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.
I Lost It
Lucinda Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let me know if you come across it
Let me know if I let it fall
Along a back road somewhere
Money can't replace it
No memory can erase it
And I know I'm never gonna find
Give me some love to fill me up
Give me some time give me some stuff
Give me a sign give me some kind of reason
Are you heavy enough to make me stay
I feel like I might blow away
I thought I was in heaven
But I was only dreaming
I think I lost it
Let me know if you come across it
Let me know if I let it fall
Along a back road somewhere
Money can't replace it
No memory can erase it
And I know I'm never gonna find
Another one to compare
I just wanna live the life I please
I don't want no enemies
I don't want nothing if I have to fake it
Never take nothing don't belong to me
Everything's paid for nothing is free
If I give my heart
Will you promise not to break it
I think I lost it
Let me know if you come across it
Let me know if I let it fall
Along a back road somewhere
Money can't replace it
No memory can erase it
And I know I'm never gonna find
Another one to compare
Money can't replace it
No memory can erase it
And I know I'm never gonna find
Another one to compare
The lyrics of Lucinda Williams's song "I Lost It" are about losing something important, perhaps a love, a feeling or a sense of purpose. The singer is asking for help to find what she has lost, if anyone knows where it might be. Money and memory can't bring it back, and the singer seems to feel that nothing else can compare to what she has lost.
The first verse sets up the theme of the song, with the line "I think I lost it" repeated several times, almost as a mantra. The singer is unsure exactly what she has lost, but she is desperate to find it, even if it has been dropped "along a back road somewhere." The second verse reinforces the idea that nothing can replace what has been lost, whether it is money or memories.
The chorus asks for help and support from others in the form of love, time, and a "sign" or "reason" to keep going. The singer feels that she might "blow away" if she doesn't find what she has lost, and she hopes that someone else can help her feel grounded. The third verse adds a desire for authenticity and honesty in relationships, with the singer not wanting any enemies, and not wanting to pretend to be someone she is not.
Overall, the song expresses a sense of searching and longing for something that may be impossible to find, but which is deeply important to the singer. The repeated lyrics and plaintive melody create a sense of yearning and desperation that is both sad and poignant.
Line by Line Meaning
I think I lost it
The singer believes they have lost something
Let me know if you come across it
The singer is requesting help in finding what they lost
Let me know if I let it fall
The singer is unsure if they dropped what they lost
Along a back road somewhere
The artist believes the lost item may be on a rural road
Money can't replace it
The artist believes the item is of extreme personal value
No memory can erase it
The item is important and cannot be forgotten
And I know I'm never gonna find
The singer is resigned to the possibility of never recovering the lost item
Another one to compare
There is nothing that can replace the lost item
Give me some love to fill me up
The artist is requesting emotional support
Give me some time give me some stuff
The artist desires a break and physical things to occupy them
Give me a sign give me some kind of reason
The singer is asking for direction and purpose
Are you heavy enough to make me stay
The artist wants to feel a strong enough connection to stay in a situation
I feel like I might blow away
The singer feels like they are easily overwhelmed or could leave at any moment
I thought I was in heaven
The singer had a positive perception of their situation
But I was only dreaming
The reality did not match the singer's perception
I just wanna live the life I please
The artist desires to live life on their own terms
I don't want no enemies
The artist desires peaceful relationships with others
I don't want nothing if I have to fake it
The singer desires authenticity
Never take nothing don't belong to me
The singer values honesty and integrity
Everything's paid for nothing is free
The artist acknowledges the cost of living and desires something in return for their efforts
If I give my heart
The artist is willing to be vulnerable with someone
Will you promise not to break it
The artist is looking for reassurance that their vulnerability will not be taken advantage of
And I know I'm never gonna find
Repetition of the idea that the lost item cannot be replaced
Another one to compare
Repetition of the idea that there is nothing that can replace what was lost
Money can't replace it
Repetition of the idea that the lost item was of irreplaceable value
No memory can erase it
Repetition of the idea that the item was of deep personal value and importance
Lyrics © ALPHA MUSIC, INC.
Written by: Lucinda Gayle Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind