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Eilen Jewell — Dusty Boxcar Wall
Album: Letters from Sinners & Strangers
Avg rating:
7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1361









Released: 2007
Length: 2:40
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Well I'm going away my baby
I'm gonna leave you honey now
Well that train passed by when you lay sleeping
I'm gonna write you a letter on a dusty boxcar wall

The only two things a gambler needs
Are a suitcase and a trunk
And the only time that he's satisfied
Is when he's on the drunk

I once loved a boy in Cincinnati
I loved a boy in sunny Tennessee
Well a city boy will fill your heart with sadness
But a country boy's as good as he can be
Comments (90)add comment
A totally unique voice! Love the song! Love her!
 stunix wrote:

found it.....   here.   and to be honest, thats enough of that stuff for a few months. 

That video was clever, hilarious, revealing, and sly all at once.

Rate it an 8 for effort, and a 2 for content.
Never heard of her, but she she sounds great!
 stunix wrote:

found it.....   here.   and to be honest, thats enough of that stuff for a few months. 


Hilarious. 
Just went from 7 to 10, very impressed by this lady
I LOVE this. It's the sadness of the words, her smooth voice and the great music behind it. Doesn't matter if it's old or new, her words or someone else's, it's a pleasure to hear it.
That's some sweet gee tar!
 Tippster wrote:

Thank goodness for small blessings.  Decent food, awful weather, and absolutely no city identity.  The only town in the USA to be more dissolute than LA - the lack of charm is astounding.
 
It's just bidness.
Dusty Boxcar Wall made me buy her album. Letters From Sinners & Strangers.
(iTunes calls it Letters To Sinners & Strangers --big difference)
           
Best version of this song ever... And Jerry Miller (her guitarist)  is excellent.
Hate Johnny Cash... It all sounds the same.
Really reminded me of Lucinda Williams. 


 img src=img src=:brushteeth::coffeecup::stereo::pc::gallery::highfive:img src=:sing:img src=:bow::tea::teevee::pc::omg::email::love::writersblock::emailsend::reading:img src=:milk::brushteeth:img src=img src=


It's so soft and pretty, like a feather pillow. I love it. 
awesome!
 Skydog wrote:

it's not that I hate it but I'll be glad when it's over

 
I like it, especialy on this boring rainy day.
       Ticket as he makes his fast lane exit
 I bet day tripper knows where to take that train.
             I still need the gambler
 wgsu_1978 wrote:

Agreed. I'll listen to this over any of the FM trash that passes for country these days. Look for the YouTube video where they splice six "country" hits into one song, then play them all simultaneously. Hysterical!
 
found it.....   here.   and to be honest, thats enough of that stuff for a few months. 
 MassivRuss wrote:

Generic? Nah. Kinda traditional, rootsy, Johnny Cash, Patsy Kline. Y'know, basically *musical*.

Generic is musically empty garbage on "Today's Country" radio, and WAY TOO F*CKING MANY stores' & malls'  house systems.

 
Agreed. I'll listen to this over any of the FM trash that passes for country these days. Look for the YouTube video where they splice six "country" hits into one song, then play them all simultaneously. Hysterical!
 The_Walrus wrote:
Lazy generic Country music, hate this stuff

 
Generic? Nah. Kinda traditional, rootsy, Johnny Cash, Patsy Kline. Y'know, basically *musical*.

Generic is musically empty garbage on "Today's Country" radio, and WAY TOO F*CKING MANY stores' & malls'  house systems.
 Dog_Ear wrote:
what's with the lines lifted directly from "House of the risin' sun?"
 
Good ear-dog
Lazy generic Country music, hate this stuff

 

Palmer;

This album and artist are both, individually, true hidden treasures...

I like her voice, lyrics, arrangement and whole album...and all her others as well.

She has a big future, if she wishes.  A friend recommended "Jewel" and I thought of this artist... I misjudged... Yuch....

This is real woman with real feelings and thoughts... Not a child wishing or pretending...

So.... Yeah, I like it/her both

 

 

 

 

 

PalmerDA wrote:

Absolutely love it! I hope the whole album is that good.

 


Absolutely love it! I hope the whole album is that good.
 unclehud wrote:
...nowhere in the world is like Houston.

 
Thank goodness for small blessings.  Decent food, awful weather, and absolutely no city identity.  The only town in the USA to be more dissolute than LA - the lack of charm is astounding.
 Businessgypsy wrote:
clipped ... (about diversity in the US)...
Spending a week in New York City does not scratch the surface. Come visit for a month or two and bounce around the country. You'll be amazed - and you're always welcome.

 
Amen, Businessgypsy.  New York is not the same as Atlanta; neither are the same as Miami, nor San Francisco, nor Chicago, nor New Orleans; and nowhere in the world is like Houston.

Lest we forget, the vast majority of our nation is comprised of small towns and rural areas.  (I'm looking straight at you, South Carolina, my beautiful schizo homeland!)


solid talent.....sweet voice....lotta heart.....{#Clap}
 icemang wrote:
More like a straight-up copy of Josh Ritter's "Harrisburg", to my ears. even the "Sinners" in the album title calls to mind "Sinners", a ski movie by Dave Heath that was a big early showcase for "Harrisburg" and Josh Ritter. Basically broke him n North America, actually.

 
Both songs have standard, minor-key, folk progressions, and the chord progressions and melodies of the two songs are different.  I'm not sure if "straight-up copy" is a fair assessment.
Note to the many Viking listeners to RP: Eilen is currently (June 2013) touring Sweden. See her website.
Love this band...wish I could hang out with them in some bar for a long evening...hey! They're playing at Johnny D's near here tomorrow night YEE HAW!
More like a straight-up copy of Josh Ritter's "Harrisburg", to my ears. even the "Sinners" in the album title calls to mind "Sinners", a ski movie by Dave Heath that was a big early showcase for "Harrisburg" and Josh Ritter. Basically broke him n North America, actually.
Wow. This is pretty cool. Kinda a cross between Lucinda W and Kathleen Edwards.

Good guitar work.
evocative and beautiful lyrics...love it.
Cool tune and what an awesome album name.  If someone told me they had an album called Letters from sinners and strangers I wouldn't even ask what genre it was I would just give it a bash on name alone.
Great voice and style. Her guitarist plays an awesome Gretsch!  Great show here in St. Louis.
She's grown on me and I really like her.
Along with Zoe Muth, i think the best Country artist around today and this is a great cover. Check Eilen out live, her band are incredible!
 scmerriam wrote:

For what its worth, All fruit is "techically female," being the ovary of the plant.

 
So it isn't weird if I have naughty thoughts about banana peels?

{#Sleep}
Playing songs like this along with traditional R&B, some jazz mixed in etc is why I listen and support Radio Paradise. Music has no boundaries. Bill understands this - thx Bill.
I'm sorry, but i'm so NOT in the mood for her voice right now. So lazy, dragging every note to the next...

On other days it's okay, but not today... *sigh*
I'll shut up now...
Old post-late reply...

Lots of good female country singers. Just gotta work a bit to find em...but the ones who make it last decades,,, Thanks to RP I've started digging more into Emmy Lou Harris...she's been good for decades...and stays good... But she was so consistent and seldom erratic of experimenting I grew blase...Now I'm finding her all over again... and Same for Rita Coolidge... I had forgotten how wonderful her voice is... The famale voice says things that a make voice can never convey.   Few of the newer female singers let the voice work the magic on the male psyche... They work too hard to be perfect... For me a softer, personal sound hoks me in... Perfection is boring... I want personality and personal relationship... dark night, moon, bit of wind and scattered rain...and soft female voice...  OK... That's me. And that takes time. Not a hit and run... no 25 second sample... Lots of good music around... Keep searching.

 
Stingray wrote:
How many country-girls like that make music exist in USA?

10.000...? Or 100.000 already?

Not that I generally dislike "girls" singing. Absolutely not!
But too many are too simelar!

Bill's the true "girli-man" - he's completely in true LOVE with most of them!

America, it seems, is generally much softer when it comes to (Rock-)music,
way more than Europe, especially England!

STINGRAY
 


Very seductive. Bought the CD from hearing on RP. Thought it was "so-so"....Then let it work its magic... Now one of my faves/
I wonder about people who buy only songs and those decisions based on a single hearing. Me-? I buy the CDs and even back/used music then let the artist's talent envelope me... Sometimes it works-someties not. But I still like to find, discover and understand who and why I like or dislike... She is very good. A long career is ahead-unless things go sideways...


mmmm nice segaway
michelle shocked's L&N don't stop here no more
to eilen jewell's chug a chug dusty boxcar wall

 scmerriam wrote:

For what its worth, All fruit is "techically female," being the ovary of the plant.

 
Yeah.  Redundant! Redundant! Redundant! {#Dancingbanana}{#Dancingbanana}{#Dancingbanana}
 haresfur wrote:
I'm glad Radio Paradise plays this a lot because it keeps growing on me.  Thanks. {#Bananajam} (but we need a country-folky chick-singer emoticon - although I suppose bananas are technically female fruit)

 
For what its worth, All fruit is "techically female," being the ovary of the plant.

I'm glad Radio Paradise plays this a lot because it keeps growing on me.  Thanks. {#Bananajam} (but we need a country-folky chick-singer emoticon - although I suppose bananas are technically female fruit)

 Randomax wrote:
Sorry, Boxcar Bertha just rolled over in her grave.....just hard to envision a white, blonde, 20 something EVER going thru what this song is all about....just my opinion....I can't buy it (literally)
 
If every singer who covered a song had to have experienced what the original songwriter experienced there'd many orders of magnitude fewer covers produced.

Stingray wrote:
...America, it seems, is generally much softer when it comes to (Rock-)music,
way more than Europe, especially England!...
You've hit on an issue that often challenges conversations between the US and Europe: scale. The US is so large, with such a diverse and independent population and so many dialects and geographically based customs that it can easily contain a mind boggling number of seemingly conflicting musical directions simultaneously. For some from a small country (or a group of economically linked small countries) using their own experience as a measure, it can be pretty hard to get your head around the enormity of it.

Spending a week in New York City does not scratch the surface. Come visit for a month or two and bounce around the country. You'll be amazed - and you're always welcome.


 ThePoose wrote:
Where would we be without boxcars and dust?
 
Uh, at home and clean?

 Dog_Ear wrote:
what's with the lines lifted directly from "House of the risin' sun?"
 
It's called 'homage'.

 Stingray wrote:
How many country-girls like that make music exist in USA?

10.000...? Or 100.000 already?

Not that I generally dislike "girls" singing. Absolutely not!
But too many are too simelar!

Bill's the true "girli-man" - he's completely in true LOVE with most of them!

America, it seems, is generally much softer when it comes to (Rock-)music,
way more than Europe, especially England!

STINGRAY
 
Never been to Nashville have you?

what's with the lines lifted directly from "House of the risin' sun?"
Country + Blue Grass + Surf !!
How many country-girls like that make music exist in USA?

10.000...? Or 100.000 already?

Not that I generally dislike "girls" singing. Absolutely not!
But too many are too simelar!

Bill's the true "girli-man" - he's completely in true LOVE with most of them!

America, it seems, is generally much softer when it comes to (Rock-)music,
way more than Europe, especially England!

STINGRAY
Saw her live recently - the guitarist (Jerry Miller) tore it up!  Very good show.
Emory Joseph has so much more authenticity
Where would we be without boxcars and dust?
Sorry, Boxcar Bertha just rolled over in her grave.....just hard to envision a white, blonde, 20 something EVER going thru what this song is all about....just my opinion....I can't buy it (literally)
Very cool, great delivery.  Something about it makes me think of a Quentin Tarantino movie - Pulp Fiction maybe? {#Think}
 Paul_in_Australia wrote:

25% of all your ratings are at 7, fred. There are other options, you know!

 
True enough. 7 is my default for anything good. In this case an upgrade is deserved. 7 => 8

 George_Tirebiter wrote:
Rootsy - makes me think of Slaid Cleaves
 
Yea, some Slaid Cleaves would be good.  I just checked the library and it looks like one song (Broke Down) got some play in 2004-05 but not since.  Even had a 7.1 rating which isn't too bad.


Made me think of one of my favorite album titles, Sorry But I Can't Take You: Women's Railroad Blues.  I wonder, does Bill play music from vinyl? 

Rootsy - makes me think of Slaid Cleaves
Always makes me think of Townes. I don't know why.
Yep, this is fun!
Nicely done.

So nice you're playing some Eilen Jewell, of course it's sad to see bile driven, purist pundits having to lob what ever insults they can muster, but "re-makes" aside I'm pretty sure I've been checkin' since I saw her play here in town last year, and not until 'now', have I seen any of her stuff here at RP. I was thinking about uploading some songs but looks like you've got a start. But in seeing that yet another cover was chosen off her new one"Sea of Tears"? with (Shakin All Over) . I suspect the "re-make police" will be all over that one too. Her new one has some nice original stuff too hope to see them on here too. In looking over her RP info there is more favorable stuff with the song "Where They Never Say Your Name" This looks currently to be the only orignal? But as folks were saying with that, one "she's good" and I might add...getting better... I must also argree with the "Jerry Miller on guitar" part too. Luv that 60's surfer type guitar work lol...




oh wow. I grew up hearing my brother sing his own version of "House of the Rising Sun". He replaced "new blue jeans" with "old black jeans". It's one of the two songs that I know all the words to. The second is "Happy Birthday" by Concrete Blond.
I read a book on the origin of the song "House of the Rising Sun" and parts of that song go back about 150 years in many variations, it may even go back to Asia, some were speculating, so why can't she?.
Did Eric Andersen write Dusty Boxcar Wall? There may be an older version that she's copying. Sort of like there are more than a dozen songs with "sun's gonna shine on my backdoor someday." it's just the nature of roots music.
 fredriley wrote:

Lyrics aren't sacrosanct. I've never heard the original so can't compare, but looking at the two versions of the lyrics below I can't see what the problem is. She's rejigged the lyrics to fit her gender, and has kept the sense of the song's message. Some folk are a tad too precious about 'classics'. I rather like this effort, quite evocative, though I couldn't see someone as waiflike and vulnerable-looking as herself riding freight trains. 7 from the Nottingham jury.
 
25% of all your ratings are at 7, fred. There are other options, you know!

How about the Irish rating for any English entry in Eurovision, which is what this abortion merits? 
This mish-mash is pretty good! I like her delivery.

{#High-five}

 RadioDoc wrote:

Well, see there's the problem.  This doesn't add anything to the original and sounds like someone doing karaoke who forgot the lyrics and starts making stuff up to avoid being booed off stage. Calling this weak is being generous.  It's a hack job.

 
Lyrics aren't sacrosanct. I've never heard the original so can't compare, but looking at the two versions of the lyrics below I can't see what the problem is. She's rejigged the lyrics to fit her gender, and has kept the sense of the song's message. Some folk are a tad too precious about 'classics'. I rather like this effort, quite evocative, though I couldn't see someone as waiflike and vulnerable-looking as herself riding freight trains. 7 from the Nottingham jury.

Really? You think this is bad? C'mon. I'm usually at the front of the "cover police".
This is nice. It's been 40 years, right? Get over it, this DOES sound different.
 WonderLizard wrote:

Hmm. I'm not sure I agree with this and others below. First, there's no rule that sez you can't write new lyrics to a song, especially if what you write adds something to the listener's understanding of what the writer intends—after all, that's what it's all about, yes? No one (well, almost no one) rags on Dylan or ragged on Led Zep when they did the same thing, right? And lifting the verse from "House..." could just as well be an homage as a rip. I'd like to see how she treats the credits in the liner notes to the CD, which I do not have. Otherwise, it's a pretty nifty rendition.

 
Well, see there's the problem.  This doesn't add anything to the original and sounds like someone doing karaoke who forgot the lyrics and starts making stuff up to avoid being booed off stage. Calling this weak is being generous.  It's a hack job.

 RadioDoc wrote:
Wow....talk about hacking up a song...
 
Hmm. I'm not sure I agree with this and others below. First, there's no rule that sez you can't write new lyrics to a song, especially if what you write adds something to the listener's understanding of what the writer intends—after all, that's what it's all about, yes? No one (well, almost no one) rags on Dylan or ragged on Led Zep when they did the same thing, right? And lifting the verse from "House..." could just as well be an homage as a rip. I'd like to see how she treats the credits in the liner notes to the CD, which I do not have. Otherwise, it's a pretty nifty rendition.

Wow....talk about hacking up a song...

Eric Andersen - Dusty Boxcar Wall
Chorus:
I’m going away my baby,
I’m gonna leave you pretty gal
For a train passed by while you lay sleeping
I’ll write you a letter on a dusty boxcar wall

I once had a love in old Kentucky
I once had a love in sunny Tennessee
But a New York gal brought me pain and sadness
Now I’m here as lonely as I can be

Chorus

City women bring you grief and sorrow
Country girls are as sweet as they can be
City women are as cold as they are shallow
But a country girl’s love is as deep as the deep blue sea

Chorus

Oh when I die and go to heaven
That’ll be tha last train ride I’ll ever see
They’ll put a silver spike upon my gravestone
And my casket beneath a weeping willow tree
——————————————-
Compare that to:
——————————————
Eilen Jewell - Dusty Boxcar Wall

Well, I’m goin’ away, my baby
I’m gonna leave you, honey, now
Well, that train passed by when you lay sleepin’
I’m gonna write you a letter on a dusty boxcar wall

Well, the only two things a gambler needs
Are a suitcase and a trunk
And the only time that he’s satisfied
Is when he’s on the drunk

And I’m goin’ away, my baby
I’m gonna leave you, honey, now
Well, that train passed by when you lay sleepin’
I’m gonna write you a letter on a dusty boxcar wall

I once loved a boy in Cincinnati
I loved a boy in sunny Tennessee
Well, a city boy will fill your heart with sadness
But a country boy’s as good as he can be

And I’m goin’ away, my baby
I’m gonna leave you, honey, now
Well, that train passed by when you lay sleepin’
I’m gonna write you a letter on a dusty boxcar wall

I’m gonna write you a letter on a dusty boxcar wall
I’m gonna write you a letter on a dusty boxcar wall
——————————————
Eric Andersen's Dusty Box Car Wall was released in 1964.  Not sure what Eilen as trying to add with the House of the Rising Sun verse.

I think I would rather hear the original...

"The only two things a gambler needs are a suitcase and a trunk,
and the only time that he's satisfied is when he's on a drunk".


She stole those lyrics right out of "The House of the Rising Sun" {#Think}



I once loved a boy in Cincinnati
I loved a boy in sunny Tennessee
A city boy will fill your heart with sadness
but a country boy's as good as he can be

You said it, sister.

 Carissa wrote:
Anybody know who originally wrote this tune? I've heard Gillian Welch and David Rawlings perform it, too. Wonderful song.
 
I believe it was written by Eric Andersen.


Wow, thanks for the upload.  Never thought I'd hear Eileen on RP.  I'm fond of her 'sound' and she tours with an awesome guitarist.  Thanks.
Yeah - my first successful upload!!
Thanks Bill n Rebecca for playing Eilen Jewell and the boys. She and Jay used to work on my farm when they were starting out a few years back. Wish I could get them to play out here again but they're touring so much...
Rarely hear them outside of my collection. Great sounds! Thanks!
ps their new album is great!
Anybody know who originally wrote this tune? I've heard Gillian Welch and David Rawlings perform it, too. Wonderful song.
A fantastic song on a stellar offering from Eilen. If you love Letters from Sinners and Strangers, give her new third record  "Sea of Tears" a try. its got everything-country blues, folk, rock and roll- and wonderful lyrics.
romeotuma wrote:
Wow... I really like this song...

Jump  What he (or she) said.

A friend turned me on to her. This a GREAT CD!