CMT Blog: Archive

Hayes Carll evokes a long tradition going back to many years in clubs like Houston's Old Quarter, of seeing the likes of Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt and Ray Wylie Hubbard for the first time. Being blown away by the sense of kinship with these ragged, eloquent poets of the backstreets. Galveston and Houston, especially, with their weather-beaten and rundown boozy clubs, have nurtured these rangy singer-songwriters for years.

Carll is getting a fresh wave of publicity for the lyrics to his song "She Left Me for Jesus," from his new album Trouble in Mind. And rightfully so. It's a delightful and clever song, dancing on the edge of blasphemy, with such lines as "Last time we made love/She even called out his name." But Carll is much, much more than just that song. He's got a solid body of work in the can, going back to 2002's Flowers & Liquor and 2005's Little Rock. And I continue to find wonderful little seemingly throw-away lines such as "You be the sinner, honey/I'll be the sin" from "Drunken Poet's Dream" on the new album. He's one of the best songwriters working in any genre today. By the way, you can listen to the whole album on Carll's official Web site.