Crowell was born in Houston, Texas to James Walter Crowell and Addie Cauzette Willoughby. A contemporary of Steve Earle and, like Earle, influenced by the (songwriting) greats Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, Crowell played guitar and sang for three years in Emmylou Harris' "Hot Band".
He was married to Rosanne Cash (daughter of famous singer/guitarist Johnny Cash) from 1979 to 1992 and had a great influence on her career, producing most of her albums during that period. They collaborated on a number of duets, including 1988's "It's Such a Small World." Though Crowell and Cash are now divorced, they remain on friendly terms, performing together occasionally. Six years after the breakdown of his marriage to Rosanne he married Claudia Church.
Although best known as a songwriter and alternative country artist, Crowell enjoyed mainstream popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s. His critically acclaimed album, 1988's Diamonds and Dirt, produced five No. 1 hits during a 17-month span in 1988 and 1989: "It's Such a Small World" (a duet with Cash), "I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried," "She's Crazy for Leaving," "After All This Time" and "Above and Beyond." His follow-up album, 1989's "Keys to the Highway," produced two top 5 hits in 1990, which were "Many a Long and Lonesome Highway" and "If Looks Could Kill."
As Crowell's popularity in mainstream country faded, he continued his prolific songwriting. In 2001 he released The Houston Kid on Sugar Hill Records. Many songs on the album were semi-autobiographical, and the album included a duet with Crowell's ex father-in-law Johnny Cash on "I Walk the Line (Revisited)". Initially, Cash was annoyed at Crowell changing the tune to his song, but he came to like the finished product. Crowell followed up this effort with Fate's Right Hand in 2003 and The Outsider in 2005. Crowell considers these three albums his finest work as a solo artist.
2004 saw the release of The Notorious Cherry Bombs, a reunion of The Notorious Cherry Bombs, a group that existed briefly in the 1970s with Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill, Tony Brown, and others. The future Keith Urban hit "Making Memories of Us" was included on this disc.
In 2005, Crowell served as producer for established Irish singer/songwriter Kieran Goss on the album Blue Sky Sunrise.
Beautiful Despair
Rodney Crowell Lyrics
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When you're drunk at 3 a.m.
Knowing that the chances are
No matter what you'll never write like him
Oh, brother
Beautiful despair is why you lean
'Cause somewhere out before you
Lies the masterpiece you'd sell your soul to paint
Oh, brother
What do we laugh or cry
Beautiful despair
Beautiful despair
Beautiful despair is slouching forward
Toward a past you might regret
All to suck the marrow out
Of every magic moment that you get
Beautiful despair is playing safe
When you were once a rebel child
Knowing that tomorrow comes
And all you've done is last another mile
Oh, brother
Oh, dear brother
Oh, my brother
What shall we drink or dry?
The lyrics to Rodney Crowell’s song “Beautiful Despair” is a contemplation on the universal feeling of failure despite striving towards glory. The melancholic song starts by comparing the despair that is felt when one is drunk at 3 a.m. and listening to Bob Dylan, knowing that no matter how much they write, they'll never achieve the level of unadulterated genius like Dylan. The song explores the pursuit of the artist's ultimate masterpiece, the one that could let the artist sell their soul just to paint, to showcase to the world. The lines “Beautiful despair is why you lean into this world without restraint” indicate that this pursuit is understandably pursued obsessively, despite the weight of failure.
As the song proceeds, it talks about the regrets in life, “Beautiful despair is slouching forward towards a past you might regret,” which people are desperately trying to forget. The last verse of the song says, “Beautiful despair is playing safe when you were once a rebel child. Knowing that tomorrow comes, and all you've done is last another mile.” These lines point out how life can become monotonous, despite once being a rebel or having the potential to flourish entirely. The song's final lines, "Oh, brother, oh dear brother, oh my brother, what shall we drink or dry?" sign off on this contemplative song, acknowledging that life can be lived in both ways, making the most of what's there or obsessing over what isn't.
Line by Line Meaning
Beautiful despair is hearing Dylan
When you're drunk at 3 a.m.
Knowing that the chances are
No matter what you'll never write like him
Experiencing the bittersweet feeling of admiring Dylan's music while being drunk and realizing that no matter how hard you try, you can never write music like him.
Beautiful despair is why you lean
Into this world without restraint
'Cause somewhere out before you
Lies the masterpiece you'd sell your soul to paint
The overwhelming urge to pursue creative endeavors without holding back, knowing that there's a masterpiece that you are meant to create but not sure if it's worth the price of your soul.
Beautiful despair
Beautiful despair
Repetition of the phrase emphasizing the beauty and poignancy of the feeling of despair.
Beautiful despair is slouching forward
Toward a past you might regret
All to suck the marrow out
Of every magic moment that you get
Feeling the pull towards reflecting on a past that you might regret, but doing so to extract the essence of every magical moment that it had to offer.
Beautiful despair is playing safe
When you were once a rebel child
Knowing that tomorrow comes
And all you've done is last another mile
Feeling stuck in life as you play it safe despite once being an adventurous rebel, knowing that time keeps passing by and all you've accomplished is surviving another day.
Oh, brother
What do we laugh or cry
Expressing confusion and uncertainty, whether the appropriate response is to laugh or cry in response to the complex, beautiful feeling of despair.
Oh, dear brother
Oh, my brother
What shall we drink or dry?
Reflecting on the beauty and difficulty of life's complexities and asking what drink one shall raise to celebrate or lament it.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RODNEY CROWELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind