Williams is a stunning blues-soaked, rhythmic, and soulful guitarist. His musical vision spans continents and genres – blues, slide, swingin’ jazz, fingerstyle – and manifests itself in a hybrid of funky chords, walking bass lines, and fiery leads. With influences as diverse as John Fahey, Michael Bloomfield, and Joseph Spence, it is pleasantly difficult to pin Williams down. He’s a guitarist, a songwriter, and an interpreter. For example, Williams’ signature guitar riffs can be heard in between news segments on National Public Radio in the United States, his song Forget About Him is a mainstay on XM Radio, and his cover of the Blind Boy Fuller classic Weepin’ Willow Blues regularly brings audiences to their feet.
Williams is also one of the most entertaining and engaging performers on the circuit today. His concerts are legendary: a constantly evolving mix of blues, originals, ballads, and instrumentals, presented in a fresh and personable way. More than one audience member has been heard to muse about a Brooks Williams concert: “Now there’s a musician who loves his work!” From coast-to-coast, country-to-country, Williams and his guitars roll and tumble like nobody’s business.
A self-professed road warrior, Williams has toured relentlessly throughout his 20-year (and counting!) career, zig-zagging back and forth across the United States and Canada, plus regularly hopping overseas to England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. He’s a mainstay on club, coffeehouse and festival stages, including The Marlborough Jazz Festival in Marlborough, England, Whelan's in Dublin, Ireland, Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, The Snow Goose Theater in Anchorage, Alaska, Summer-fest in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Uncle Calvin's in Dallas, Texas (to name but a very few). Says Williams: "My favorite hours of the day are when I’m on-stage!"
Brooks Williams is from Statesboro, Georgia – the town made famous by Blind Willie McTell in his song Statesboro Blues – but musically came into his own in Boston, Massachusetts. While nearly everyone else was peddling vinyl and cassettes, Williams was one of the first independent artists to release a recording on compact disc. His 1990 direct-to-digital showcase of solo guitar and voice, North From Statesboro, turned heads.
North From Statesboro was just the tip of the iceberg. Subsequent albums, each different and daring in some way, received constant airplay on public and college radio and garnered him praise from the likes of All Things Considered, the BBC, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Acoustic Guitar, Performing Songwriter, and Guitar Player, including the ground-breaking Back To Mercy (1992), the best-selling Knife Edge (1996), the instrumental gem Little Lion (2000), and his classic Blues and Ballads (2006). Williams has released fifteen CDs to date (all available on iTunes) on labels like Green Linnet, Signature Sounds, and Solid Air. Williams, who now makes his home in the Northampton area of Western Massachusetts, has already begun plans to record a new CD in early Summer 2007. And discussions have begun regarding a concert DVD and an instructional DVD.
Brooks Williams has also recorded tracks for an impressive list of compilations. Most notably is the National Reso-phonic Instrumental Project (proceeds benefit BluesAid and the Music Maker Relief Foundation), Letters To Bert (a tribute to guitar legend Bert Jansch), and Wonderland, a holiday sampler from Signature Sounds (which features Brooks’ Dave-Brubeck-meets-Tony-Rice treatment of I Wonder As I Wander).
Coming in 2007 is the Steve Tilston box set (a tribute album), which features Brooks’ arrangement of Here Comes The Night, and DeLovely Guitar, a guitar tribute to the music of Cole Porter put out by Solid Air Records and includes Williams’ arrangement of You’re The Top.
Another stunning compilation is the memoir Between The Strings: The Secret Lives of Guitars, an engaging collection of essays written by guitarists about their guitars. In addition to Brooks’ essay about temporarily losing his beloved red guitar while on tour in Ireland, are essays by B.B. King, Doc Watson, Laurence Juber, Tuck Andress, and George Benson, among others.
Over the years the breadth of Brooks Williams’ musical vision has broadened and deepened beyond solo recording and performing. This certifiable triple-threat (guitarist, songwriter, singer) is also a fearless collaborator and educator.
His collaborations include his critically acclaimed duo with violinist and singer Rani Arbo (which has fans lining up around the block to experience their eclectic take on swing, jazz, and traditional music), his Guitar Summit concerts of Blues and American Songbook explorations with fellow-guitarist Paul Asbell, the guitarist-singer-in-the-round concerts with Garnet Rogers, and the Trans-Atlantic Song-swap concerts with English guitarist and songwriter Steve Tilston.
Brooks Williams is also a well-respected teacher who regularly leads guitar, performance, and songwriting workshops at The Swannanoa Gathering (North Carolina), Augusta Heritage Guitar Week (West Virginia), Midnight Sun Song Camp (Alaska), Cedar Run Song Workshops (Virginia), Newport Guitar Festival (Rhode Island), and Summer Acoustic Music Week (New Hampshire), to name but a few. Additionally, Williams runs a series of very successful summer day camps teaching beginning blues and roots guitar to kids. Williams is devoted to not only preserving the art of the acoustic guitar but to educating a future generation of players.
Brooks Williams’ music rocks like the blues and swings like jazz. It is as fresh and original as any music you are likely to hear - and inspires Dirty Linen magazine to call Brooks Williams one of "America's musical treasures."
Website: www.brookswilliams.com
mountain
Brooks Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You should get out and see the world
Pack up your suitcase and leave as soon as you can
From here to the city is one long highway
And the cars are backed up for miles
Leave your ego at home it can't buy you nothing
At least where love bids you to feed
Though it may take a while to receive
The jellyroll baker he's such a troublemaker
He may ask you to pay in advance
So spare us the sermon
Rollup your sleeves
Let your life speak through your deeds
You should get out more come down off your mountain
You should get out and see the world
Pack up your suitcase and leave as soon as you can
Love is a fortune it cannot be saved
Love must be given away
So spare us the sermon
Rollup your sleeves
Let your life speak through your deeds (repeat)
Brooks Williams's song "Mountain" is a gentle, encouraging tune that urges listeners to break out of their comfort zones and experience the world beyond their own personal "mountain." The lyrics argue that love and happiness cannot be found by isolating oneself from the world, and instead advocate for a life of action and exploration. The first verse speaks to the singer's desire for the listener to leave their mountain and venture out into the world, away from their isolation. The second verse tells the listener to leave their ego at home since it cannot buy them anything of true value. The next few lines reference the birthplace of soul, encouraging the listener to visit and enjoy the experiences that can be found there, even if it means taking a risk or waiting for a little while.
The lyric "spare us the sermon, roll up your sleeves / let your life speak through your deeds" serves as a call to action, as it encourages the listener to get out and do something instead of merely talking about it. The final verse repeats the chorus, reiterating the importance of leaving one's mountain to find love and happiness. The overall message of the song is a call to live an active and adventurous life, to take risks and be open to new experiences, and to always be ready to give and receive love.
Line by Line Meaning
You should get out more come down off your mountain
One should leave their comfort zone and explore the world.
You should get out and see the world
Encouragement to travel and gain new experiences.
Pack up your suitcase and leave as soon as you can
Urging to travel without delay.
From here to the city is one long highway
The distance from one's home to the city is far and requires a journey on a highway.
And the cars are backed up for miles
The traffic on the highway is congested.
Leave your ego at home it can't buy you nothing
Having an ego won't get you far and won't bring true happiness.
At least where love bids you to feed
Love is what really matters in life and it is important to follow where it leads you.
Catch yourself a meal at the birthplace of soul
Visit a place where great music is made and enjoy a good meal there.
Though it may take a while to receive
One may need to wait for the meal.
The jellyroll baker he's such a troublemaker
The baker may be difficult to deal with.
He may ask you to pay in advance
The baker may require payment upfront.
So spare us the sermon
Don't lecture us or be preachy.
Rollup your sleeves
Get to work and taking action.
Let your life speak through your deeds
Actions speak louder than words, so let your actions define you.
Love is a fortune it cannot be saved
Love is valuable but cannot be hoarded or saved.
Love must be given away
Love must be shared with others.
Contributed by Josiah B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.