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.”
Stomp And Holler
Hayes Carll Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Running from the guitar store
He took a left down the alley, guess he should've gone right
Now he ain't taken nothing no more, no more, more
Every body knows it's a hard time
Livin' with hate and the greed
Most folks earn what they get for a livin'
Others just steal what they need
How they're gonna cut that take
I'm out here just workin' for a dollar
And all I wanna do is stomp and holler
Oh, eighteen years, eighteen years
That's a long-old time to be
Sittin' face down, stoned in the alley
Wonderin' how to get to that shining sea
Everybody knows it's a hard time
Livin' on the minimum wage
Ah, some people just gonna sneak on through
Others gotta rattle that cage
One of these days, I'm gonna find my way
Or else just disappear
I'm out here in the filth and squalor
And all I wanna do is stomp and holler
Oh, rock and roll, ache and moan
Listen to the young girls scream
Every time I get a little bit lucky
I gotta wake up from a poor man's dream
Heaven only knows how we get there
After all this trouble and strife
From all I've seen, you only get one shot
At what you're gonna do in this life
Ah, what the hell, I guess I might as well
Take a chance and try my way
I'm like James Brown only white and taller
And all I wanna do is stomp and holler
Hayes Carll's song "Stomp And Holler" seems to be addressing the frustration and struggle of surviving in a society that can be unfair and unforgiving. It portrays a world of hardship where even the simplest of pleasures, such as "stomping and hollering" to music, can be an act of rebellion against the weight of oppression. Little Johnny Walker, a character in the song, is introduced as having been shot while running from a guitar store. This event prompts a realization that the world can be a cruel and violent place, and it sets the tone for the rest of the song.
The lyrics of "Stomp and Holler" criticize the social and economic divide that permeates society. The song points out that some people work hard but still struggle to make ends meet, while others seem to take whatever they want. The singer of the song sees himself as just another person trying to earn a living, but he remains hopeful that someday things will get better. The repetition of the phrase "all I wanna do is stomp and holler" represents an escape from the harsh reality. It shows that even in the midst of adversity, people can still find joy in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh little Johnny Walker caught a bullet last night
Johnny Walker got shot last night.
Running from the guitar store
He was running from a guitar store before he got shot.
He took a left down the alley, guess he should've gone right
Johnny went the wrong way down an alley and got shot.
Now he ain't taken nothing no more, no more, more
He is dead now and can't take anything anymore.
Every body knows it's a hard time
It's a tough time for everyone.
Livin' with hate and the greed
People are living with hatred and greed.
Most folks earn what they get for a livin'
Most people work for what they earn.
Others just steal what they need
Some people steal instead of working for what they need.
Down on the corner, already talkin'
People on the street corner are already discussing things.
How they're gonna cut that take
They are discussing how to divide up some money or loot.
I'm out here just workin' for a dollar
The singer is working to earn money.
And all I wanna do is stomp and holler
The singer wants to let loose and have fun.
Oh, eighteen years, eighteen years
The singer is referring to a long period of time.
That's a long-old time to be
It's a really long time to be something.
Sittin' face down, stoned in the alley
The singer is describing a person who is intoxicated and lying facedown in an alley.
Wonderin' how to get to that shining sea
The intoxicated person is wondering how to get to the ocean.
Everybody knows it's a hard time
Times are tough for everyone.
Livin' on the minimum wage
It's difficult to make ends meet with the minimum wage.
Ah, some people just gonna sneak on through
Some people can slide by easily.
Others gotta rattle that cage
Others have to work harder to get ahead.
One of these days, I'm gonna find my way
The singer hopes to find his way someday.
Or else just disappear
Or he might disappear and never be seen again.
I'm out here in the filth and squalor
The singer is in a bad, dirty environment.
And all I wanna do is stomp and holler
The singer wants to let loose and have a good time.
Oh, rock and roll, ache and moan
The singer is describing the ups and downs of rock and roll music.
Listen to the young girls scream
He enjoys hearing the screams of young female fans.
Every time I get a little bit lucky
Whenever he has a small success.
I gotta wake up from a poor man's dream
But he always ends up back in his reality as a poor man.
Heaven only knows how we get there
The singer doesn't know how we end up where we do in life.
After all this trouble and strife
After all the difficulties and struggles.
From all I've seen, you only get one shot
The singer only believes you get one chance in life.
At what you're gonna do in this life
At what you're going to accomplish in life.
Ah, what the hell, I guess I might as well
The singer decides to take a chance anyway.
Take a chance and try my way
He wants to try and do things his own way.
I'm like James Brown only white and taller
The singer is comparing himself to James Brown, except he is white and taller.
And all I wanna do is stomp and holler
The singer just wants to let loose and have a good time.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: HAYES CARLL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind