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
Haley's Comet
Dave Alvin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a pancake house near the Rio Grande
The waitress said, "I don't know you from diddley"
"To me you're just another tired old man"
He walked alone down on Main street
A hot wind was blowing up from the south
There were two eyes staring in a pawn shop window
And a whiskey bottle was lifted up to his mouth
[Chorus]
There was no moon shining on the Rio Grande
As a truck of migrants pulled through town
And the jukebox was busted at the bus de-pot
When Haley's Comet hit the ground
He blacked out all the windows in his bedroom
He was talking to the ceiling and the walls
He closed his eyes and hit the stage in 1955
As the screams of the children filled the hall
[Chorus]
This cop walked into a pancake house in Texas
And ordered up a couple of cups to go
And he tells the waitress, "Hey, I just found the body
Of some guy who was famous long ago"
The song "Haley's Comet" by Dave Alvin is a somber and melancholy song that tells the story of Bill Haley, a once-beloved musician who enjoyed very few successes in his later years. The lyrics begin with Bill Haley visiting a pancake house near the Rio Grande and asking the waitress if she knew who he was. The waitress, who had never heard of him, responded with indifference. From here, the lyrics paint a picture of a once-great musician now walking alone down Main Street, drinking whiskey from a bottle and staring at a pawn shop window. The chorus speaks to Haley's perceived lack of recognition, even in his later years, as the truck of migrants pulls through town and the jukebox was busted at the bus depot when, ironically, Haley’s Comet hit the ground.
The song’s second verse delves into Haley's struggles with aging and facing the realities of his former fame, clearly communicating the loss of purpose and identity that comes with an impactful career with an equally remarkable descent. The lyrics paint a picture of someone unmoored, Blacking out windows, talking to ceilings and walls, and reliving past concerts, reflecting that there was no more rushing adulation, no more packed halls, simply memories to occupy one's mind, and a haunting realisation of what the heydays.
Overall, "Haley's Comet" is a poignant song about fame and obscurity, nostalgia, and the tribulations of being an aged and retired musician. While it presents a bleak picture, it's an all-too-common reality for musicians of all genres who have seen the highs and lows of a career in the music industry.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you know who I am?” said Bill Haley
Bill Haley introduces himself to the waitress at a pancake house near the Rio Grande.
The waitress said, “I don’t know you from diddley”
The waitress tells Haley that she doesn't recognize him and to her, he is just another old man.
He walked alone down on Main street
Haley walks down Main street by himself.
A hot wind was blowing up from the south
A hot wind was blowing from the south.
There were two eyes staring in a pawn shop window
He sees two eyes staring at him from a pawn shop window.
And a whiskey bottle was lifted up to his mouth
He takes a drink from a whiskey bottle.
There was no moon shining on the Rio Grande
The Rio Grande had no moonlight on it.
As a truck of migrants pulled through town
A truck filled with migrants was passing through town.
And the jukebox was busted at the bus depot
The jukebox at the bus depot was not working.
When Haley’s Comet hit the ground
Haley’s Comet finally landed on Earth.
He blacked out all the windows in his bedroom
Haley blocks out all the light in his bedroom.
He was talking to the ceiling and the walls
Haley started talking to the ceiling and the walls.
He closed his eyes and hit the stage in 1955
Haley imagines himself back on stage in 1955.
As the screams of the children filled the hall
As children screamed in excitement in the audience.
This cop walked into a pancake house in Texas
A cop visits a pancake house in Texas.
And ordered up a couple of cups to go
The cop orders takeaway cups of coffee.
And he tells the waitress, “Hey, I just found the body
The cop tells the waitress he discovered Haley's body.
Of some guy who was famous long ago”
The cop realizes that the body was once a famous person.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAVE ALVIN, TON RUSSELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind