Grayson Capps (born April 17, 1967 in Opelika, Alabama) is an American sing… Read Full Bio ↴Grayson Capps (born April 17, 1967 in Opelika, Alabama) is an American singer-songwriter.

The title Rott 'N' Roll originated with Capps’ fans in New Orleans as an explanation of his music. Prostitutes, alcoholics, vagrants and drifters often inhabit the southern troubadour’s songs, while his live performances are ignited by sanctified Southern soul, howling back-country stomp and raucous roadhouse blues.. Slowly, but surely, the phrase spread from one city to the next as the definition of the Grayson Capps experience. For Grayson himself, Rott 'N' Roll has come to represent the state of mind needed to play uncompromising roots music as a means for survival in the Dirty South; the yin and yang between the debauchery of life on the road and the come down upon returning home.. Yet, as Grayson makes clear on “Back To The Country,” the album’s opening track, when Rott 'N' Roll is the credo, even the serenity of home means, "eating cornbread and raising hell."

Capps first discovered music in Alabama where he was born and raised. His father and friends would sit around the house getting drunk, telling stories and strumming acoustic guitars. They'd run down songs by Hank Williams, Tom T. Hall, Glenn Campbell and Woodie Guthrie to name but a few. The idealism of those "Cannery Row" experiences would come to define his outlook on the world. Heading off to Tulane University as a theater major on scholarship, Grayson also took up playing music. He'd form two bands that would have moderate national success--The House Levelers and Stavin' Chain--receiving acclaim in publications like Spin and USA Today and opening shows for Keith Richards, The Replacements and Crowded House. After graduating college, he took to squatting with friends in a string of abandoned houses on the outskirts of the Big Easy, stealing electricity, growing a garden and busking for whatever money was needed. Grayson recounts those times on a number of songs off his debut album, If You Knew My Mind. One of those memories even finds its way onto Rott 'N' Roll in the form of "Ike."

With both bands ultimately breaking up, Capps began performing as a solo artist. It was around this time that the young filmmaker Shainee Gabel (who befriended Capps through a previous project they'd worked on together) discovered his father's unpublished novel Off Magazine Street. She fell in love with the story and set out to turn it into a film. Through a confluence of events, the movie A Love Song For Bobby Long, starring John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson, was born. Capps wrote four songs for the film, including the title track. He made a cameo appearance, as well. The story was based upon those early years with his father's friends back in Alabama. Bobby Long was, indeed, a real person. He died unceremoniously in a Johnson City, Tennessee V.A. hospital. All these years later, Grayson saw Bobby's life memorialized by Hollywood. Life as art or art as life?

Capps signed with Hyena Records just prior to the film's premier. He simultaneously released his aforementioned debut album, If You Knew My Mind, to rave reviews from publications like No Depression, Harp and American Songwriter. He set out touring, building his audience with marathon live shows that married his keen sense of storytelling to the glory of Southern rock. He made it to Europe for a string of shows. To this day his audience continues to swell on the other side of the Atlantic as witnessed by his recent sold out performance at The Paradiso in Amsterdam.

While on the road in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and changed everything. With the city in flux and the demands for a new album pressing down on him, Capps moved to a converted farmhouse in Franklin, Tennessee with his longtime companion Trina Shoemaker (who co-produces Rott 'N' Roll) and his son Waylon. He recorded the album Wail & Ride. More touring followed, including performances at Bonnaroo and The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He'd also release a dusty collection of acoustic tracks from 2002 called Songbones as a limited edition set.

All of this leads to Rott 'N' Roll, the definitive Capps document to date. Cut at his home studio in Franklin, it's the first album to solely feature his band, The Stumpknockers. Its predecessor, Wail & Ride, presented Capps as a singer-songwriter, delicately framing his songs with pristine sound and a mix of studio musicians alongside his band-mates. Rott 'N' Roll, on the other hand, is about an attitude, a mood and a viewpoint, warts and all. Everything was tracked live and much of the final product is culled from first takes. The band, featuring Tommy “Ol’ Grover” MacLuckie on lead guitar, Josh Kerin on bass and John Milham on drums, would spend days at Capps' farmhouse rehearsing during the afternoons and hanging out around a bonfire in his backyard at night. If the spirit moved them, they'd cut a track, overdub a guitar part, record a drunken chorus of rednecks who found their way to the sessions from all points south: "Gran Maw Maw" and "Big Ol' Woman" being case in point. If they weren't feeling inspired, they'd wander around the mountain that serves as Grayson's backyard, quite literally bonding with the Native American spirits. Rott ‘N’ Roll’s second song "Arrowhead" paints a picture of this idyllic setting.

Throughout the 13 tracks on Rott 'N' Roll, the listener gets a front row seat to the subversion. "Big Black Buzzard" circles with wicked hill country fervor that could make R.L. Burnside run for cover cover. "The Sun Don't Shine On Willy" is informed by Grayson’s gift for the Southern Gothic, with lyrics like: "He looks like old Boo Radley, he’s pale and his veins are blue, now he looks like one of them Hadleys after they’ve been drunk a month or two." Yet, there are also moments of clarity and tenderness. "Guitar" is perhaps Grayson's most autobiographical song to date. "Going Back To The Country," while full of hiss and swagger, addresses the search for truth and simplicity in a fast changing, often deceptive modern world. "The Fear Fruit Bearing Tree" is a biting piece of poetry that speaks truth to power in these times of corporate greed and government fear mongering. "Sock Monkey," marks guitarist Tommy MacLuckie's songwriting debut with a blast of country punk absurdity.

Having drawn comparisons over his last few albums to the likes of Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt and Drive By Truckers, to name but a few, Rott ‘N’ Roll proves Grayson Capps an artist equally singular in vision as those to whom he’s compared. He doesn’t always paint the prettiest pictures or offer a gleamy white smile, but he does reach down deep to remind us of our own humanity. Grayson’s own words illuminate it best: “How many times must it be said? Though blood runs blue, you still think it’s red, because that’s how it appears when it hits oxygen. Our life is an illusion, and we create the confusion, so take a dose of seclusion to dilute the delusion. And hope that it’s not in vein that we look into the spheres of the fear-fruit bearing tree before we eat again.”

For more information on Grayson Capps and/or promo, interview and photos requests, please contact Kevin Calabro at Hyena Records: 718-369-6567 or HyenaRecords@aol.com

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Graveyard
Grayson Capps Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Midnight, moonbeam, sepulchre
Graveyard cold as bones
Eliza is in the ground
Thunder is her moan
A hound dog in the distance howls
To a church bell in the rain
Concrete angels pray
For those who've got no names

There's a Bible in the mud
Open to proverbs from the sky
You can't turn the pages
It's to wet to even try
I'm walking trough the graveyard
Looking for Eliza's name
She cuts me with the wind
Stabs me with the rain
(saying) "I forgot to remember
What it is that I know
I'm lying in the graveyard
I've got no place to go"
Uh, uh, in the graveyard
Uh, uh, in the grave...
She was of my blood,
My sweat and my bones
But I killed her with love
So I could be alone
And now that I'm alone
All I fell is pain
Like a cold steel knife
As it cuts into her veins
Good bye sweet Eliza
I release to the void
You're to weak to exist
And too strong to be destroyed
But please, show me a sign
Everything is gona be all right
That your chrysalis death
Will soon return to life.
'Cause I forgot to remember
What it is that I know
I'm lying in the graveyard
I've got no place to go

Uh, uh, in the graveyard
Uh, uh, in the grave...

Overall Meaning

Grayson Capps's song Graveyard paints a vivid image of a cold and desolate graveyard. The first lines of the song set the mood with a haunting description of the environment: "Midnight, moonbeam, sepulchre, graveyard cold as bones." Through the lyrics, we learn that Eliza is buried in the graveyard, her presence still felt through the sounds of thunder and the howling of a nearby hound dog. Concrete angels stand guard over the graves of those who have no names, while a Bible sits open in the mud, its pages too wet to turn. The singer of the song is walking through the graveyard, searching for Eliza's name. As he searches, he is overcome with a feeling of sorrow and regret. He confesses to killing Eliza with love, just so he could be alone. Now that she is gone, he is consumed with pain and darkness, lying in the graveyard with no place to go.

The song is a reflection on mortality and the complex feelings of grief, regret, and love that accompany loss. The graveyard serves as a powerful metaphor for these emotions, a place where the past and present converge, where the living and dead intersect. Through the lyrics, Capps skillfully evokes a sense of haunting beauty and sadness, reminding us of the fragility of life.

Line by Line Meaning

Midnight, moonbeam, sepulchre
The graveyard is cloaked in the shadowy moonlight of night.

Graveyard cold as bones
The icy silence of death pervades the desolate graveyard.

Eliza is in the ground
The subject of the song, Eliza, has been laid to rest in the earth.

Thunder is her moan
The restless spirit of Eliza is communicated through the sounds of thunder.

A hound dog in the distance howls
The mournful howls of a distant hound dog add to the eerie atmosphere of the graveyard.

To a church bell in the rain
The melancholic tones of a church bell ring out in the rainfall, amplifying the somber mood.

Concrete angels pray
The concrete statues of angels invoke a sense of a higher power and provide comfort for those buried without recognition.

For those who've got no names
The deceased without recognition are given a prayer by the concrete angels in hopes of eternal peace.

There's a Bible in the mud
A Bible, a symbol of faith and hope, is found in the dirt and muck of the graveyard, dirty and unkept.

Open to proverbs from the sky
The Bible sits open, exposed to the elements, for the sky to provide a message of guidance to those who seek it.

You can't turn the pages
The wet and muddy condition of the Bible prevents anyone from accessing its message.

It's too wet to even try
The damage done to the Bible from the harsh elements renders it illegible, and thus, not worth the effort to read.

I'm walking through the graveyard
The singer is physically present in the cemetery, searching for the gravestone of Eliza.

Looking for Eliza's name
The singer is searching desperately for the burial location of his lost love, Eliza.

She cuts me with the wind
The singer is emotionally affected by the memory of Eliza, feeling her absence even in the physical elements of nature.

Stabs me with the rain
The pain of the singer's loss is so intense that even rainfall feels like a sharp, physical wound.

(saying) "I forgot to remember
The singer has trouble remembering the good times he shared with Eliza and how important she was to him.

What it is that I know
Despite his memory lapses, the singer is aware of the depth of his feelings for Eliza and how they influenced her death.

I'm lying in the graveyard
The singer feels as if he's already dead, in spirit if not in body.

I've got no place to go"
The singer feels lost and alone, like he has nowhere to turn to seek solace or comfort.

She was of my blood,
Eliza represented a physical and emotional part of the singer, which became too much for him to bear, leading to her untimely death.

My sweat and my bones
Eliza was an integral part of the singer's being, representing his hard work and lived experiences.

But I killed her with love
The singer's feelings for Eliza grew so intense that they became a burden and ultimately led to her death.

So I could be alone
The singer was afraid of the intimacy and commitment that their relationship required, causing him to drive away the one he loved most.

And now that I'm alone
With Eliza gone, the singer feels even more isolated with no one to turn to.

All I fell is pain
Without Eliza, the singer's life is devoid of happiness, and every moment is filled with unending pain.

Like a cold steel knife As it cuts into her veins
The sharpness of the pain caused by Eliza's death feels like an icy blade, cutting deep into the singer's heart.

Good bye sweet Eliza
With this phrase, the singer says his final farewell to Eliza, acknowledging the final nature of her passing.

I release to the void
The singer is letting go of his painful memories and emotions as he moves on from Eliza's death.

You're too weak to exist
Eliza's death was inevitable, as she was too emotionally fragile to survive the pressure of the singer's love for her.

And too strong to be destroyed
Despite her fragility, Eliza's spirit was too powerful to be completely snuffed out by her untimely death.

But please, show me a sign
The singer is invoking the spirits of the graveyard to provide him with guidance and comfort in his time of need.

Everything is gonna be all right
The singer is seeking reassurance that his pain will eventually ease and that he will be able to find happiness again someday.

That your chrysalis death
The singer is referring to Eliza's death as a metamorphosis, from which he hopes a new and better life can emerge.

Will soon return to life.
Despite the pain he is currently feeling, the singer is hopeful that things will eventually get better for him.

'Cause I forgot to remember
The singer recognizes that he has lost sight of the good times he shared with Eliza and the memories they created together.

I'm lying in the graveyard
The singer feels as if he's stuck in a state of grief and loss, unable to fully move on from the past.

I've got no place to go
Despite his desire to move on, the singer feels stuck and unable to find a way forward from his pain and loneliness.

Uh, uh, in the graveyard
A mournful refrain, emphasizing the grief and loss experienced in the song's subject matter.

Uh, uh, in the grave...
An intensification of the sorrowful tone of the song's subject matter, using evocative language to emphasize feelings of grief and loss.

Contributed by Max W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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