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.”
Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long
Hayes Carll Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
all scattered across the yard
I'd-a stayed back home in houston
If I'd known it be this hard
Oh but as it is I'm busted
I broke down across the bay
And I might not make December
If we keep carrying on this way
Pretty girls and deep depressions
keep falling from the sky
I got all the time in heaven
but no sense to wonder why
And the nights have all gone crazy
and the bars have all shut down
One day I swear I'll blow it all
pack up and leave this town
And sometimes I get so tired
of telling right from wrong
Hey i'm glad I came
Just wish I hadn't stayed so long
Here I am in music city
long nights and neon signs
And I can't seem to remember
what I came so far to find
Police cars and paper money
Motel rooms and cigarettes
Here to tell you ain't nothin'
just in case you might forget
I can hear the country music
in the window up above
? do it for the money
do it, do it for the love
?? and stolen pistols
seemed all that comes my way
I'm gonna burn down all my bridges
find a car and drive away
And sometimes I can't believe
I did all that for a song
Hey i'm glad I came
Just wish I hadn't stayed so long
We could make Louisiana
in two hours time
We could pull off of the highway
by the big casino sign
And we could take up all our wishes
and bet 'em all on black
Hit the lights of Mississippi
with the Southland at our backs
And it's always been the same
Down every road I've come
Hey I'm glad I came
Just wish I hadn't stayed so long
The song "Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long" by Hayes Carll is a reflection on the singer's time spent traveling and performing, and the exhaustion and disillusionment that has come with it. The opening lines describe a party scene, with "shootin' stars and whiskey bottles / all scattered across the yard." Despite this seemingly idyllic setting, the singer admits that if they had known how hard this lifestyle would be, they would have stayed home in Houston. The repetition of the phrase "If we keep carrying on this way" suggests that the singer is aware of the toll this lifestyle is taking on them, but they feel powerless to change it.
As the song progresses, the singer details their experiences of "pretty girls and deep depressions" falling from the sky, and the disorientation and confusion that sets in as they spend long nights in "music city" (presumably Nashville). Despite their wanderlust, the singer admits that they cannot remember what they came so far to find. They reflect on the fact that nothing ever seems to change, down every road they've come; the tiredness they feel from constantly telling right from wrong. The closing lines see the singer imagining a road trip with their band, and dreaming of escaping their current lifestyle by taking a chance on the roulette table.
Overall, "Wish I Hadn't Stayed So Long" is a poignant exploration of the highs and lows of a life spent on the road, and the sense of disillusionment that can come with chasing a dream for too long.
Line by Line Meaning
Shootin' stars and whiskey bottles all scattered across the yard
There are remnants of a wild night scattered throughout the yard, including shooting stars and empty whiskey bottles.
I'd-a stayed back home in houston if I'd known it be this hard
Had the singer known how difficult life would be away from home, he would have chosen to stay in Houston.
Oh but as it is I'm busted I broke down across the bay
Currently, the singer is in a bad way because he has had some sort of breakdown while traveling across the bay.
And I might not make December if we keep carrying on this way
If the singer continues with his current lifestyle, he worries that he may not survive until December.
Pretty girls and deep depressions keep falling from the sky
Women and low moods are constantly present in the singer's life, overwhelming him like rain from the sky.
I got all the time in heaven but no sense to wonder why
Although the singer has plenty of time, he lacks the ability to understand why things happen as they do.
And the nights have all gone crazy and the bars have all shut down
The nights have become more wild and unpredictable, and even the bars have started to close early (perhaps due to the singer's rowdy behavior).
One day I swear I'll blow it all pack up and leave this town
At some point in the future, the singer intends to leave town and start anew.
And sometimes I get so tired of telling right from wrong
The singer is worn out from trying to distinguish between good and bad choices in his life.
Hey I'm glad I came just wish I hadn't stayed so long
While the singer is happy to have had this experience, he wishes he had left earlier (before things got too chaotic).
Here I am in music city long nights and neon signs
The singer finds himself in Music City (Nashville) with its bright lights and endless nights.
And I can't seem to remember what I came so far to find
Despite coming a long way, the singer has forgotten why he came to Nashville in the first place.
Police cars and paper money motel rooms and cigarettes
The singer's life now seems to revolve around illegal activities, such as drugs and prostitution (as evidenced by the police cars and paper money).
Here to tell you ain't nothin' just in case you might forget
The singer wants to remind the listener that despite all their efforts, life is ultimately meaningless.
I can hear the country music in the window up above
The singer can hear country music blaring from the room above his, adding to the cacophony of his surroundings.
? do it for the money do it do it for the love
The reasons why people do things (such as make music) are often unclear - sometimes it's for the money, sometimes it's out of love.
?? and stolen pistols seemed all that comes my way
Despite trying to live his life differently, the singer is constantly presented with opportunities for illegal activity (such as selling drugs and using stolen weapons).
I'm gonna burn down all my bridges find a car and drive away
The singer intends to cut ties with his current life completely and start anew elsewhere.
And sometimes I can't believe I did all that for a song
At times, the singer struggles to understand why he has made the choices he has (such as traveling to Nashville and engaging in criminal activity), when it was all for the sake of a song.
We could make Louisiana in two hours time
In just two hours, the singer and his companions could travel to Louisiana.
We could pull off of the highway by the big casino sign
They could exit the highway by the large casino sign they pass along the way.
And we could take up all our wishes and bet 'em all on black
Given the opportunity, they could gamble all of their hopes and dreams by putting everything they have on black at the roulette table.
Hit the lights of Mississippi with the Southland at our backs
They could drive through Mississippi with its bright lights and Southern charm behind them.
And it's always been the same down every road I've come
No matter where the singer goes, he always seems to encounter the same difficulties and problems.
Hey I'm glad I came just wish I hadn't stayed so long
While the singer is grateful for the experience, he wishes he had left sooner to avoid some of the negative consequences.
Contributed by Chloe F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.