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.
This Old Heartache
Lucinda Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have you changed your ways or have you even tried to
I wish I could kill all this worry and regret
But I am haunted still by the things I can't forget
It's hard to take, this old heartache
It's drivin' me out of my mind
I can't take it and I can't shake it
People look at me and they think I've got it all
I'm happy and go lucky and I'll never take a fall
What they never see when they look from the outside
Is the thing that tortures me and eats me up inside
It's hard to take, this old heartache
It's driving me out of mind
I can't take it and I can't shake it
And it lives with me all the time
You think that I don't care hut you don't have a clue
Life is never fair, no matter what you do
And if you only knew az the thoughts I live with every day
And the peace of mind it costs and the hell I have to pay
It's hard to take, this old heartache
It's drivin' me out of my mind
I can't take it and I cant shake it
And it lives with me all the time
Yeah, it lives with me all the time
The lyrics to Lucinda Williams's song This Old Heartache depict the feeling of being haunted and tormented by memories of a past love. The opening line sets the tone with a powerful metaphor, "It's been a month of Sunday's since I laid eyes on you," which suggests that the singer has been longing for the other person for an impossibly long time. The lyrics then ask if the other person has changed, indicating that the singer has not been able to move on and is still holding on to hope for reconciliation. However, the repetition of "this old heartache" throughout the song reflects the constant pain and struggle that comes with heartbreak.
The chorus is particularly powerful, as Williams cries out that the heartache is "driving me out of my mind" and "lives with me all the time." This emphasizes the suffocating nature of the feeling and highlights how it never truly goes away. The final verse poignantly reveals the singer's inner turmoil and the cost of holding on to the past, "And if you only knew the thoughts I live with every day, and the peace of mind it costs and the hell I have to pay."
Overall, This Old Heartache encapsulates the pain and longing that comes with a love lost, and how painful memories can stay with a person forever.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been a month of Sunday's since I laid eyes on you
It's been a long time since I last saw you
Have you changed your ways or have you even tried to
I wonder if you have changed and tried to be better
I wish I could kill all this worry and regret
I wish I could make this worry and regret disappear
But I am haunted still by the things I can't forget
But the memories of the past still affect me
It's hard to take, this old heartache
This pain is difficult to bear
It's drivin' me out of my mind
It's making me crazy
I can't take it and I can't shake it
I can't get rid of it no matter how hard I try
And it lives with me all the time
And it's always with me
People look at me and they think I've got it all
People think I have everything
I'm happy and go lucky and I'll never take a fall
I appear happy and carefree
What they never see when they look from the outside
What they don't realize is
Is the thing that tortures me and eats me up inside
I'm plagued by something that hurts me deeply
You think that I don't care hut you don't have a clue
You think I don't care, but you have no idea
Life is never fair, no matter what you do
Life is unpredictable and often unfair
And if you only knew az the thoughts I live with every day
If you only knew the thoughts and feelings I experience every day
And the peace of mind it costs and the hell I have to pay
And the cost of my peace of mind and the pain I endure
Yeah, it lives with me all the time
Yes, this pain is always with me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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