This week the theme for Song Lyric Sunday, as set out by Jim in Going Unplugged, is to play an acoustic rock song. Taking my definition of acoustic instruments to mean anything that existed before electricity, I’m playing you two songs today that I absolutely love, which are markedly different in nature and style. I could have gone for many of the ‘unplugged’ variety, where rock songs are stripped down and the electric instruments replaced, but decided to go for what I see as true acoustic. Both songs count loosely under the description of ‘Americana,’ which just goes to show how wide some of these categories can be. The first one is heavily based around an instrument that might not be the first that comes to mind when you think of ‘acoustic’ – most of us tend towards guitars and similar stringed instruments, but this one fits just as well, as who had heard of electricity when it was invented? There’s a hint of electric guitar late on, but it is far from the forefront so I’m sticking with the choice!

That’s enough waffle, let’s get on with the music. This is that first song, an absolute beauty:

And the lyrics:

You only know what I want you to
I know everything you don’t want me to
Oh, your mouth is poison, your mouth is wine
You think your dreams are the same as mine

Ooh, I don’t love you, but I always will
Ooh, I don’t love you, but I always will
I don’t love you, but I always will
I always will

I wish you’d hold me when I turn my back
The less I give the more I get back
Ooh, your hands can heal, your hands can bruise
I don’t have a choice, but I still choose you

Oh, I don’t love you, but I always will
Oh, I don’t love you, but I always will
I don’t love you, but I always will
Oh, I don’t love you, but I always will
I don’t love you, but I always will
I don’t love you, but I always will
I don’t love you, but I always will
I always will

I always will
I always will
I always will
I always will

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Chris Lindsey / John White / Joy Williams

Poison & Wine lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

The Civil Wars comprised Joy Williams and John Paul White. Both had solo careers before they met at a songwriting workshop in 2008. They were randomly paired together, and something just clicked. Despite appearances to the contrary in that performance, they weren’t a real life couple: Joy was married to Nate Yetton, the band’s manager (they divorced in 2019 and she has since remarried), and John Paul has a wife (Jenny) and four kids. But they enjoyed a wonderful musical connection in the band’s short life: from 2008 to 2014 they released two studio albums, several live records and a number of EPs. The two studio releases were both massive chart hits: the first, Barton Hollow, made #10 in the US and #13 in the UK, and the second, simply called The Civil Wars, went to #1 in the US and #2 in the UK. The song I played, Poison And Wine, was on the first of those, but had originally been released in June 2009 on a live album of their first show together, Live At Eddie’s Attic, which was released via the Noisetrade website as a free download. That is where I first came across them, as I found lot of great music on that site, and I was instantly hooked. In their short time together they won four Grammy Awards, toured with Adele, and also collaborated with Taylor Swift for the song Safe And Sound, from the first Hunger Games movie – it’s another beauty, well worth checking out.

The Civil Wars announced that they would permanently part ways on August 5 2014, and offered a free download of You Are My Sunshine as a parting gift. At the time, Joy wrote “I am saddened and disappointed by the ending of this duo, to say the very least. JP is a tremendous musician, and I will always be grateful for the music we were able to create together.” John Paul’s statement read “I would like to express sincere thanks to all who were a part of the arc of The Civil Wars – from the beginning, to the end, and all points in between.” Despite several rumours of a reunion it hasn’t happened, and there was talk at the break up that they had the usual ‘irreconcilable differences’ anyway. The closest they have since come is a remake earlier this year of Safe And Sound, for which they each sang their parts separately and are credited in their individual names. I’ve often thought that it would be great if they could make new music together, but they have left us with two gems of albums and maybe it is best to remember them that way.

And now, as Mr Python was given to remarking, for something completely different. The clue to today’s second song is in my title, and after the intensity of that first track this gives you what I think is one of the most joyous music videos I know. It is another that fits the ‘acoustic’ theme well, and I have loved it since it first came out:

The two original members of The Lumineers, Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, have been together as a songwriting and performing partnership since 2002. According to Wesley, they acquired their name in 2009 after a band called Lumineers (a made up word) was supposed to play at a club in Jersey City the week after Wesley and Jeremiah appeared there. The emcee mistakenly introduced them as ‘The Lumineers’ and the name stuck. They were joined by the classically trained cellist Neyla Pekarek in 2010 to become the trio that made their first two albums, before Neyla left in 2018 for a solo career. Ho Hey was a track on their debut, just called The Lumineers, which was released in April 2012 and peaked at #2 in the US and #8 in the UK. The song was then released as a single in June 2012, and got to #3 in the US and #8 in the UK. I saw them play live in 2013 and they were as good as that video would suggest: I defy anyone to watch it without getting a smile on their face and a warm feeling inside – for me, it is what the joy of music is all about.

That’s all for today, and I’m off to see what others are playing for this theme. See you again for Tuesday Tunes – more ‘bird’ songs but definitely not the Birdie Song. Promise! 🤣