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.”
KMAG YOYO
Hayes Carll Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Said, it was a good source
Danger, love, and money, but it only led to divorce
Ended up in Abilene
Working at a Dairy Queen
Put me in the Army on the day that I turned seventeen
Here I am standin' in the desert with a gun
Thought of going AWOL but I'm too afraid to run
Stealin' from the Taliban
Make a little money turning poppies into heroin
Sergeant didn't like it so they put me in a hole
I said "It's easy shootin' when they don't know where to go."
Threw me on a lily pad
Sent me home to NORAD
I knew I'd be in trouble but I didn't think it be this bad
Stranger wearin' all black
Met me on the tarmac
Told him I was sorry but I ain't ever going back
He said, you ain't in trouble son
Learn to fight without a gun
Got a new assignment now, you're working for the Pentagon
Gonna get a trip, wouldn't tell me what it's for
Gotta serve your country, gonna help us win the war
MIT, Ph.D.'s, night and day, they're testing me
Ain't what I was thinking but I'm being all that I can be
I ain't no genius but I knew it wasn't right
Eating uppers in the morning and LSD at night
Send me off to deep space
Help 'em win the arms race
Ola me, oh mighty, but this shit has got a funny taste
I think I hear the countdown
Hundred feet above the ground
Told me when I'm leavin' but a' nothing 'bout 'a coming down
Sitting on a bad dream
Thousand pounds of gasoline
Ain't leavin' nothing but some rubble and my slipstream
Mama always said, I should be aimin' for the moon
Never would've guessed that I'd be passing by soon
How the hell'd I get here?
Blastin' through the atmosphere
Drop the rocket boosters and I'm shiftin' into high gear
Bowie on the system and a bottle on my knee
Armstrong ain't got nothing on me
Hey ho, here we go
KMAG YOYO
Someone wanna get me, gotta come up where the sun don't go
I think I see a bright light
Something 'bout it ain't right
I laid down in a space ship
Woke up in a firefight
Trippin' from the morphine
Came down in a bad scene
God, don't let me die here, I ain't even 19
I won't ever ask you, Lord for anything again
I'll swear it on the Bible, Torah or Koran
Lyin' in a rhino track
'Bout to have a heart attack
IED got to me, someone call the Medevac
I need some fixin' after where it is I've been
Never wanna go and try and shoot a gun again
Slippin' out the back door
Gonna join the Peace Corps
Tell me, I'm a hero now, so
Someone else can fight this war
The lyrics of Hayes Carll's song "KMAG YOYO" tell the story of a young man who joins the military seeking adventure, but ends up deviating from his original plans and getting involved in dark and illegal activities such as making heroin from poppies and stealing from the Taliban. He is punished and then recruited for a new mission involving top-secret experiments that push the boundaries of science and morality. The singer struggles with the physical and mental toll of his experiences and questions the legitimacy of the actions he is asked to carry out. The song ends on a note of desperation as the soldier contemplates leaving the military and joining the Peace Corps.
The opening lines of the song set the stage for the themes that are explored throughout. The singer's father joins the Air Force for reasons that seem to promise excitement and opportunity, but ultimately lead to his family's breakdown. This sets up a contrast between the lure of adventure and the realities of military life.
The soldier's experiences in combat zones are portrayed as traumatic and disorienting. He is disillusioned with the official reasons for their deployment and finds himself drawn into activities that are far from noble. The verses about making heroin and stealing from the Taliban illustrate the moral ambiguity that permeates warfare, and the singer's attempt to rationalize his actions shows the psychological toll that this takes.
The second half of the song pivots to focus on the soldier's experiences with experimental programs that push the limits of science and ethics. The chorus, which stands for "Kiss My Ass, Guys, You're On Your Own," takes on new meaning as the soldier is put into increasingly dangerous and unpredictable situations. The final lines suggest that even after surviving these harrowing experiences, the singer is still haunted by the trauma he has endured.
Overall, "KMAG YOYO" is a stark depiction of the devastating impact of war on the lives of those who participate in it. It calls attention to the moral complexities of military service and the long-lasting effects of violence and trauma on individuals and society as a whole.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, daddy joined the Air Force
My dad joined the Air Force and said it was a good source of danger, love, and money, but his enlistment led to my parents' divorce.
Ended up in Abilene
Working at a Dairy Queen
Put me in the Army on the day that I turned seventeen
After my parents' divorce, I ended up in Abilene, Texas, working at a Dairy Queen, until I joined the Army at the young age of seventeen.
Here I am standin' in the desert with a gun
Thought of going AWOL but I'm too afraid to run
I find myself standing in the desert with a gun, and even though I have considered going AWOL, I realize that I am too afraid to run away.
So I got myself a new plan
Stealin' from the Taliban
Make a little money turning poppies into heroin
I decided to take matters into my own hands and start stealing from the Taliban, turning their poppy plants into heroin to make some money on the side.
Sergeant didn't like it so they put me in a hole
I said "It's easy shootin' when they don't know where to go."
My sergeant didn't approve, so they punished me by putting me in a hole, but I defended my actions by saying that it's easy to shoot when the enemy doesn't know where to go.
Threw me on a lily pad
Sent me home to NORAD
I knew I'd be in trouble but I didn't think it be this bad
They sent me back to NORAD, where I knew I would be in trouble, but I didn't anticipate it being this bad.
Stranger wearin' all black
Met me on the tarmac
Told him I was sorry but I ain't ever going back
A stranger dressed in all black met me on the tarmac and told me that I wasn't in trouble and that I would be working for the Pentagon now, but I refused to go back to war.
He said, you ain't in trouble son
Learn to fight without a gun
Got a new assignment now, you're working for the Pentagon
The stranger reassured me that I wasn't in trouble and that I would be working for the Pentagon, but I had to learn how to fight without a gun.
Gonna get a trip, wouldn't tell me what it's for
Gotta serve your country, gonna help us win the war
They promised me a trip but wouldn't tell me where I was going and why, only that I was serving my country and helping us win the war.
MIT, Ph.D.'s, night and day, they're testing me
Ain't what I was thinking but I'm being all that I can be
I am being tested night and day by people with MIT and Ph.D. degrees, and even though this isn't what I imagined, I am doing everything that I can do.
I ain't no genius but I knew it wasn't right
Eating uppers in the morning and LSD at night
I may not be a genius, but I know that what I am doing isn't right, especially when I am taking uppers in the morning and LSD at night.
Send me off to deep space
Help 'em win the arms race
Ola me, oh mighty, but this shit has got a funny taste
They decided to send me into deep space to help them win the arms race, but I am beginning to regret this decision since this shit has a funny taste.
I think I hear the countdown
Hundred feet above the ground
Told me when I'm leavin' but a' nothing 'bout 'a coming down
I hear the countdown and realize I'm a hundred feet above the ground, but they never told me anything about coming back down.
Sitting on a bad dream
Thousand pounds of gasoline
Ain't leavin' nothing but some rubble and my slipstream
I feel like I'm living in a nightmare, sitting on a thousand pounds of gasoline, and realizing that I won't be leaving anything behind other than rubble and my slipstream.
Mama always said, I should be aimin' for the moon
Never would've guessed that I'd be passing by soon
My mama always told me to aim for the moon, but I never thought I would be passing by it so soon.
How the hell'd I get here?
Blastin' through the atmosphere
Drop the rocket boosters and I'm shiftin' into high gear
I can't believe how I ended up here, blasting through the atmosphere, dropping the rocket boosters, and shifting into high gear.
Bowie on the system and a bottle on my knee
Armstrong ain't got nothing on me
Hey ho, here we go
KMAG YOYO
Someone wanna get me, gotta come up where the sun don't go
I have Bowie on the system and a bottle on my knee, feeling like I am better than Armstrong himself, saying 'Hey ho, here we go' and living by KMAG YOYO, meaning 'Kiss my ass, guys. You're on your own.' If anyone wants to get me, they'll have to come where the sun doesn't go.
I think I see a bright light
Something 'bout it ain't right
I laid down in a space ship
Woke up in a firefight
I see a bright light, but something doesn't feel right about it. I eventually lay down in a space ship, only to wake up in the middle of a firefight.
Trippin' from the morphine
Came down in a bad scene
God, don't let me die here, I ain't even 19
I am heavily influenced by the morphine and have come down in a bad scene. I pray to God not to let me die here because I am only 19 years old.
I won't ever ask you, Lord for anything again
I'll swear it on the Bible, Torah or Koran
Lyin' in a rhino track
'Bout to have a heart attack
IED got to me, someone call the Medevac
I vow never to ask anything from the Lord again and swear on the Bible, Torah or Koran. I am lying in a rhino track, having a heart attack since an IED got me, and someone needs to call the Medevac immediately.
I need some fixin' after where it is I've been
Never wanna go and try and shoot a gun again
Slippin' out the back door
Gonna join the Peace Corps
Tell me, I'm a hero now, so
Someone else can fight this war
I need to be fixed after everything I have been through, and I never want to try to shoot a gun again. I slip out the back door and join the Peace Corps, telling others that I am a hero now, and it's time for someone else to fight this war.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: HAYES CARLL, JOHN EVANS, SCOTT DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind