Balled out…
Hard Times There was a camp town man, used to plow and…
Hickory Wind D …
Honey Now I can't be called Begged or bought If you want to be…
How's About You Time after time you've proven untrue Leavin' me home to cry…
Howdy Howdy Tell me, what did the blackbird say to the crow? Dry…
I [Chorus: x2] One monkey don't stop the show One monkey don't…
I Don't Want To Know Don't you know, when you're sad And all your sweet dreams…
I Dream A Highway Oh, I dream a highway back to you, love A winding…
I Had A Real Good Mother & Father [Chorus] I had a real good mother and father And they surely…
I Had A Real Good Mother And Father [Chorus] I had a real good mother and father And they sure…
I Just Came Home to Count the Memories I saw roses choking in the grass flaking paint In a…
I Just Want You To Know Don't you know, when you're sad And all your sweet dreams…
I Made a Lover I made a lover's prayer I made a lover's prayer Then watch…
I Made A Lover's Prayer I made a lover's prayer I made a lover's prayer Then watched…
I Made A Lovers Prayer I made a lover's prayer I made a lover's prayer Then watch…
I Want To Sing That Rock And Roll I want to sing that rock and roll. I want to…
I'll Fly Away Some bright morning when this life is over I'll fly away To…
I'll Fly Away (Soundtrack Version (O Brother Some bright morning when this life is over I'll fly away T…
I'm Not Afraid to Die Nobody knows what waits ahead Beyond the earth and sky Lie-d…
I'm Over You Don't you know, when you're sad And all your sweet dreams…
Im Not Afraid to Die Nobody knows what waits ahead Beyond the earth and sky Lie-d…
In Tall Buildings Someday, baby, when I am a man, and other's have taught…
Leaving Train The finest silver needle Shouldn't ever slide between When l…
Like a Wrecking Ball Look out boys, 'cause I'm a rollin' stone That's what I…
Look at Miss Ohio Oh me oh my oh, look at Miss Ohio She's a-running…
Lowlands Saw a girl on the street from my home Like a…
Lua I know that it is freezing but I think we…
Make Me A Pallet On Your Floo Make me down a pallet on your floor Make me down…
Mighty Good Book There's a mighty good book and it tells a story It's…
Miner In the black dust towns of East Tennessee All the works…
My First Lover My first lover My first lover He was tall and breezy with…
My Morphine I looked around and all up and down I never wasted…
No One Know My Name Oh my mother was just a girl, seventeen Oh my mother…
No One Knows My Name Oh my mother was just a girl, seventeen Oh my mother…
One and Only There's a hundred bluebirds Up above the clouds Putting all …
One Little Song There's gotta be a song let to sing Cause everybody can't…
One Monkey [Chorus: x2] One monkey don't stop the show One monkey don't…
One More Dollar A long time ago I left my home For a job…
One Morning One mornin', one mornin' as work I begun What did I…
Only One And Only There's a hundred bluebirds Up above the clouds Putting all …
Orphan Girl I am an orphan on God's highway But I'll share my…
Paper Wings Paper wings, all torn and bent But you made me feel…
Pass You By I got an old V-8 from the year I was…
Red Clay Halo All the girls all dance with the boys from the…
Revelator Darling remember from when you come to me That I'm the…
Revelator (album version) Darling, remember When you come to me I'm the pretender And …
Rock Of Ages [Chorus] Round, round, I wanna go round Wanna see the rock o…
Roll On I want to sing that rock and roll. I want to…
Ruination Day And the great barge sank. And the Okies fled. And the grea…
Scarlet Town Buddy I went down to Scarlet Town Never been there before We…
Silver Dagger I'm on the dark side of a hollow hill The sun…
Six White Horses Six white horses coming two by two Six white horses coming…
Strange Isabella Strange Isabella Never had a coat to wear And strange Isabel…
Tear My Stillhouse Down Put no stone at my head, no flowers on my…
Tennessee I kissed you 'cause I've never been an angel I learned…
The Devil Had A Hold Of Me Now I was just a girl of two Now I was…
The Way It Goes Becky Johnson bought the farm Put a needle in her arm That's…
The Way it Will Be I lost you awhile ago But still I don't know why I…
The Way the Whole Thing Ends Say you wanna see my garden And you wanna make it…
Valley of Tears I've been riding high But I don't know why everybody wants…
Wayside / Back In Time Standing on the corner With a nickel or a dime There use…
Whiskey Girl Nowhere man …
Wind And Rain There were two sisters of county Clair Oh, the wind and…
Winter Oh little red bird Come to my window sill Been so lonesome S…
Winters Come & Gone Oh little red bird Come to my window sill Been so lonesome…
Winters Come And Gone Oh little red bird Come to my window sill Been so lonesome S…
Wrecking Ball Look out boys, 'cause I'm a rollin' stone That's what I…


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