It’s hard to pinpoint the moment that songs are born, the day casual hummers become singers or scribblers become songwriters. Rayland Baxter certainly can’t, and he wouldn’t want to. Though he grew up in Nashville to the sounds of his father’s pedal steel, he didn’t dream of being a rock star. He loved music, of course, but he liked other things, too: being outside, playing sports, working at the bait shop to make spare change. He’d always just let things settle into place naturally, following his gut from Tennessee to Colorado to Israel and back again, not knowing that when he returned home he’d have a handful of songs and the knowledge that, at the end of the day, he didn’t want to do anything else but make music. He leads a life without reigns, his work always echoing the ease in which it came to be.
“All of my music has come in a very natural way, by following the organic process of life and letting it just happen,” he says. “I jumped my fair share of ships, and the pieces came together slowly, not by study or design.” The result is a record inspired by a life lived, not one struggling to inspire life. “Down the mountains and the valleys like the breeze,” he sings on “the mtn song,” “we’re going where we want to go, doing anything we please.” He’s done just that, writing songs that are reflections of what he’s seen, felt and lived; the metaphors found in the hills, the slow strums born at home but blossomed across the sea.
Growing up, Baxter’s father Bucky (a multi-instrumentalist for Bob Dylan, Steve Earle and Ryan Adams, among others) made sure music was just a natural part of life, a soundtrack to childhood. “I grew up around pedal steel melodies,” Baxter says, “not knowing how later in life it would shape me and how I sing or place lyrics in a song.” He’d met Dylan and become friends with a young Justin Townes Earle—back then, they were just two kids who knew their dads were gone frequently. One day, while out on a motorcycle trip, Bucky bought his son a guitar: a used, blue electric one. He was in elementary school, no older than third grade. “I played it,” Baxter says. “But I also played Nintendo.”
Most of the time, he just liked being out in the field, grass under his feet. While he spent much of his teenage years playing sports, by 21 he’d picked up the guitar again. The sound of six strings ringing had always been comforting, only now its draw proved stronger: it was a surprise, perhaps most to Baxter himself, how naturally and harmoniously songs came. Instead of finishing college he moved to the small town of Creede, CO, playing open mics at a taco bar and busking for tips. It was a gig as a guitar tech for the band Moonshine Sessions that led him to Europe. After a relationship in Paris went sour (though would later inspire the song “oLivia) he took his father’s old friend up on an offer to spend some time at his home in Ashkelon, Israel.
“I was supposed to be there for two weeks,” he says. “I ended up staying for six months.” Life in Ashkelon, a coastal town close to Gaza, involved a cadre of sounds: bombs detonating in the cornfields, sirens going off so frequently that few took notice or cover. Baxter drowned the noise with his host’s enormous collection of records and documentaries: Townes Van Zandt, Dylan, Leonard Cohen. “I would spend my days and nights just studying all my favorite people and musicians, and that’s when it clicked.” One night he couldn’t sleep, so he went outside to a barn in the back of the house with his guitar. “When I came back in, I said to my friend, ‘I think I wrote a good one out there.’” The resulting song was his aching, pivotal folk tune “the woman for me,” which later became a road favorite and will appear on his debut, feathers & fishHooks.
Baxter has a saying he likes to use a lot: “when you find the right river to float down, just keep floating.” That he did, using his time in Israel to craft the material that would become his Miscalculation of Song EP. He began recording his full-length in January 2011, produced by Skylar Wilson (Justin Townes Earle, Caitlin Rose) and supported by his friends, including Eric Masse (producer/engineer), Jacquire King (mix) and instrumentals by his father, Bucky. The songs range from the solemn, steel guitar and harmonica anchored “marjoria”; to the locomotive, du-wop of “driveway meLody”; to the stark, Middle Eastern tinge of “wiLLow.” Each is thickly emotional, raw but supremely balanced, pulling reference not only from musical idols but from love had and lost, roads traveled and trials awaiting back at home. And, when you strip it all away, these are songs that could exist with just Baxter’s voice and guitar alone, timeless.
He’s spent much of his time on tour: with The Civil Wars, who personally invited him to open, as well as Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. Now Baxter lives in a small, crowded house with five people, four chickens, a dog and a fish named okra near the Nashville fairgrounds, an industrial part of town on the west side of the river. He sleeps in a covered porch with no air conditioning or heat—“like camping,” he says, enthusiastically at that. His hometown has played a vital role in shaping him musically. “There is an incredible group of young artists, songwriters, painters and filmmakers here, just a huge community of really rad people. It’s been vital to have a great creative group of people I can feed off of all the time.”
His songs are a calming force for anyone looking for change, for love, or wanting to walk in a different direction—because it was his own quest for all those things that motivated the music. “I had nothing to write about until I was 25. I had to live through a lot,” he says, “and I when I sing I don’t hold back. I’ll cry on stage if I came to it. It’s an emotional release for me, and there’s no makeup on it. It puts me at ease, and that’s what I hope it will do for those who listen.” Down the mountains and the valleys, like the breeze.
Olivia
Rayland Baxter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But lately is been hard to find
For I can taste it when the wind blows in
And I can see it hiding on the mountain side
But I never thought it could be this bad
I lost all the love I had
So Olivia won't you let me in
And if I, if I was a wealthy man
Don't you know I would spend all dimes on you
And I held you, lover, in my giving hand
Don't you know I would make it
So all your dreams came true
Cuz I never thought it could be this bad
And I lost all the love I had
So Olivia won't you let me in
Yeah I'm in love again
But how could you be so far away from me
Why did you leave me all alone
What can I do to make you love me too
So I wrote a song for you
But I'm still alone
I'm all alone
Yeah I remember when everything was gold
Yeah I remember cuz doll I was sleeping with you
But if I could do it all again
Don't you know I would never, never ever run around on you
Cuz I never thought it could be this bad
Yeah and I lost all the love I had
So Olivia won't you let me in
Yeah I'm in love again
Oh Olivia, lover won't you be my friend
Yeah I'm in love again
In Rayland Baxter's song "Olivia," the singer-songwriter expresses his longing for love, particularly the love of his beloved Olivia. He describes how love is a "pretty thing," but lately it has been difficult to find. Despite the challenges, he can feel and see it around him, and desperately wants to be loved again. He admits that he never thought it could be this bad, and he has lost all the love he had. However, he is hopeful that Olivia will let him in, and he is ready to love again.
The second verse of the song is particularly touching as it speaks of the lengths the singer would go to impress his lover: If he was a wealthy man, he would spend all his wealth on her. He would hold her in his handing, making sure that all her dreams came true. The singer seems to regret not giving enough attention to his love before, and he wonders what he can do to make Olivia love him too. He even wrote a song for her, but he still feels alone. The chorus repeats his desire for Olivia to let him in because he's in love again, demonstrating his need for her.
Overall, "Olivia" is a heartfelt song about the ups and downs of love. Despite feeling the pain of losing love, the singer remains optimistic and eager to try again, hoping that Olivia will receive his love.
Line by Line Meaning
Love is such a pretty thing
Love is a beautiful and desirable emotion.
But lately is been hard to find
Recently, it has become difficult to experience true love.
For I can taste it when the wind blows in
Even though it's difficult to find love, I can feel its presence in the world around me.
And I can see it hiding on the mountain side
Love is elusive and difficult to find, but I catch glimpses of it.
But I never thought it could be this bad
I never imagined that love could be so painful and difficult to find.
I lost all the love I had
I have lost the love I once had and it has been difficult to find it again.
So Olivia won't you let me in
Olivia, please let me into your life and heart.
Yeah I'm in love again
I have fallen in love once again.
And if I, if I was a wealthy man
If I were rich, I would spend all my money on you.
Don't you know I would spend all dimes on you
I would give you all my money and resources if I could.
And I held you, lover, in my giving hand
If I had the chance, I would hold you close and care for you unconditionally.
Don't you know I would make it
I would go to great lengths to ensure that your dreams come true.
So all your dreams came true
I would do everything in my power to make sure you achieve your goals and aspirations.
But how could you be so far away from me
I don't understand why you are so distant and disconnected from me.
Why did you leave me all alone
I don't understand why you abandoned me when I needed you the most.
What can I do to make you love me too
I want to show you how much I care and love you, but I don't know how to make you feel the same way.
So I wrote a song for you
I express my feelings and emotions for you through music and art.
But I'm still alone
Even though I express my love for you through song, I still feel lonely and disconnected from you.
Yeah I remember when everything was gold
I remember a time when everything was perfect and beautiful.
Yeah I remember cuz doll I was sleeping with you
I have fond memories of being intimate and close with you.
But if I could do it all again
If I had the chance to start over, I would do things differently.
Don't you know I would never, never ever run around on you
I would never cheat or deceive you if we had a second chance together.
Oh Olivia, lover won't you be my friend
Olivia, I want to be more than just your lover, I want to be your friend and companion for life.
Yeah I'm in love again
I have found love again, and I hope it can be a lasting love this time.
Contributed by William Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.