Hayes Carll: You Get it All
Has it really been 16 years since Hayes Carll released his Little Rock record? Every other song then seemed to be uptempo and filled with his now-signature wit and sly humor. We tend to remember all his clever tunes and forget just how many of the songs he has written over the years carry depth and compassion. On his new release, You Get It All, Hayes Carll has moved into a new echelon of singer/songwriters with a collection of 11 songs that convey a new level of poignancy and maturity.
That’s not to imply that he has lost his sense of playfulness, which is on display in “Nice Things” (co-written with the Brothers Osborne). God came down to Earth to enjoy what she’d created, went fishing and hooked an oil barrel much to her dismay. Then she walked back to the highway where she caught a ride with a passing stranger who offered her a toke but just as she was partaking, they were stopped by the police and arrested. She got out of jail with a record and no money and passed a group of protestors. Asking one for a dollar she was called a “sinner” and told to “get a job.” The chorus sums it up:
“This is why I gave you all salvation
This is why angels lose their wings
This is why, this is why, this is why, why, why
This is why y’all can’t have nice things”
My favorite track on the new record is the upbeat “To Keep From Being Found,” a classic Carll delivery with a story of a man running from himself but aware his problems are his own fault:
“I can’t remember where I had my breakfast
Maybe Southeast Oklahoma
Or some backwoods Arky town
But I ain’t ever going back to Texas
There’s a girl down there in Texas
Who does not want me around
I ain’t ever going back to Texas
I’ll pay the cost of being lost just to keep from being found”
That’s the Hayes Carll I remember best.
The song on You Get It All that makes the biggest impact is “Help Me Remember,” a track he co-wrote with Josh Morningstar. It is written from the perspective of one suffering from Alzheimer’s and the dementia that causes a person to forget things they’ve known all their life. Carll shares his own personal experience, “I was 14 years old and sitting in the passenger seat of my grandfather’s truck in Waco, TX, the town he had lived in for most of his life. He turned to me at a stoplight and asked me where we were. He looked scared. I know I was. I’ve thought a lot since then about what it must feel like to lose the thread of your own story. This song is for the people who’ve experienced what my grandfather did, those that are experiencing it currently, and for those who serve as their witnesses and caregivers.” The first chorus of the song may be the most powerful paragraph you will read for a long time:
“Can you help me remember
Who it is I used to be
Can you tell me the story of my family, my hopes and my dreams
Did I try to stand for something or would I always fold
Did I do things when I was young to be proud of when I was old
Was I a house on fire or was I just a slow burning ember
Could you please help me remember”
Other standout tracks include “Any Other Way,” co-written with Aaron Raitierre who also adds harmony vocals to a fun song with tasty acoustic accompaniment; “She’ll Come Back To Me” another Raitierre co-write; “Different Boats,” which includes a writing credit for his wife, Allison Moorer; “In the Meantime,” a duet with co-writer Brandy Clark; and the title track co-written with Craig Wiseman.
Kenny Greenburg is the producer of the record. He has worked with Allison Moorer in the past, having produced a couple of her releases. She shares a production credit here as she did on Carll’s excellent 2019 release, What It Is.
In 2011, on the song “Hard Out Here,” Hayes lamented,
“Everybody's talkin' about the shape I'm in/
They say ‘boy, you ain't a poet, just a drunk with a pen.’"
With the tunes on You Get It All Hayes Carll has raised his songwriting game to another level that can now stand among the best.
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