Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler are The Rough & Tumble – and we know what you’re wondering, but no we don’t know which one of the duo is Rough and which one is Tumble. Maybe they both are. What we do know is that they are preparing the release of their latest LP ‘Only This Far,’ which will be out on May 12th. They told Americana UK about this new song taken from the album, saying that it was: “Written at the start of what we called a “month of writing.” For this record, we thought we had all of the songs, but wanted to push forward for one or two more high energy tunes. So, we took the month of June and decided to write a song every day we didn’t have a show. We came damn near close, and hardly used any of the songs we’d originally intended for the record– mostly because of this one. This one came on the second day of writing, and was a natural outpouring from the previous Fall’s event, wherein Mallory’s favorite aunt had passed away. It was the event that caused all sorts of ripples – like Mallory’s mom talking to her again. But her passing itself was unexpected, sudden, and surrounded with a few mysteries. On June 1, we received a call from California (where Mallory’s aunt had been when she passed, and had spent most of her life), where the autopsy report was finalized after months of wondering. Somehow that information, though the ashes had already been spread, the final papers worked out, was the last thing needed to finally let go. This song is about the way in which we carry our loved ones, even through death; but maybe more importantly how they carry us, too. But, only this far.
This very simple song encompasses years of Aunt Tammy supporting Mallory– being the sometimes the only family member who “got” her– as well as the time spent in California meeting her community, planning her funeral, cleaning out her house, and carrying her ashes back from California, and even physically taking her ashes with us on tour in our camper for a month before we spread them in Western PA with her two surviving sisters, where she’s requested. It’s an odd sensation to literally carry someone across the country with you. And it’s a simple song to carry that.”
an
