Rhinestoned says it all. No other word, real or invented for the occasion, sums up as well where Pam Tillis stands now.
She is, after all, a superstar as well as a survivor. A child of Music City royalty and a former rebel, she was determined to find her own way as a singer and songwriter — and she succeeded. A CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, she has written songs for some of the top singers in and beyond Nashville, including more than a few of her own hits.
She knows what it's like to break the platinum barrier, to top the singles charts time and again, to bask in an ovation at her induction as a member of the Opry or play in the intimate hush of the Bluebird Café. She has bathed in the lights of Broadway, posed for glamour magazine spreads, sung ballads in Bay Area bistros, batted wicked one-liners back to Tom Bergeron on Hollywood Squares, even made cameos in movies.
But no matter where she wandered, Pam Tillis never lost her connection to country music — even when country began to lose touch with itself. Trends came and went, and though she rolled easily with the tides and drew something from every new twist, she was aware that changes come with a cost, even as the business side of country flourished.
Her response was to insist on writing and cutting songs that spoke from the soul, rather than the boardrooms and focus groups of the country music industry. The results have been records that emanate an almost painful beauty, as did her 2002 release, the critically acclaimed It's All Relative (a tribute to her father, the great Mel Tillis).
"What I'm doing is country — but not necessarily the kind that you hear on the airwaves these days," Tillis explains, one drizzly afternoon over coffee, not far from Music Row. "Now, I admire a lot of this music; after all, I've sung rock, pop, R&B, and jazz, so I'm hardly a purist. But what I'm hearing now sounds often more like pop than country to me. And I just seriously felt called by that old different drummer to something a little bit more like the country I remember from my formative years, the country music of my youth." It's also something Tillis' fans and friends clamor for as she encounters them out on the road.
With It's All Relative, which she affectionately calls "the Dad album," Tillis produced one of the most memorable discs to have come out of Nashville in years, largely because of her refusal to conform to expectations. Combing through her father's catalog, she chose songs that had an especially timeless quality, with built-in resistance to the whims of the market. It was a bold statement; more than that, it set the stage for the even more assertive statement that Rhinestoned would make.
"Pam had reached a point where doing a record every year or two wasn't as important as taking the time to make something that had more meaning," says Matt Spicher, who co-produced Rhinestoned with Tillis and Gary Nicholson. "So she decided to embrace the momentum she had established with the Dad record."
"That was the first record I ever made where I wasn't concerned about having to come up with three singles," Pam points out.
"The labels understood that from the beginning," Matt says.
"They said they did," she clarifies.
And that's one reason why Rhinestoned marks the first album to be released on Stellar Cat, Pam's own imprint. With total creative control, she let her heart lead the way toward material that she could perform honestly and emotionally. "This is an A&R-free zone," she says, smiling. "But it is, first of all, real country. It's a bookend to the Dad album, except it has all new songs. It's like a bridge between the present and the past."
How past is this particular past? "If you look at my record collection circa 1974," Pam answers, "you'd see Emmylou, Gram Parsons, Waylon Jennings, Don Williams, Linda Ronstadt, and Neil Young. Flying Burrito Brothers — hippie country I call it — that was some of the best music that ever came out of this town. Maybe it wasn't happening on country radio at the time but it sold record and built careers. It was the vibrant scene on the fringes of country, which was very cool — just as it is today."
The Rhinestoned sessions started in 2004. Pam and Matt whittled 20 songs down to ten, which they cut and set aside, like bottles of wine allowed to mature. A few months later they repeated the process. And then, after reflecting for a while on what she had accomplished, Pam decided something wasn't right. She talked about it with her trusted friend and writing partner Gary Nicholson and reached a critical decision.
"It needed to be more country " she sums up. "I played what we had for Gary, brought him into the picture, and suddenly it felt like we weren't wandering in the woods anymore. Then when I found the song "Band in the Window," suddenly I could see and hear the whole project in my mind right down to the t-shirts, Tillis laughs.
With that, the final round of recording began. All of it, aside from backing vocals, was cut the old-fashioned way: live, just the way those bands still play in the windows along Lower Broadway. Many of Pam's performances were actually guide vocals, laid down in real time with the instrumental tracks but too strong in the end to throw away. Overdubs and fixes were kept to a bare minimum.
The rollicking reverence she brings to "Band in the Window," the affection that radiates between her and John Anderson on "Life Sure Has Changed Us Around," the goofball humor of "Crazy By Myself," the insight of her recitation on "Bettin' Money on Love": All of the up-tempo moments on Rhinestoned emit a sense of freedom that's impossible for Pam to suppress or for any listener to miss.
Even the ballads and deeper performances — the languorous sway of "Something Burning Out," the wounded wisdom of "Train Without a Whistle," the almost whispered yearning of "Someone Somewhere Tonight," and the recklessness of "Down by the Water" — carry a quality that's become sadly unfamiliar in much of today's music.
It's that feeling of delight that comes from singing exactly what you were meant to sing at that moment. It's almost like a kind of ecstasy, which goes a long way when delivered by the incomparable Pam Tillis, without compromise or apology.
You might call it joy, but there's a better word than that for this state of creative exhilaration.
We'd call it Rhinestoned.
Ancient History
Pam Tillis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you want to that's all right
Till I've heard every word you've got to say,
Go ahead and take your time
If you've got something on your mind
But it won't change the way I feel anyway
That's ancient history to me now
You know I love you anyhow
That's ancient history to me now
There's a tale you've got to tell,
How you stumbled and then you fell
But I guess I knew that all along,
And, my love, there's time when we
Are weaker than we'd like to be,
And I could tell some stories of my own
That's ancient history to me now
Something we don't have to talk about
You know I love you anyhow
That's ancient history to me now
Pam Tillis's song Ancient History is a reflective piece about forgiveness, moving on, and acceptance in a relationship. The lyrics describe a conversation between two people where one of them wants to talk about their past mistakes and regrets, while the other person wants to emphasize that they've moved on and that the past is in the past. The lines, "We can talk and talk all night / If you want to that's all right / Till I've heard every word you've got to say" suggest that the singer is willing to listen, but they won't be changed in their outlook. They've come to terms with whatever happened between them or their partner, and they ultimately decide that dwelling on the past is pointless.
In the chorus, the singer emphasizes that what happened between them is ancient history, and no longer needs to be discussed. They reassure their partner that they love them for who they are, not for their past mistakes. The lines, "You know I love you anyhow / That's ancient history to me now" suggest that the singer is looking forward to the future, and they've let go of any hurt or resentment they may have felt in the past.
Overall, Ancient History is a song about letting go of the past and moving forward in a relationship. It's about accepting one another for who they are and recognizing that mistakes are a part of life. The lyrics offer a sense of hope and positivity, and the message of the song is a reminder that forgiveness is an essential part of any healthy relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
We can talk and talk all night
We can have a long conversation as long as you want.
If you want to that's all right
I am willing to listen to you if you need to talk.
Till I've heard every word you've got to say
I'll keep listening until you've finished telling me everything you want to say.
Go ahead and take your time
You can take as much time as you want.
If you've got something on your mind
If there's anything you want to talk about.
But it won't change the way I feel anyway
Even if you tell me something, it won't change how I feel about you.
That's ancient history to me now
What you're telling me is old news and no longer relevant to me.
Something we don't have to talk about
We can move on from that topic and not discuss it further.
You know I love you anyhow
Regardless of what you tell me, I still love you.
There's a tale you've got to tell
I sense that there's something you need to share with me.
How you stumbled and then you fell
I understand that you've had some difficulties.
But I guess I knew that all along
I had a feeling that something was troubling you.
And, my love, there's time when we
We all go through challenging experiences.
Are weaker than we'd like to be
We can all feel vulnerable at times.
And I could tell some stories of my own
I've also had my own struggles and experiences that I could share with you.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DIPIERO, SHERRILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ken Wirkala yes
Great song, we all have lots of Ancient History! Pam sings it so well, always my favorite
C&W woman vocalist.
Irene Ch'ng
Wow,love it! It's a beautiful song, thanks Jack!
J.W. Gauntt
Irene Ch'ng you're very welcome, appreciate you listening Irene
JennysCountryMusicChannel
Pam Tillis has some awesome Songs and this is one of them. Thanks for sharing :-)
J.W. Gauntt
you're very welcome Jenny, thank you for listening
john sandiford
Great song by Pam,thanks for sharing Jack
J.W. Gauntt
you're very welcome Rock, i appreciate you listening my Friend
Károlyné Szépvölgyi
Kedves Jack! Csodálatos a videó film.
Nagyon tetszett ez a dal, csodálatos a művésznő.
Köszönettel, Klára Szépvölgyi
J.W. Gauntt
you're very welcome Clare, glad you enjoyed it
M H
Should have been a single