Williams has garnered considerable critical acclaim but her commercial success has been moderate. She has a reputation as a perfectionist and as a slow worker when it comes to recording; six years passed between the release of her second and third albums. However, she frequently makes guest appearances on other artists' albums and contributes to compilations and soundtracks. She has recorded with Elvis Costello, Nanci Griffith, John Prine, Leftover Salmon, and Steve Earle, among others. She has also opened concerts for artists such as Neil Young.
Early life
Williams was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the daughter of poet and literature professor Miller Williams. Her father worked as a visiting professor in Mexico and Chile as well as different parts of the American South, before settling at the University of Arkansas. His daughter showed an affinity for music at an early age, and was playing guitar at 12.
Career
By her early 20s, Williams was playing publicly in Austin, Texas and Houston, Texas, concentrating on a folk-rock-country blend. She moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1978 to record her first album, for Smithsonian/Folkways Records. Titled Ramblin', it was a collection of country and blues covers. She followed it up in 1980 with Happy Woman Blues, which consisted of her own material. Neither album received much attention.
In the 1980s Williams moved to Los Angeles, California (before finally settling in Nashville, TN), where -- performing both backed by a rock band and in acoustic settings -- she developed a following and a critical reputation. Nevertheless, it was not until 1988 that Rough Trade Records released the self-titled Lucinda Williams. The single "Changed the Locks", about a broken relationship, received radio play around the country and gained fans among music insiders, including Tom Petty, who would later cover the song.
Its follow-up, Sweet Old World (Chameleon, 1992), was a melancholy album dealing with themes of suicide and death. Williams's biggest success during the early '90s was as a songwriter. Mary Chapin Carpenter recorded a cover of "Passionate Kisses" (from Lucinda Williams) in 1992, and the song became a smash country hit for which Williams received the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1994.
Williams had garnered considerable critical acclaim, but her commercial success was moderate. Emmylou Harris said of Williams, "She is an example of the best of what country at least says it is. But, for some reason, she's completely out of the loop. And I feel strongly that that's country music's loss."
Williams also gained a reputation as a perfectionist and slow worker when it came to recording; six years would pass before her next album release, though she appeared as a guest on other artists' albums and contributed to several tribute compilations during this period.
The long-awaited release, 1998's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road was Williams' breakthrough to the mainstream. Containing the single "Still I Long for Your Kiss" from the Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer, the album received wide critical notice and soon went gold. It received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. She toured with Bob Dylan and on her own in support of the album.
Williams followed up the success of Car Wheels with Essence (2001). This release featured a less produced, more stripped-down approach both musically and lyrically, and moved Williams further from the country music establishment while winning fans in the alternative music world. She won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock performance for the single "Get Right With God", an atypically uptempo gospel-rock tune from the otherwise rather low-key release. The title track was co-written and co-recorded with alternative country musician Ryan Adams.
Her seventh album, World Without Tears, was released in 2003. A musically adventurous though lyrically downbeat album, this release found Williams experimenting with talking blues stylings and electric blues.
In 2006, Lucinda recorded a version of the John Hartford classic "Gentle On My Mind," which played over the closing credits of the Will Ferrell filmTalladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby
Williams was a guest vocalist on the song "Factory Girls" from Irish punk-folk band Flogging Molly's 2004 album, "Within a Mile of Home", and appeared on Elvis Costello's The Delivery Man. She duetted with Steve Earle on the song "You're Still Standin' There" from his album I Feel Alright from 1996.
Williams released the album "West" on February 13, 2007, to mostly good reviews. The material is highly personal, chronicling the death of her mother and the breakup of a turbulent relationship.
Lucinda released her ninth studio album, "Little Honey", on October 14th.
Big Mess
Lucinda Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You get those flavors
That's around me, you go much easily
And you act like you don't mean
I can be so powerful, as a mess becomes ahead
Yeah I got my prescription
I change the channel
I start my subscription
I start my subscription
I know your smile cuz it's just an evil pay
I know you've lie for a while cuz truth it's just taking in
You left and mess behind
You think you can change my mind
But you clean up and [?]
Yeah I got my prescription
I change the channel
I start my subscription
I change the channel
I start my subscription
I had to handle a long time
I change the channel
I start my subscription
You act so infeviral
Then you got no else for measure
You suppose to represent, I don't know what you were thinking
You trip and you play
In every cold room, sis wip where they play
But I gotta handle much time
Yeah I got my prescription
I change the channel
I start my subscription
I change the channel
I start my subscription
The lyrics to Lucinda Williams's song "Big Mess" seem to revolve around the theme of a toxic relationship. The song's narrator appears to be addressing a person who has caused them pain and distress, perhaps through lying or being generally unreliable. The opening lines suggest that the singer feels as though they were unable to communicate effectively with this person, possibly due to their propensity for deception or inconsistency. The lines, "That's for what I couldn't tell, you are/You get those flavors/That's around me, you go much easily/And you act like you don't mean," seems to reflect this, with the singer saying that this person is able to manipulate or charm their way out of difficult situations.
As the song progresses, the singer becomes more assertive and describes their efforts to move on from the relationship. They talk about "changing the channel" and "starting their subscription," which could perhaps be interpreted as ways of actively seeking out new experiences or taking control of their own life. The lines, "I know your smile cuz it's just an evil pay/I know you've lie for a while cuz truth it's just taking in/You left and mess behind/You think you can change my mind," suggest that the person they are addressing is not genuine, and perhaps played a role in leaving the singer in a "Big Mess." However, the singer seems to have moved past this, saying at various points, "I had to handle a long time," and "But I gotta handle much time." This indicates that they are actively taking steps to move forward and regain their power.
Overall, "Big Mess" is a song that speaks to the process of overcoming a difficult or damaging relationship. While the lyrics can be somewhat cryptic at times, the general message seems to be one of resilience and determination in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
That's for what I couldn't tell, you are [?]
I don't know who you really are and what you want from me
You get those flavors
You have a way of getting what you want
That's around me, you go much easily
You are able to adapt to any situation that involves me
And you act like you don't mean
You pretend that you're not really doing anything harmful or wrong
I can be so powerful, as a mess becomes ahead
I am capable of being strong even when things are chaotic
Yeah I got my prescription
I have the solution to my problems
I change the channel
I try to escape from the things that are bothering me
I start my subscription
I find a way to cope with my situation
I know your smile cuz it's just an evil pay
I am aware that your smile is only a way to manipulate me
I know you've lie for a while cuz truth it's just taking in
I understand that you've been lying to me because you don't want to face the truth
You left and mess behind
You caused chaos and trouble when you left
You think you can change my mind
You believe that you can persuade me to believe what you want
But you clean up and [?]
You try to make things right but it's too late
You act so infeviral
You behave in a contagious and destructive way
Then you got no else for measure
You have no limits when it comes to hurting others
You suppose to represent, I don't know what you were thinking
You were supposed to be a good representation but I don't understand why you did what you did
You trip and you play
You make mistakes and play games with people's lives
In every cold room, sis wip where they play
In every cold and harsh environment, you thrive and continue to cause trouble
I had to handle a long time
I had to endure for a long time
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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