Poverty drove the Dickens to move to the Baltimore, Maryland area when Dickins was nineteen. There she met Mike Seeger, younger brother of Pete Seeger and founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers and became active in the Baltimore-Washington area bluegrass and folk music scene during the 1960s. During this time she also established a collaborative relationship with Mike Seeger's wife, Alice Gerrard, and as "Hazel & Alice" recorded two albums for the Folkways label: "Who's That Knocking (And Other Bluegrass Country Music) (1965)" and "Won't You Come & Sing for Me (1973)". In this regard, Dickens and Gerrard were bluegrass bandleaders at a time when the vast majority of bluegrass bands were led by men.
Dickens appeared in the documentary Harlan County, USA and also contributed four songs to the soundtrack of the same film. She has also appeared in the film Matewan.
Dickins continues to record and perform all of her life. Her voice is among the most powerful and moving of all bluegrass singers, male or female.
Hazel Dickens died April 22, 2011 at the Washington Home hospice in the District. She was 75 and had complications from pneumonia. Bless you old girl.
West Virginia My Home
Hazel Dickens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
D A
West Virginia, where I belong.
D
G
In the dead of the night, in the still and the quiet I slip away like a bird
in flight
D A D
It's been years now since I left there
And this city life's about got the best of me.
I can't remember why I left so free what I wanted to do, what I wanted to see,
But I can sure remember where I come from.
Chorus-----
Well I paid the price for the leavin'
And this life I have is not one I thought I'd find.
Just let me live, love, let my cry, but when I go just let me die
Among the friends who'll remember when I'm gone.
Chorus-----
Bridge:
G A D A
Home, home, home. I can see it so clear in my mind.
G A D
A
Home, home, home. I can almost smell the honeysuckle vines.
[Repeat last two lines of chorus.]
Hazel Dickens’ “West Virginia My Home” is a heartfelt tribute to the singer’s home state. The chorus provides the thesis of the song, stating that West Virginia is an integral part of the singer’s identity and a place to which she always yearns to return. The lyrics highlight the singer’s sense of displacement, as she has left the hills of West Virginia and now lives in the city, where she is unable to find the same sense of familiarity and belonging that she once had. In contrast, the hills of West Virginia are portrayed as a place of peace and refuge, where the singer feels most at home.
As the song reaches its climax, the singer reflects on the price she has paid for leaving her home state, but ultimately finds solace in the fact that she will be remembered by her friends and family who still reside there. The final lines of the song speak to the deep connection the singer feels to West Virginia, using vivid imagery to describe the sensations of home: “I can see it so clear in my mind,” she sings, “I can almost smell the honeysuckle vines.” The song’s themes of displacement and the importance of home are common in Appalachian music, and Dickens’ “West Virginia My Home” remains a timeless example of this tradition.
Line by Line Meaning
West Virginia, oh my home.
Addressing the state of West Virginia which the singer considers as home.
West Virginia, where I belong.
The singer's feeling of belongingness towards West Virginia.
In the dead of the night, in the still and the quiet I slip away like a bird in flight
The feeling of nostalgia that arises in the singer's mind which makes her want to go back home.
Back to those hills, the place that I call home.
Referring to the hilly region of West Virginia, which the singer calls home.
It's been years now since I left there
The duration for which the singer has been away from her home in West Virginia.
And this city life's about got the best of me.
The difficulties faced by the singer in the city, in contrast to the peaceful life in West Virginia.
I can't remember why I left so free what I wanted to do, what I wanted to see,
The singer's inability to recall the reasons due to which she left West Virginia.
But I can sure remember where I come from.
The singer's strong memory of her roots and origin in West Virginia.
Well I paid the price for the leavin'
The cost or consequences the singer has faced after leaving West Virginia.
And this life I have is not one I thought I'd find.
The difference between the life the singer had expected and the life she is currently living in the city.
Just let me live, love, let my cry, but when I go just let me die
The singer's wish to live and die in her home in West Virginia.
Among the friends who'll remember when I'm gone.
The importance of being remembered in the singer's native place after her death.
Home, home, home. I can see it so clear in my mind.
The vivid and clear memories that the singer has of her home in West Virginia.
Home, home, home. I can almost smell the honeysuckle vines.
The strong association of the sweet smell of honeysuckle vines with the singer's home in West Virginia.
[Repeat last two lines of chorus.]
The repetition of the chorus that emphasizes the singer's longing for her home in West Virginia.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: HAZEL DICKENS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind