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".
Hard Times
Gillian Welch Lyrics
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And he loved that mule and the mule loved him
When the day got long as it does about now
I'd hear him singing to his mule cow
Calling, "Come on my sweet old girl, and I'll bet the whole damn world
That we're gonna make it yet to the end of the row"
Singing "Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind no more"
Said it's a mean old world, heavy in need
And that big machine is just picking up speed
And we're supping on tears, and we're supping on wine
We all get to heaven in our own sweet time
So come all you Asheville boys and turn up your old-time noise
And kick 'til the dust comes up from the cracks in the floor
Singing, "Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind, brother
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind no more"
But the camp town man, he doesn't plow no more
I seen him walking down to the cigarette store
Guess he lost that knack and he forgot that song
Woke up one morning and the mule was gone
So come on, you ragtime kings, and come on, you dogs, and sing
And pick up a dusty old horn and give it a blow
Playing, "Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind, honey
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind, sugar
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind no more"
The song 'Hard Times' by Gillian Welch starts with a description of a camp town man who used to plow and sing. He shares a deep bond with his mule, and as the day gets long, and work gets tough, he sings to his mule to keep his spirits high. The man is determined, sharing that he would bet the whole world that he and his mule will make it to the end of the row. He then sings the chorus where he vows that hard times aren't going to rule his mind anymore. He emphasizes that hard times won't break him, singing to his mule that their love for each other will help them overcome anything.
The lyrics then shift to the state of the world, describing it as a mean, cruel place, where we consume tears and wine. Despite this, the singer emphasizes that everyone will eventually make it to heaven in their own sweet time. To ward off hard times, the singer calls upon the boys from Asheville to turn up their old-time noise and kick until dust comes up from the cracks in the floor. Then the chorus repeats, stating that hard times won't rule his mind, and he is determined to keep going despite the difficulties.
The song comes to an end with a sad realization that the camp town man doesn't plow anymore. The singer has seen him walking down to the cigarette store, showing that he has lost his purpose and motivation. The man forgot his song, and his mule is gone. Despite this, the singer calls upon ragtime kings and dogs to come and sing and blow their old horns. The chorus repeats again, remaining hopeful, declaring that hard times don't have to rule their minds anymore.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a camp town man, used to plow and sing
There was a man from a small rural town who used to work hard and sing while tending to his mule.
And he loved that mule and the mule loved him
The man and his mule had a close and affectionate relationship.
When the day got long as it does about now
When the day would drag on with weariness, as it tends to do.
I'd hear him singing to his mule cow
I would hear the man singing to his mule, a sign of his devotion and contentment.
Calling, "Come on my sweet old girl, and I'll bet the whole damn world
That we're gonna make it yet to the end of the row"
He would encourage the mule with kindness and confidence, promising they would both succeed in their hard work together.
Singing "Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind, Bessie
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind no more"
Despite the struggles and pain of life, he refuses to let his mind be consumed by hardship and instead chooses to remain strong and hopeful.
Said it's a mean old world, heavy in need
And that big machine is just picking up speed
And we're supping on tears, and we're supping on wine
We all get to heaven in our own sweet time
Life can be harsh and unforgiving, and the challenges of the modern world seem to be accumulating quickly. We endure suffering and try to find solace where we can, but we can only hope to find our own version of happiness in the time we have.
So come all you Asheville boys and turn up your old-time noise
And kick 'til the dust comes up from the cracks in the floor
In the face of the difficult times, let's come together and make our voices heard, celebrating our culture and making a stand against the oppressive forces around us.
Singing, "Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind, brother
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind no more"
We will not let the pain and sorrow of the world control our thoughts or our lives.
But the camp town man, he doesn't plow no more
I seen him walking down to the cigarette store
Guess he lost that knack and he forgot that song
Woke up one morning and the mule was gone
The man's days of hard work and well-being have ended, and he now spends his days idly wandering and smoking cigarettes. He has lost his spark and forgotten the song of his life, and his mule, his loyal companion, is no longer with him.
So come on, you ragtime kings, and come on, you dogs, and sing
And pick up a dusty old horn and give it a blow
Playing, "Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind, honey
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind, sugar
Hard times ain't gonna rule my mind no more"
So let's come together again, all you fellow musicians and friends, and make a joyful noise against the pain and misfortune that would control us. We will stand strong and refuse to be defeated by the hardships of life.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: David Todd Rawlings, Gillian Howard Welch
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind