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.”
Willing To Love Again
Hayes Carll Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I laugh at all my own jokes too much
I'm hard to tell and soft to touch
And easy at sayin' goodbye
I broke your heart, a thousand times
With wasted nights and ramblin' rhymes
I thought I'd leave, you thought behind
[Chorus]
I walk the streets, I kick the cans
Tore down walls with my two hands
And still across, my floor you stand
Willing, to love, again
Out of all the dreams, in this whole world
How'd you get so unlucky girl
To find a shell, that had no pearl
And a man who couldn't, find home
I feel too much, I protect too much
And most times I probably expect too much
I spend my life, on this broken crutch
And you believe I can fly
[Chorus]
And still across, my floor you stand
Willing, to love, again
And still across, my floor you stand
Willing, to love, again
In the song "Willing to Love Again" by Hayes Carll, the singer reflects on his past relationship and acknowledges his flaws and past mistakes. He admits to drinking and smoking too much, while also making light of his own jokes, and being "hard to tell and soft to touch." He acknowledges that he has broken his partner's heart countless times with his wild nights and rambling ways. He had thought that time would help his partner forget him, but she is still standing in front of him, willing to love again.
The chorus describes how the singer has tried to overcome his past mistakes by walking the streets and tearing down walls with his own two hands. Despite all of his past behavior, his partner still stands before him "willing to love again." The singer expresses his disbelief that his partner would be attracted to someone like him, someone who had no value to give, but she continued to willingly love him despite his shortcomings.
The song captures the deep emotions of someone who has wronged their partner and has been given another chance to make amends. The singer clearly understands how fortunate he is to be given another chance at love and is willing to work hard to keep the relationship going. The song is a testimony to the power of forgiveness and the importance of recognizing one's mistakes, and working hard to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
I drink too much and I smoke too much
I have habits that aren't necessarily healthy or good for me.
I laugh at all my own jokes too much
I have a tendency to find myself hilarious, which can be annoying to others.
I'm hard to tell and soft to touch
I'm complex and multifaceted, but also sensitive and vulnerable.
And easy at sayin' goodbye
I struggle with commitment and have a history of leaving relationships when things get difficult.
I broke your heart, a thousand times
I've caused you a lot of pain and disappointment in the past.
With wasted nights and ramblin' rhymes
My lifestyle and creative endeavors haven't always been productive or healthy.
I thought I'd leave, you thought behind
I believed I could just walk away from our relationship and forget about it, but it was harder for you to do the same.
But time just wouldn't, let go
Despite our struggles and the time that's passed, we still have feelings for each other.
I walk the streets, I kick the cans
I spend a lot of time wandering and feeling aimless, which can be frustrating for those around me.
Tore down walls with my two hands
I've made some significant changes in my life, but they haven't always been for the better.
And still across, my floor you stand
Despite everything, you're still here with me, and I appreciate that.
Willing, to love, again
You're open to the possibility of our relationship succeeding this time around.
Out of all the dreams, in this whole world
There are so many things we could be doing or pursuing, but we're choosing to be together.
How'd you get so unlucky girl
You've had to put up with a lot of my issues and flaws, which can't be easy.
To find a shell, that had no pearl
I'm not always the person you thought I was or wanted me to be.
And a man who couldn't, find home
I haven't always felt grounded or secure in my life, which has made our relationship difficult at times.
I feel too much, I protect too much
I have a lot of emotions and vulnerabilities that I'm not always comfortable sharing with others.
And most times I probably expect too much
I have high standards for myself and for what I want out of life and relationships, which can be unrealistic or unfair.
I spend my life, on this broken crutch
I've relied on unhealthy coping mechanisms and behaviors to get me through tough times.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: DARRELL SCOTT, HAYES CARLL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind