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
Kern River
Dave Alvin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was there that I met him
There that I lost my best friend
Now I live in the mountains
I drifted up here with the wind
And I may drown in still water
But I'll never swim Kern River again
But that gusher never came in
And the river was a boundary
Where my darling and I used to swim
One night in the moonlight
The swiftness swept his life away
Now I live on Lake Shasta
And Lake Shasta is where I will stay
There's the South San Joaquin
Where the seeds of the dust bowl are found
And there's a place called Mt. Whitney
From where the mighty Kern River comes down
Now it's not deep nor wide
But it's a mean piece of water my friend
And I may cross on the highway
But I'll never swim Kern River again
I'll never swim Kern River again
It was there that I met him
There that I lost my best friend
Now I live in the mountains
I drifted up here with the wind
And I may drown in still water
But I'll never swim Kern River again
I'll never swim Kern River again
It was there that I met him
There that I lost my best friend
Now I live in the mountains
I drifted up here with the wind
And I may cross on the highway
But I'll never swim Kern River again
No, I'll never swim Kern River again
The song "Kern River" by Dave Alvin is a tribute to his best friend, who drowned in the Kern River in California. The song talks about the singer's memories of the river and how it was a boundary where he used to swim with his lover. This river used to hold a lot of importance in their life and was a vital part of their memory lane. However, now the river holds a darker meaning that's associated with the loss of someone close to the singer. The singer has since then moved to the mountains and has no desire to go back to the river he used to swim in because it holds a lot of grief and pain.
The lyrics speak of how the mighty Kern river was also responsible for the seeds of the dust bowl found in South San Joaquin and Mt. Whitney, from where the river originates. The Kern river may not appear deep or wide, but it's a very treacherous piece of water according to the singer. He has no desire to swim in it again, and though he may cross it on the highway, he will never venture into it.
Overall, the song is a poignant reminder of how fleeting life can be and how the memories of a loved one can forever tint our memories of even the most beautiful moments in life. It's a reminder that life is unpredictable and can change in an instant.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll never swim Kern River again
The singer regrets swimming in Kern River and vows never to repeat it.
It was there that I met him
The singer met his best friend in Kern River.
There that I lost my best friend
His best friend died due to the strong currents of the river.
Now I live in the mountains
The singer moved to the mountains and lives there now.
I drifted up here with the wind
The singer moved to the mountains without a plan or direction, much like the wind.
And I may drown in still water
The singer acknowledges the danger of still water and drowning in it.
But I'll never swim Kern River again
The singer reiterates his vow to never swim in Kern River again.
He grew up in an oil town
The singer grew up in a town with a failed oil well.
But that gusher never came in
The oil well never produced any oil or natural gas.
And the river was a boundary
The river was a boundary the singer's loved ones used to swim across.
Where my darling and I used to swim
The singer would swim with his loved one in Kern River.
One night in the moonlight
Something significant happened during a moonlit night.
The swiftness swept his life away
The strong current of the river resulted in the death of the singer's best friend.
Now I live on Lake Shasta
The singer lives on a different lake called Lake Shasta.
And Lake Shasta is where I will stay
The singer has no plans of moving away from Lake Shasta.
There's the South San Joaquin
The South San Joaquin has a historical significance.
Where the seeds of the dust bowl are found
The Southern San Joaquin area is where the dust bowl started.
And there's a place called Mt. Whitney
The source of the Kern River is Mt. Whitney.
From where the mighty Kern River comes down
Kern River originates from the top of Mt. Whitney.
Now it's not deep nor wide
Despite its beauty, the Kern River is not deep nor wide.
But it's a mean piece of water my friend
The Kern River is not to be underestimated as it can be dangerous.
And I may cross on the highway
The singer may cross the Kern River on a highway but avoid swimming in it.
No, I'll never swim Kern River again
The singer emphatically restates his vow to never swim in Kern River again.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MERLE HAGGARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
erasmus omnius
Love Merle's songs. Love Dave Alvin's performance here.
tippimail1
Jesus-just how good can music get?
iogogilby
Never stop playing Music Dave, you are a Treasure.
Eric Reitzel
Die hard Merle fan says you did an amazzzzing job.......Great voice and Talent !
Gregg
Really did Merle's song justice ... very well done my friend
Alex Johnson
Best performance I've ever seen
Shane Hilton
Loved Your Version.
Patrick Hamrock
Dave Alvin is a National treasure. He hangs out with Tom Russell. Both L.A. cowboys. His guitar picking is as good as it gets. I'm a Downey guy also.
Michael Heaphy
Beautiful !!!!!!
gilliangirl1
Why does this song make me cry? By the third line I've got tears streaming down my face.