Carll has toured relentlessly in North America and abroad (performing over two hundred shows a year), founded a successful singer-songwriter music festival on the Gulf Coast of Texas, secured a record deal with Lost Highway Records, and has even seen his album Little Rock become the first self-released album to reach #1 on the Americana Music Chart.
"When I started, I moved down to this place called Crystal Beach, Texas where you need to take a ferry from Galveston across the bay to get to this little peninsula on the Gulf of Mexico," recalls Carll, who grew up just outside Houston. "It's this isolated coastal community with a wild assortment of people either hiding out, hanging on or getting lost-- a lot of drugs and drinking, a fair amount of violence, but at the same time a lot of really interesting people with great stories to tell. Folks in the bars there weren't necessarily interested in what I had to say as a songwriter-- they wanted to hear David Allan Coe and Merle Haggard, and other stuff they knew. So that's what I did six nights a week for four years. I haven't run into tougher crowds since. It was an initiation into becoming a performer."
Those experiences not only gave Carll a thick skin, they gave him plenty of material to spin into songs like the low-slung, finger-picked blues "I Got a Gig" -- populated by characters like the "barefoot shrimper with a pistol up his sleeve" -- and the tear-in-your-beer waltz "Beaumont," in which a suitor bearing a single white rose makes a fruitless trip to try to win over a lady love. Carll says of the latter tune. "I like to try to tackle a heavy topic but do it with a light touch. The more personal, weightier stuff doesn't come as easy, even though that's what I like to think about the most."
Carll has developed that touch over a long stretch that began when he was still in his teens, a stretch he spent writing poems, short stories and songs by the notebook-full. He eventually discovered that the last of those three flowed from him most easily, and while he dutifully headed off to college, he spent more time strumming and singing. To hear him tell it, "I sort of sabotaged my career options to the point where, by the time I was out of school, I was pretty much unemployable and had no choice but to be a musician."
After moving to the Gulf Coast, Carll honed his craft in the area bars and beer-joints as well as more serious folk clubs like the venerable Old Quarter in Galveston, where he opened for a wide array of respected songwriters such as Ray Wylie Hubbard, Willis Alan Ramsay and many others. By 2002, he was ready to unleash his recorded indie debut, Flowers and Liquor, which, while not widely distributed, garnered plenty of critical praise, including American Songwriter's claim that the disc "suggests the young Texan might be the next great songwriter from a state full of maestros."
He lived up to that praise on his next outing, Little Rock, an offering on which Carll showed off his stylistic breadth by steering his band from searing rock to jazz-tinged balladry -- a scope that earned praise both at home and across the pond, where the Irish Times raved "This is the first mighty country record of the year, a bruised, bedraggled affair full of jagged memories and wry observations."
On his 2008 album Trouble In Mind, there's a much sharper focus to the material, thanks in part, to more time in the studio and some great players sure to be familiar to roots-rock aficionados, including, Dan Baird, Darrell Scott, Will Kimbrough and former Flying Burrito Brother Al Perkins.
“My first record I did in five days, and my second one we did in twelve," Carll explains. "This time around I had a solid month, so it was really a luxury. It was amazing to get all these talented people in the room and have them listen to me describe my vision and then go out and try to realize that and capture it on tape. My strength isn't that I have the world's most amazing voice or that I'm this incredible player -- hopefully it's that there's some aspect of my personality and my lyrics that people can relate to."
Carll’s personality, emotional but never too sentimental, mischievous, funny, world-weary and sardonic, imbues every track of Trouble in Mind. He’s never afraid to be vulnerable and direct, as on one of the standout tracks, “Willing to Love Again” - “I feel too much, I protect too much, most times I probably expect too much. I spend my life on this broken crutch, and you believe I can fly.”
Carll's 2011 album KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories) was The album includes "Another Like You," a duet with Cary Ann Hearst The L.A. Times described the album as "Carll is every bit as expressive a singer as he is a writer, drawling his trenchant observations with deceptive ease."
Carll’s live performances continue to win over fans everywhere. His clever, irreverent lyrics and sharp observations combined with his warm Texas drawl make his stories and anecdotes as compelling and entertaining as his songs. There’s that sweet taste of honey followed with the sharp sting of a wisecrack. Never is that tongue-in-cheek humor more obvious than on the red neck rant “She Left Me For Jesus”, where a clueless lover is upset and suspicious over the changes in his girlfriend. “Now she’s acting funny and I don’t understand. I think that she’s found her some other man. She’s left me for Jesus, and that just ain’t fair. She says that he’s perfect, how can I compare?” “You know I’m always a little nervous when I sing that song. Like Ray Wiley Hubbard says, the problem with irony is that people don’t always get it.”
Easy Come Easy Go
Hayes Carll Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seems like every Friday evenin'
She'd find herself in Jail
Not a friend this side of Houston
With the time to throw her bail
But she'll be fine, she'll be fine
Spent a lifetime walkin'
Not a man round here still standin'
For the girl to call her own.
Every time she tried to hold him
She just ended up alone
But there's still time, there's still time
Davey drove a taxi
Through the streets of Boston town
Like the billboards up above him
The world just wore him down
Only soul he'd ever cared for
Was the one he'd never found
But He'll be fine, He'll be fine
Broken half of winter, with a wind chill ten below
Davey sittin' in his kitchen laughin 'bout
How the world had done him so
Then the postman burst his bubble
With a letter from below
And now it's time, now it's time
[Chorus]
And there's a lot of people runnin' round
Not quite sure which way to go
But as for me I believe I finally found
It's just easy come and easy go
Jamie grabbed a bottle, threw her apron on the bar
Packed her whole world in a suitcase
And tossed it in the car
Woke up in Texarkana
Wondrin' how she'd got this far
And on her own, on her own
Stranger at the motel let Jamie stay for free
She was gone before the daybreak
On her ways to Tennessee
Lookin' to make the whole world over
Into a place she wants to be
But not alone, not alone
Davey left his taxi
In the bottom of a Beantown lake
He said this whole world's full of chances
And this is one I gotta take
So he caught the line to Nashville
To finally find his break
And make a home, make a home
As the train flew out of Boston
His whole world passed him by
He said I spent a lifetime runnin'
And now's the time to try
If I can't find someone to hold me
My dreams will surely die
And I'll be gone, I'll be gone
[Chorus]
When Davey hit the pavement
The sky was almost gray
He lit a smoke off of the sidewalk
To drive the storm away
And when Jamie turned the corner
With the world upon her brow
Davey said I must be dreamin'
How could this happen now
And then she walked right towards him
Looked him right up in the eye
Davey reached out for forever
And Jamie walked on by
Hayes Carll's song "Easy Come Easy Go" is about two characters, Jamie and Davey. The song starts with Jamie, a barmaid in the Underground Longrail, who often finds herself in jail on Fridays. Jamie has spent her life walking through the walls of a broken home and cannot find a man to call her own. However, she is hopeful and will be fine. Davey, a taxi driver in Boston, has also been worn down by the world. He has never found the only soul he cares for and feels like no one cares for him either. But one day, he receives a letter and decides to leave Boston for Nashville to pursue his dreams.
The chorus of "Easy Come Easy Go" talks about people who are unsure of the direction they want to take in life. The song ends with Jamie and Davey crossing paths. Davey reaches out to Jamie, hoping for forever, but she walks on by, leaving the listeners to interpret if she was ready to start a new life with someone or if she prefers to be independent.
Line by Line Meaning
Jamie was a barmaid at the Underground Longrail
Jamie worked as a barmaid at an underground bar called Longrail.
Seems like every Friday evenin'
Every Friday evening without fail.
She'd find herself in Jail
Jamie would always end up in jail on Friday evenings.
Not a friend this side of Houston
Jamie did not have any friends in her area.
With the time to throw her bail
No one was willing to give her enough time or money to bail her out of jail.
But she'll be fine, she'll be fine
Despite her problems, Jamie will overcome them and be okay.
Spent a lifetime walkin'
Jamie had spent most of her life walking.
Through the walls of a broken home
She had grown up in a broken home with problems like abuse of some sort.
Not a man round here still standin'
There were no men around her area who was steadfast and loyal.
For the girl to call her own.
There was no man that Jamie felt she owned and who owned her in return.
Every time she tried to hold him
Whenever Jamie tried to have a relationship with a man.
She just ended up alone
She ended up alone because the man would leave her or things would go wrong.
But there's still time, there's still time
Regardless, Jamie believes she still has time to find the right man.
Davey drove a taxi
Davey worked as a taxi driver.
Through the streets of Boston town
Davey drove around the streets of Boston.
Like the billboards up above him
Just like the advertisements on the billboards above him.
The world just wore him down
The world and his problems wore him down.
Only soul he'd ever cared for
The only person he ever cared for.
Was the one he'd never found
Was someone who he had not yet met.
But He'll be fine, He'll be fine
Regardless of his problems, Davey will overcome them and be fine.
Broken half of winter, with a wind chill ten below
It was the middle of winter and it was bitterly cold outside.
Davey sittin' in his kitchen laughin 'bout
Davey is sitting in his kitchen laughing about his life.
How the world had done him so
He is making jokes about how the world had treated him unfairly.
Then the postman burst his bubble
Suddenly, the postman brought him bad news that ruined his mood.
With a letter from below
The postman brought him a letter that had bad news in it.
And now it's time, now it's time
It is now time for Davey to make a change.
And there's a lot of people runnin' round
There are many people out there who don't know what to do with their lives.
Not quite sure which way to go
They are not sure what direction to take their lives in.
But as for me I believe I finally found
Hayes Carll, the singer of the song feels different and he concludes that he knows the way forward.
It's just easy come and easy go
He believes that life should be taken lightly and it comes with its ups and downs.
Jamie grabbed a bottle, threw her apron on the bar
Jamie takes a bottle and throws her apron on the table/bar.
Packed her whole world in a suitcase
She packed everything she owned into a suitcase.
And tossed it in the car
Then, she threw the suitcase in her car.
Woke up in Texarkana
Jamie woke up in Texarkana, a city located on the border of Texas and Arkansas.
Wondrin' how she'd got this far
She was questioning how she got here in life.
And on her own, on her own
Jamie was now alone without any friends.
Stranger at the motel let Jamie stay for free
A stranger at the motel let Jamie stay there for free.
She was gone before the daybreak
Jamie left the motel before daybreak, without any notice or saying goodbye.
On her ways to Tennessee
She was on her way to Tennessee, a city in the southern part of the United States.
Lookin' to make the whole world over
Jamie was looking for a new start and wanted to change her life around.
Into a place she wants to be
Jamie wanted to create a new life where she is happy with it.
But not alone, not alone
Jamie wanted to share her life with someone special.
Davey left his taxi
Davey left his taxi-driving job to make a change in his life.
In the bottom of a Beantown lake
He sunk his taxi at the bottom of a lake in Beantown (Boston) and left everything behind.
He said this whole world's full of chances
Davey believes that there are many opportunities to succeed in this world.
And this is one I gotta take
He feels that it is his chance to chase his own dreams.
So he caught the line to Nashville
Davey took a train from Boston to Nashville to begin a new chapter of his life.
To finally find his break
He was looking for his big break in life.
And make a home, make a home
He was looking to make a permanent home for himself.
As the train flew out of Boston
As the train left Boston and headed to Nashville.
His whole world passed him by
Davey left his old life behind and everything that came with it.
He said I spent a lifetime runnin'
He finally realized he had spent much of his life running from something or someone.
And now's the time to try
But now he decides to try and make a change in his life for the better.
If I can't find someone to hold me
Davey realized that he cannot do everything on his own and he needs someone to care for and someone to care for him.
My dreams will surely die
If Davey's dreams do not come true, then his life will not have a meaning.
And I'll be gone, I'll be gone
If things go wrong, he would walk away from everything he has built.
When Davey hit the pavement
When Davey arrived at his destination, Nashville.
The sky was almost gray
The sky was scattered and almost overcast with gray clouds.
He lit a smoke off of the sidewalk
He took a cigarette from the ground and began smoking it.
To drive the storm away
He used smoking as a sort of distraction and to calm his nerves.
And when Jamie turned the corner
When Jamie turned the corner and walked down the street,
With the world upon her brow
She was carrying the weight of the world with her and it showed.
Davey said I must be dreamin'
Davey was surprised to see Jamie because he had only thought of her.
How could this happen now
He couldn't believe that he would meet Jamie at this point in his life.
And then she walked right towards him
Jamie walked towards Davey.
Looked him right up in the eye
She looked Davey right in the eye, face to face.
Davey reached out for forever
Davey wanted a forever feeling.
And Jamie walked on by
However, Jamie walked down the street without even stopping.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: HAYES CARLL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind