Dave Alvin (born November 11, 1955, in Downey, California), is an American … Read Full Bio ↴Dave Alvin (born November 11, 1955, in Downey, California), is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been one of the leading proponents of 'roots' or 'American' music, bringing together elements of rock-and-roll, blues, rural and tejano music.

Alvin and his older brother Phil Alvin grew up loving Americana, country and blues. In 1979 they formed The Blasters with friends Bill Bateman and John Bazz.

Shortly after leaving the Blasters, Alvin joined X as lead guitarist after the departure of Billy Zoom. Alvin amicably left the group to work on a solo project shortly after the recording sessions for their album See How We Are. Alvin is also a member of country band The Knitters (composed mainly of members of X), appearing on 1987's Poor Little Critter on the Road and the 2005 follow-up, The Modern Sounds of The Knitters.

In the early 1980s Alvin, along with fellow Blasters members Bill Bateman and Steve Berlin, performed on several albums with the Los Angeles punk band The Flesh Eaters. These albums are considered precursors to what is now called "deathrock". Alvin also played with the band The Gun Club briefly, playing guitar on "Eternally Is Here" & "The Stranger in Our Town" from the 1984 album, The Las Vegas Story.

Alvin's first solo album, entitled Romeo's Escape (1987) in the United States and Every Night About This Time in England, added a purer country influence along with a larger side-portion of the blues; while the album was critically well received, it didn't fare well in the marketplace, and Alvin was dropped by his American record label, Columbia. Alvin suffered health problems which sidelined him for a while, except for a wild tour with friends Mojo Nixon and Country Dick Montana as the Pleasure Barons, which was described as "a Las Vegas revue from acts who aren't going to be asked to play Vegas." (A live album was released of a second Pleasure Barons tour in 1993.)

In 1989, Dwight Yoakam scored a hit on the country charts with Alvin's song "Long White Cadillac," and Alvin used the royalties to start work on his second solo set, Blue Blvd. Released by the California-based roots-music label Hightone Records in 1991, Blue Blvd received enthusiastic reviews and sold well enough to re-establish Alvin as a significant artist in the roots rock scene.

After releasing Museum of Heart in 1993, Alvin began to turn his attention to acoustic music with 1994's King of California, and over the next several years Alvin moved back and forth between hard-edged roots rock and more introspective acoustic material that still honored his influences (and allowed him to display a greater range as a vocalist).

In 2000, Alvin recorded a collection of traditional folk and blues classics, Public Domain: Songs From the Wild Land, which earned him a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

In 2011, Alvin released the album Eleven Eleven on Yep Roc Records. The album was a return to Alvin's rock roots. According to Rolling Stone, "Though Alvin has often switched between electric and acoustic, almost everything here is plugged in – above all Alvin, an under-recognized guitar hero."
www.davealvin.net

Barn Burning
Dave Alvin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There's a barn burning, baby
There's a barn burning, baby
No, I can't say who's to blame
There's a barn burning, baby
There's a barn burning, baby
No, I can't say who's to blame
No one knows who did it, baby
And you'd best not ask my name

Better close your windows
Better close your windows
Better stay right in your bed
Better close your windows
Better close your windows
Lock your doors, and stay in bed
'Cause there's a barn burning, baby
And they say somebody's dead

There's an evil in this land

Good man's in prison
Good man's in prison
And a bad man runs free
Good man's in prison
Good man's in prison
And a bad man runs free
There's a barn burning, baby
Best not say you spoke to me

'Cause there's an evil in this land

The rich get richer
The rich get richer
And the poor, they just stay poor
The rich get richer
The rich get richer
And the poor, they just stay poor
Oh, there's a barn burning, baby
Guess you won't see me no more

Oh, there's an evil in this land
Yes, there's an evil in this land

There's a barn burning, baby

There's a barn burning, baby
No, I can't say who's to blame

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Dave Alvin's "Barn Burning" express a sense of chaos, danger, and injustice. The first verse establishes that a barn is on fire, but there's no one to blame. The repetition of the phrase "There's a barn burning, baby" emphasizes the urgency of the situation. The second verse advises the listener to stay inside and secure their house, as someone may have died. The uncertainty and fear of the situation are palpable.

The third verse suggests that there's an underlying evil in the world. The juxtaposition of a good man being in prison while a bad man runs free hints at the larger societal issues at play. The final verse hints at the wealth inequality that is often the root of societal instability. The singer decides to distance themselves from the situation entirely, telling the listener that they won't be seen again.

Overall, "Barn Burning" paints a picture of a world on the brink of chaos, where justice is elusive, and the powerful continue to amass wealth at the expense of the less fortunate.

Line by Line Meaning

There's a barn burning, baby
Something is on fire and burning down nearby, baby

No, I can't say who's to blame
I don't know who started the fire, baby

No one knows who did it, baby
Nobody knows who started the fire, baby

And you'd best not ask my name
Don't ask me who started the fire, baby

Better close your windows
You should shut your windows, baby

Better stay right in your bed
You should stay in bed, baby

Lock your doors, and stay in bed
Lock your doors and stay in bed, baby

'Cause there's a barn burning, baby
There's a fire nearby, baby

And they say somebody's dead
There are rumors that someone died, baby

Good man's in prison
An innocent person is in jail, baby

And a bad man runs free
A guilty person is out of jail, baby