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".
Pass You By
Gillian Welch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't look like much, just a flat black Ford
The engine's clean, I could paint it someday
But most of the time I like it this way
Don't turn no head, don't catch no eye
Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by
Want to paint my name all over this town
The folks lined up just to dog my day
Now if i stay quiet, they stay out of my way
Don't turn no head, don't catch no eye
Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by
I got a brand new plan, I'm gonna help myself
'Cause it's a fat man's town, I'm gonna share the wealth
Put the money in the bag, keep your hands in sight
Turn around, count to ten, and I go back into the night
Don't turn no head, don't catch no eye
Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by
Don't come over here, Don't scream don't cry
Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by
I got an old V-8 from the year I was born
Don't look like much, just a flat black Ford
In Gillian Welch's song Pass You By, the singer describes their old V-8 that doesn't look like much but is special to them because it was made the same year they were born. The engine is clean, but they choose to keep the flat black exterior because it suits them. The car doesn't attract attention, but it serves the purpose of getting them from one place to another. The lyrics "Don't turn no head, don't catch no eye, just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by" emphasize the singer's desire to blend in and not draw attention to themselves.
The song also explores the singer's history of trying to make a name for themselves in their town. They used to talk tough and want to be recognized by everyone, but it led to people criticizing them and trying to bring them down. Now, the singer has learned to stay quiet and not draw attention to themselves, which allows them to live their life without interference from others. The lyrics "Now if I stay quiet, they stay out of my way" show the singer's new approach to life.
The last verse describes the singer's plan to rob someone and share the wealth in what they call a "fat man's town." They explain their plan to put the money in the bag and ask the person to turn around and count to ten before they escape. Once again, the singer emphasizes their desire to go unnoticed and avoid drawing attention to themselves.
Overall, Pass You By is a song about the singer's choice to live a quiet life and blend into the background rather than trying to stand out and be recognized. The lyrics explore the idea of self-preservation and the dangers of drawing too much attention to oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
I got an old V-8 from the year I was born
I possess a vintage V-8 engine that was manufactured in the same year as my birth.
Don't look like much, just a flat black Ford
Although it appears unimpressive, my vehicle is simply a flat black Ford model.
The engine's clean, I could paint it someday
My engine is well-maintained and I may eventually consider repainting it.
But most of the time I like it this way
For the most part, I prefer the current state of my vehicle.
Don't turn no head, don't catch no eye
My car is not eye-catching or remarkable.
Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by
I am like a gust of wind on the road, unremarkable and fleeting, easily dismissed by others.
Well I used to talk tough, I used to get loud
At one point, I used to boast and act aggressively.
Want to paint my name all over this town
I desired to be well-known in the city by creating visible symbols of my name.
The folks lined up just to dog my day
However, people would gather to criticize and belittle my actions.
Now if I stay quiet, they stay out of my way
By maintaining a low profile and avoiding unwanted interactions, others have come to ignore my presence.
I got a brand new plan, I'm gonna help myself
I have formed a new strategy in which I will focus on self-improvement.
'Cause it's a fat man's town, I'm gonna share the wealth
Since wealth appears to be the key to success in my area, I will distribute my newfound wealth with others in the community.
Put the money in the bag, keep your hands in sight
I will obtain my newfound wealth through a robbery, ensuring that the victim's hands are in plain view.
Turn around, count to ten, and I go back into the night
Once the crime has been committed, I will count to ten and slip back into the shadows unnoticed.
Don't come over here, Don't scream don't cry
I urge others to stay away from me and remain calm as I am not interested in confrontation.
Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by
I am still unnoticed, like a breeze on the highway, quickly passing by others.
I got an old V-8 from the year I was born
The focus reverts back to my vehicle, the vintage V-8 engine reminds me of my aging body.
Don't look like much, just a flat black Ford
Like my unremarkable car, I may appear ordinary or insignificant to the outside world.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID TODD RAWLINGS, GILLIAN HOWARD WELCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind