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".
April the 14th Pt. 1
Gillian Welch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
And put on a shirt his mother made and went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
And he shook it like a Harlem queen
Baby,
Like you never seen
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
How he took it all out of black and white
Grabbed his wand in the other hand and he held on tight
And he shook it like a hurricane
He shook it like to make it break
And he shook it like a holy roller, baby
With his soul at stake
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
He was all alone in a long decline
Thinking how happy John Henry was that he fell down and died
When he shook it and he rang like silver
He shook it and he shine like gold
He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul
He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul, what's wrong with me?
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
Put on a shirt his mother made and he went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
He shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby
Like he never seen
In Gillian Welch's song "April the 14th Pt. 1," the lyrics reflect on the day that Elvis Presley died. The song is sung from the perspective of someone who is thinking about Elvis and his impact on musical history. The first verse describes Elvis as a "country boy" who combed his hair and put on a shirt his mother made before going on the air. He then proceeded to dance and move with great energy, "like a Harlem queen" or a "midnight rambler." The second verse elaborates further on Elvis's legacy and describes how he took music "out of black and white." Elvis "shook it like a hurricane" and "shook it like a holy roller," with his "soul at stake."
The final verse highlights Elvis's personal life and struggles, saying that he was "all alone in a long decline," possibly referring to his decline in physical health or his emotional struggles. The verse mentions that Elvis may have been thinking about John Henry, a legendary character in American folk music who died while competing against a steam drill. The song concludes with a repetition of the first verse, reminding listeners of the impact that Elvis had on the world of music.
Line by Line Meaning
I was thinking that night about Elvis
The singer is reflecting on the night that Elvis Presley passed away
Day that he died, day that he died
She repeats the date of his death, emphasizing how significant it was
Just a country boy that combed his hair
Elvis, despite becoming famous and wealthy, remained a humble Southern boy at heart
And put on a shirt his mother made and went on the air
Even after becoming a star, Elvis still valued the simple things, like his mom's homemade shirts
And he shook it like a chorus girl
Elvis danced with the same energy and enthusiasm as a Broadway performer
And he shook it like a Harlem queen
Elvis emulated the style and grace of drag queens during his performances
He shook it like a midnight rambler, Baby / Like you never seen
Elvis danced with so much passion and energy that it left a lasting impression on his audiences
How he took it all out of black and white
Despite being white, Elvis drew from and was inspired by black music and culture
Grabbed his wand in the other hand and he held on tight
Elvis took control of his musical destiny and wasn't afraid to innovate and try new things
And he shook it like a hurricane
Elvis's dancing was powerful and unstoppable, like a tropical storm
He shook it like to make it break
He danced with such vigor that it felt like he was pushing the limits of what his body could do
And he shook it like a holy roller, baby / With his soul at stake
Elvis's performances were deeply rooted in his religious beliefs, and he sang with all his heart and soul
He was all alone in a long decline
Elvis's decline from health and happiness was a lonely and difficult struggle
Thinking how happy John Henry was that he fell down and died
Elvis may have felt like a subject of envy, but in reality, he was facing the same cruel fate as many other famous musicians who died young
When he shook it and he rang like silver
Elvis's voice was pure and clear, like the chime of a bell
He shook it and he shine like gold
Elvis's talent and charisma were radiant, like the precious metal gold
He shook it and he beat that steam drill, Baby / Well bless my soul
Elvis's music outshone even the most powerful and unstoppable of machines, leaving the listener in awe
Well bless my soul, what's wrong with me?
The singer realizes how deeply affected she still is by Elvis's death, as if she herself is experiencing a heartbreak
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID TODD RAWLINGS, GILLIAN HOWARD WELCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind