In 1957, Buchanan made his recording debut, playing the solo on Dale Hawkins' "My Babe" for Chicago's Chess Records. Three years later, Buchanan headed north to Canada, where he took charge of the guitar role in Ronnie Hawkins' band (a group later to gain fame as The Band). The group's guitar player, Robbie Robertson, studied guitar under Buchanan, and took over the lead guitar spot when Buchanan left the group.
The early 60's found Buchanan performing numerous gigs as a sideman with multiple rock bands, and cutting a number of sessions as guitarist with musicians such as Freddy Cannon and Merle Kilgore.
Buchanan's 1962 recording with drummer Bobby Gregg, "Potato Peeler", first introduced the trademark Buchanan pinch harmonics. An effort to cash in on the British Invasion caught Buchanan with The British Walkers. In the mid-'60's, Buchanan settled down in the Washington, DC area, playing as a sideman before starting his own groups. One of these groups was called The Snakestretchers, an allusion to Buchanan's disdain for the vagaries of the band experience. The Snakestretchers became a semi-permanent combo for Buchanan starting in this period, with whom he made his first acclaimed recording as a front man, Roy Buchanan & the Snakestretchers. Danny Gatton was another respected Telecaster master who lived in Washington, D.C. at that time. Both musicians gained reputations as under-appreciated guitarists.
In 1971, riding on word-of-mouth reputation that included praise from John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Merle Haggard, and an alleged invitation to join the Rolling Stones, Buchanan gained national notoriety as the result of an hour-long Public broadcasting television documentary. Entitled "The Best Unknown Guitarist In The World", the show rejuvenated a contract with Polydor and began a decade of national and international touring. He recorded five albums for Polydor (one went gold) and three for Atlantic Records (one gold), while playing most major rock concert halls and festivals. Finally, Buchanan quit recording in 1981, vowing never to enter a studio again unless he could record his own music his own way.
Four years later, Buchanan was coaxed back into the studio by Alligator Records. His first album for Alligator, When a Guitar Plays The Blues, was released in the spring of 1985. It was the first time he was given total artistic freedom in the studio. It was also his first true blues album. Fans quickly responded, and the album entered Billboard's pop charts and remained on the charts for 13 weeks. Music critics, as well as fans, applauded Roy's efforts with favorable reviews.
His second Alligator LP, Dancing on the Edge, was released in the fall of 1986. The album, featuring three songs with special guest, rock'n'soul vocalist Delbert McClinton, won the College Media Journal Award for Best Blues Album of 1986.
He released the twelfth LP of his career and his third for Alligator, Hot Wires, in 1987. In addition to Donald Kinsey (formerly with Albert King and Bob Marley), keyboardist Stan Szelest, and Larry Exum (bass) and Morris Jennings (drums), this album includes guest vocals by veteran soul singer Johnny Sayles and blues singer Kanika Kress.
Buchanan died August 14, 1988 in the Fairfax County, Virginia jail while being held after an arrest for public drunkeness. His death was ruled a suicide, although that finding has been disputed by friends and family.
The Story Of Isaac
Roy Buchanan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My father he came in,
I was nine years old.
And he stood so tall above me,
And his blue eyes they were shining
And his voice was very cold.
He said, "I've had a vision
And you know I'm strong and holy,
I must do what I've been told."
So we started up the mountain,
I was running, he was walking,
And his axe was made of burning gold.
Well, the trees they got much smaller,
Yes, the lake a lady's mirror
When we stopped to drink some wine.
Then he threw the bottle over,
Broke a minute later
And he put his hand on mine.
Thought I saw an eagle
But it might have been a vulture,
I never could decide.
Then my father built an altar,
He looked once behind his shoulder,
I guess he knew I would not hide.
You who build these altars now
To sacrifice our children,
You must not do it anymore.
A scheme is not a vision
And you never have been tempted
By a demon or a god.
You who stand above them now,
Your hatchets blunt and bloody,
You were not there before.
When I lay upon a mountain
And my father's hand was trembling
With the beauty, I mean the beauty of the word.
And if you call me brother now,
Forgive me but I must inquire,
"Just according to whose plan?"
When it all comes down to dust
I will kill you if I must,
I will help you if I can.
When it all comes down to dust
I will help you if I must,
I'll kill you if I can.
And mercy, mercy on our uniform,
Man of peace, man of war,
The peacock spreads his deadly fan.
The Story of Isaac is a song that explores the story of Abraham and Isaac in the Bible, where God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a test of his loyalty. The song opens with the singer reminiscing about a moment in his childhood, when his father had received a divine vision and was compelled to undertake a sacrifice similar to the one in the Bible. The singer must follow his father up to a mountain, where his father builds an altar to carry out the sacrifice. The singer's father, however, hesitates and decides against killing his son.
The message behind the song challenges the listener to reexamine the practice of faith and sacrifice, and to question whether such acts are truly holy if they involve sacrificing one's own child. By drawing parallels between the sacrifice of Isaac and the altars built to sacrifice children, the song suggests that such practices have no place in modern society. The singer also offers forgiveness to those who may have participated in such practices in the past, but warns that he will act in self-defense should the situation call for it.
Overall, The Story of Isaac is a poignant and thought-provoking song that encourages listeners to consider the distinction between religious obedience and moral duty.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, the door it opened slowly,
The door opened slowly and my father entered the room.
My father he came in,
My father entered the room.
I was nine years old.
I was nine years old at the time.
And he stood so tall above me,
He stood over me, his figure taller.
And his blue eyes they were shining
His eyes, blue with light, shone down at me.
And his voice was very cold.
His voice was emotionless and frigid.
He said, "I've had a vision
He spoke about a vision he had.
And you know I'm strong and holy,
He considered himself strong and pure.
I must do what I've been told."
He felt he had to fulfill what he was told to do.
So we started up the mountain,
We started making our way up the mountain.
I was running, he was walking,
I was running while he walked slowly behind.
And his axe was made of burning gold.
His axe was made of glowing gold metal.
Well, the trees they got much smaller,
As we climbed higher, the trees grew smaller.
Yes, the lake a lady's mirror
The lake was still like a reflective mirror.
When we stopped to drink some wine.
We stopped to have a drink of wine.
Then he threw the bottle over,
He threw the bottle and it shattered on the ground.
Broke a minute later
The bottle broke a moment later.
And he put his hand on mine.
He placed his hand over mine.
Thought I saw an eagle
I thought I saw an eagle in flight.
But it might have been a vulture,
It was possible that what I saw was actually a vulture.
I never could decide.
I was never certain what exactly I saw.
Then my father built an altar,
My father crafted an altar.
He looked once behind his shoulder,
He glanced briefly over his shoulder.
I guess he knew I would not hide.
He likely understood that I wouldn't hide.
You who build these altars now
Those who make altars now
To sacrifice our children,
Who kill their own children on these altars
You must not do it anymore.
You need to stop the practice of sacrificing children.
A scheme is not a vision
An intricate plan is not a sign from a divine being
And you never have been tempted
You never experienced a temptation either from God or the Devil.
By a demon or a god.
Nor have you even had contact with these entities.
You who stand above them now,
Those who judge the ones lower than them presently
Your hatchets blunt and bloody,
Their tools used to kill are dull and soaked with blood.
You were not there before.
They weren't present before in the way they are now.
When I lay upon a mountain
When I was lying on the mountain's ground.
And my father's hand was trembling
My father's hand shook slightly.
With the beauty, I mean the beauty of the word.
He was moved by the beauty in the words spoken to him.
And if you call me brother now,
If you refer to me as your brother now
Forgive me but I must inquire,
Allow me to ask this question after asking for forgiveness.
"Just according to whose plan?"
Whose plan is being followed exactly?
When it all comes down to dust
When everything ends in destruction
I will kill you if I must,
I will kill you if it's necessary.
I will help you if I can.
I will help you if I am able to.
When it all comes down to dust
When everything ends in destruction
I will help you if I must,
I will give you aid if it's what's required.
I'll kill you if I can.
If it's in my capability, I'll put an end to you.
And mercy, mercy on our uniform,
May mercy be shown to us and our clothing,
Man of peace, man of war,
We must live in peace and also provide protection.
The peacock spreads his deadly fan.
Like how the peacock displays its threatening feathers.
Contributed by Skyler E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Rodney Ferguson
Roy Buchanan giving a Leonard Cohen song a genius make over.
Jason Pettie
Charlie Daniels is the singer 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Michael Adrian
Killer Roy with definitive licks