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• August 16, 2014 10:20 PM PDT

  in the topic Lawman in the forum Gillian Welch and David Rawlings "Lyrics"

  It sounds to me like "I guess I'll have to keep an eye on the little grey he took in." Since I don't know what "grey" would mean in that context, I'd offere "babe" or "stray" as other possibilities, but it really sounds and looks like she sings "grey."

   

  I also think she sings "If I had known just an hour or so this is how it would go" and not "another song this is how it'll go."

• July 21, 2014 9:36 PM PDT

  in the topic Influences and references in the forum Gillian Welch and David Rawlings "Lyrics"

  sarahct said:

  Also in this article, they talk about the work of roots blues musician Dock Boggs, whose work is featured in Harry Smith's "Anthology of American Music."  One of his best known songs is a piece called "Country Blues"(or "Hustling Gamblers").  The version of that song that I have on "Country Blues: Complete Early Recordings) was a 78 containing the lyrics:

   

  "Give me corn bread when I'm hungry, good people;
  Corn whiskey when I'm dry;
  Pretty women a-standing around me;
  Sweet heaven when I die."

   

  -Clearly referenced in "Tennessee"

   

   

  Somewhere in between "Country Blues" and "Tennessee" is Tex Ritter's "Rye Whiskey," the second verse of which begins:

   

  "It's beefsteak when I'm hungry

  Rye whiskey when I'm dry

  A greenback when I'm hard-up

  It's heaven when I die"

   

  The next verse continues with lines used in DRM's "Bubbles In The Bourbon:"

   

  "If the ocean was whiskey

  And I was a duck

  I'd dive to the bottom

  And never come up"

• July 21, 2014 9:14 PM PDT

  in the topic Influences and references in the forum Gillian Welch and David Rawlings "Lyrics"

  sarahct said:
  On The Band's "Music From the Big Pink," they have a song "Let Me Lose," which reminds me of the chorus from the unreleased "Gambin' Man."

  I wasn't aware of The Band's version, but the Stanley Brothers recorded this song, too. I'm sure that Gillian and David are aware of both, and I'm sure you're right about this being the source for the lines from "Gamblin' Man," which is essentially a retelling of "Roving Gambler" (also recorded by the Stanleys) told from the female's perspective.