The Top 10 Americana Songs Of All Time: David Jarman

Following on from Fred Arnold‘s choices, the first thing to say is – what a challenge! So many great songs in the genre, and, at least in part, I have gone with Fred leaning towards songs with lyrics that move me – so a writer like Nick Lowe was a shoo-in from the start, with other great lyricists I have featured including Guy Clark, Gillian Welch, and Bob Dylan.

However, my ultimate criteria was songs I just keep coming back to – so there are some full on rockers,  and simply great tracks. And as for Fred, an apology to those artists which haven’t made the final 10 – notably Steve Earle, Ryan Adams, Kathleen Edwards, and Amy Speace, thinking of her charming song for our times ‘Kindness’.

Number 10; Hank Williams ‘I Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind’ (1948)

Hank Williams features more than many artists, on my “americana” playlist on my phone, so many great tracks to choose from, but my choice has a personal angle. I’m writing this piece from Nashville, and, standing outside the Ryman auditorium a couple of days ago I was reminded of my (cheeky) appearance on its stage some 11 years ago. Those of you who have visited will know that the stage, at visitor open hours, has two guitars sitting temptingly centre stage. Making my way through the self-guided tour, I found myself ahead of my music buddy John, and talking to some American visitors. On hearing that we played and sang, they said “hey, you must play for us“. Five or 10 minutes later John appears, and I say “John – we’re on stage “– and having quickly tuned up one of the guitars the song I picked was “I Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind“. Maybe not the best rendition, but that’s for others to judge, and the song has remained a firm favourite ever since, as a classic Hank Williams “troubled love“ song, with a proto rock ‘n’ roll feel.

Number 9: Bob Dylan ‘Mississippi’ from “Love and Theft” (2001) 

So many great songs to choose, of course, and, much as I love his early repertoire, and indeed very much of what has followed, this is the track I always return to to play. A classic Bob Dylan story song, with a fantastic arrangement, this was the second time he had recorded the song, the first version failing to make the cut for an earlier album, subsequently appearing on his bootleg series volume 17. The ‘Love And Theft’ version, was, according to the account at the Bob Dylan Centre in Tulsa, which I visited a couple of years back, recorded in just a few takes, as a late addition to the recording session for the album. The song has an unusual structure – essentially AABA ( verse – verse – bridge – verse), repeated three times, with the only common line, appearing in the third, seventh and final verses being the refrain “Only one thing I did wrong/stayed in Mississippi a day too long“.

Lyrically, we know that love and loss is involved, “I was thinking about the things that Rosy said/I was dreaming I was sleeping in Rosy’s bed“, while catastrophe has befallen the narrator, Dylan singing  “Well my ship‘s been split to splinters and it’s sinking fast/I’m drowning in the poison, got no future got no past“, and “My clothes are wet, tight on my skin/not as tight as the corner that I painted myself in“.

Musically, the arrangement is defined by an ascending bass line which drives the bridge section forwards, and gives a powerful character to the song. Add the melodic interlude – only six seconds long –which opens the song and links each section, as well as closing the song, and, to me, this is one of Bob Dylan‘s true masterpieces. and of course, his world weary voice has never sounded more appropriate to a lyric, in my opinion.

Number 8: Gillian Welch ‘Revelator’ from “Time (The Revelator)” (2001)

I was fortunate enough to catch Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings on their recent tour dates in London – what a performance. It would’ve been a surprise had they not included ‘Revelator’, another enduring favourite, from her album  released in 2001, “Time (The Revelator)”. Welch and Rawlings are faithful inheritors of the acoustic American roots tradition, and sincerity, and truth to these roots, is a constant thread through their musical outputs over the years. The lyrics of ‘Revelator’ don’t easily reveal their meaning, beyond the simple truth that time will reveal, but certainly the lyrics reference traditional American music brackets “They caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride”, and the following line “The fortune lady came along she walked beside/but every word seemed to date her/time’s the revelator, the revelator“ seems to me to reference Welch‘s own roots, with perhaps a hint to this not having been universally well received, at least in her earlier career? Musically, the song is a classic work of the duo – Welch’s vocal delivery is powerful, and deliberate, and Rawlings characteristic guitar style – soloing high up the neck, with extraordinary power and intensity, especially when seen live, with extraordinary quick fire delivery.

Number 7: Dan Hicks And His Hot Licks ‘I Scare Myself” from “Striking It Rich” (1972)

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks have been a firm, and enduring, favourite since my student days, introduced to them by a fellow student with an American girlfriend. Hicks was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, but moved at a young age with his family to California, where he started his idiosyncratic career in music with the San Francisco psychedelic band The Charlatans, initially playing with them on drums, before switching to rhythm guitar.

His band, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, was formed in 1967, and my song choice, ‘I Scare Myself’, featured on their  third album, “Striking It Rich”, released in 1972. Combining elements of folk, western swing, and with jazz and Latin influences evident as well, I have always particularly loved the joyous sound featured on most of his recordings, but I found it impossible not to choose ‘I Scare Myself“, as it is such an atmospheric track, combining a subtle Latin groove, with the most extraordinary fiddle instrumental section, at roughly two minutes 40 seconds almost half the length of the track, played by Sid Page, a violinist with a jazz background. Has there ever been an edgier fiddle part in Americana? It builds through the track to an intense conclusion, the song still retaining the trademark backing vocals of his Hot Licks, on this recording Naomi Ruth Eisenberg and Marianne Price, their contribution firmly rooted in the recordings of the Andrew sisters. And of course, Hicks own laid-back, laconic vocal, which so attracted me to the band back in the day, listening in rooms hazy with the smoke of illegal substances (I’m admitting nothing!).

He recorded the song a number of times during his career, for the last time on his 2004 album “Beating The Heat”, but my selected version remains, in my view, the best. It’s also worth noting that Thomas Dolby recorded a very interesting arrangement of the song, in 1994.

Number 6: The Long Ryders ‘Lights of Downtown’ from “State Of Our Union” (1985)

‘Lights of Downtown’ was the first track I heard by the Long Ryders – I recall a late night drive, and the track coming up on the radio – making an instant impression on me. Is there a better opening riff in americana? Possibly, but this remains my favourite. This led me to the album it featured on, “State of Our Union”, and with retrospective box set releases I think I have pretty much everything the band released back in the heyday, and their more recent albums, in the reformed guise, “Psychedelic Country Soul” and “September November”.

I missed their first reunion tour somewhere around 2004, but seeing them live at Under The Bridge in London in 2016 was a real thrill, and of course, ‘Lights of Downtown’, one of their closing numbers, was a huge highlight. combining that opening riff, a classic story song of late night murder in the city, great harmony vocals, and a guitar instrumental that really kicks. I have a lot to say thanks for from that radio play back in the 80s. Long may Sid Griffin and crew continue to gig and record!

Number 5: Johnny Cash ‘Hurt’ from “American IV :The Man Comes Around” (2002)

Truly one of the greats of the world of country and americana, his later output, on the American recordings series, took Cash to stripped back versions of both classic country songs, and songs that might at first listen have seemed unusual choices. Notable amongst these is ‘Hurt’, originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails, and written by Trent Reznor. Featured on his final album released during his lifetime, Cash’s heartfelt, world weary vocal sits prominently over the sparse instrumental arrangement, featuring Mike Campbell on acoustic guitar and Benmont Tench on piano organ and mellotron. The characteristic guitar motif, featured throughout the song, is supplemented to great effect by the insistent piano of Tench, as the song builds lyrically; the emotional impact of the song is even greater, watching the video recorded to accompany the song, at the House of Cash Museum in Nashville, in a sorry state at that time. Both the song and the video were given extra poignancy, when Cash passed away seven months after the recording of the video, in September 2003, only a few months after the death of his wife June Carter Cash.

How many songs can offer a more emotional opening couplet than “I hurt myself today/to see if I still feel”, delivered here with such emotional intensity by Cash, on the album many considered to be his finest – certainly I do. While interpretations of the lyric differ, to me it has always seemed to be at heart, a reflection on mortality, and the ultimate meaningless of  material things “and you could have it all/my Empire of dirt”. Powerful stuff.

Number 4: Guy Clark ‘She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’ from “Old No. 1″ (1975)

Guy Clark was always going to make my top 10 list, the only challenge which song among his fabulous output? Such a great songwriter and lyricist, my top 10 choice is ‘She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’.

The opening line, “Standing on the gone side of leaving, she found her thumb and stuck it in the breeze“ is one of my all-time favourites. Its deceptively simple acoustic guitar building with bass and drums, backing vocals from Emmylou Harris, and atmospheric pedal steel from Hal Rugg, the track feature on his debut album, “Old No. 1”, and the personnel list – running to 25 including Clark himself –shows his deep connection to the Texas music scene, with other contributors including Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, and Mickey Raphael, on harmonica.

Number 3: Lucinda Williams ‘Car Wheels On A Gravel Road’ from “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road” (1998)

Another first time listen song that grabbed me instantly, and has led to a long-standing love affair with the music of the great Lucinda Williams. The album, of the same name, was her real breakthrough album, and over the 25 years plus that have followed its release, Williams has preserved and enhanced her reputation as one of the leading contemporary artists in the world of americana.

The album had a painful birth process – Williams rejecting the first version of the album as it neared completion, and a combination of label difficulties, and the changing make-up of the new production team, which included Steve Earle, meant that a project started early in 1995 didn’t reach its release until 1998. However, there is not a shadow of doubt that the re-recording of the album, with Williams‘s characteristic vocal very much at the fore, was the right choice – with heartfelt songs based on Williams’ life in the south, and, in the case of ‘Car Wheels on a Gravel Road’, drawing very much on memories of her childhood.

While Williams herself is often quoted as critical of her vocals, they are so characterful and authentic that it is hard to imagine a better voicing for her lyrics as she sings “Sitting in the kitchen, a house in Macon/Loretta singing on the radio/smell of coffee, eggs and bacon/car wheels on a gravel road” with the final line repeated as her chorus. Of course coffee is pronounced in a fabulous southern drawl as “caawfeee”!

Williams performed the album in London in 2019, in its entirety,  with Williams illustrating the songs with images, and telling the stories behind the lyrics – a memorable and moving concert, which so impressed a jazz drummer friend that who accompanied me that he told me it was the best “non-Jazz gig he’d ever been to”!

Number 2: Nick Lowe ‘The Beast In Me’ from “The Impossible Bird” (1997)

As with so many artists in this list, a tough choice to make,  Lowe has been one of my favourite artists in his many incarnations, musically, going way back to Brinsley Schwarz – ‘Surrender to the Rhythm’ chosen recently my fellow writer Tim Martin being just one of many firm contenders. My choice, though, is his stripped back ‘The Beast in Me’, written by him for Johnny Cash, and indeed featured on Cash‘s “American Recordings” album released in April 1994. Lowe’s own version appeared later the same year, on his album “The Impossible Bird”.

Lowe tells a great story about the writing of the song – he had told Cash that the song was in the making, and Cash and his entourage arranged to arrive one morning – prompting Lowe to try to finish the song overnight, nursing something of a hangover. The pressure was on, and we could imagine Lowe, in a delicate state, feeling like a rabbit in the headlights as Cash and his group listened – Cash then asking for him to play it again.

Lowe’s delivery of the song has an intimacy that is hard to capture on recordings – close mic, soft in tone, and vulnerable, as he sings “The beast in me/ is caged by frail and fragile bars/restless by day by night rants and rages at the stars/God help the beast in me”.

The bridge features a delightful and sparse high register piano from Geraint Watkins, subtly enhancing the laid-back vibe of the song. Lowe’s version features over the closing credits of the pilot episode of the Sopranos – well chosen for its lead character, Tony Soprano. I still get a chill every time I listen to this song.

Number 1: Ry Cooder ‘Across The Borderline’ from “Get Rhythm” (1987)

I couldn’t imagine the top 10 list without at least one song by Ry Cooder, as with so many artists on my list so many great songs to choose from, but ‘Across the Borderline’ has been a long-standing favourite, and feels such a pertinent and relevant song in these troubled times, especially as I write this piece from Nashville, before going onto Los Angeles.

“There’s a place where I’ve been told / Every street is paved with gold / And it’s just across the borderline / And when it’s time to take your turn / Here’s a lesson that you must learn / You could lose more than you’ll ever hope to find / When you reach the broken promised land / And every dream slips through your hands / Then you’ll know that it’s too late to change your mind / ‘Cause you’ve paid the price to come so far / Just to wind up where you are / And you’re still just across the borderline”

Cooder is a genius in creating a subtle but complex vibe in his instrumentation and arrangements, and this track is a masterpiece of that characteristic – with a gentle groove, behind heartfelt lyrics, and featuring a beautiful slide guitar instrumental. Harry Dean Stanton, the lead actor in ‘Paris, Texas’, famous for Cooder’s magnificent soundtrack, voices the bridge in the song, and provides backing vocals; the song, written by Cooder with John Hiatt and Jim Dickinson, is itself a reworking of the song by Freddy Fender, which Cooder produced some years earlier – the new version adding the bridge. An American masterpiece, in my humble opinion, to close my top 10.