Dave Alvin : Border Radio

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Well, what do you get when you fall in Love?

Some will tell you that you’re opening the door to a whole world of trouble.

Oh, oh, you are wrapping chains that will bind you tight until you just can’t breathe anymore.

Look out! Danger ahead!

Pain and sorrow goes with the territory.

No doubt about it the hurting will be certain.

But, but, but … take a tip.

Take a tip.

Whatever you think and feel about it ; no matter how many times Love has let you down, you just won’t be able to live without it.

Won’t be able to live without it.

Oh, oh, and when Love is in bloom and your heart is singing aria after aria of Joy you’ll cradle mountains in the palm of your hand.

Rivers running slow and lazy.

Crickets talking back and forth in rhyme.

You won’t wonder why the world spins around.

You’ll know.

You’ll believe in magic.

You’ll know that no matter how deep the ocean is it’s not as deep as this feeling.

Love makes the world go around.

It always has.

It always will.

And, if you lose that love you’ll ache for it to return.

Ache for the heat of that touch.

The healing power of that touch.

And, in the midnight watches when the Moon looms in the dark sky you’ll hope and pray that somehow, somehow, that lost Love will be found again.

Found again.

Turning the late night radio dial you’ll search for a song you used to sing in whispers to each other and maybe, just maybe, far, far away, the lost one is listening too.

And, that song will be your midnight prayer.

Your midnight prayer.

Who knows what the power of prayer is?

Except those who really pray.

Pray with all their heart.

And, as the lost one, far, far away, sings to themselves maybe, just maybe, they’ll remember who they used to sing it with and realise how much they miss that singing, the heat of that touch.

And, maybe, just maybe, they’ll drive all the way home – tuned in again, listening to the border radio.

Maybe, just maybe, the boy asleep in the next room, who looks just like his Dad, will wake up and hear his voice – not metallically on the phone but in his very room.

Call up to hear that song one more time again.

One more time.

Border Radio

One more midnight, her man is still gone
The nights move too slow
She tries to remember the heat of his touch
While listening to the Border Radio

She calls toll-free and requests an old song
Something they used to know
She prays to herself that wherever he is
He’s listening to the Border Radio

This song comes from nineteen sixty-two
Dedicated to a man who’s gone
Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico
This is the Border Radio
This is the Border Radio

She thinks of her son, asleep in his room
And how her man won’t see him grow
She thinks of her life and she hopes for a change
While listening to the Border Radio

This song comes from nineteen sixty-two
Dedicated to a man who’s gone
Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico
This is the Border Radio
This is the Border Radio

They play her tune but she can’t concentrate
She wonders why he had to go
One more midnight and her man is still gone
She’s listening to the Border Radio

This song comes from nineteen sixty-two
Dedicated to a man who’s gone
Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico
This is the Border Radio
This is the Border Radio

Border Radio first appeared on a 1982 CD from The Blasters which included Dave and brother Phil among its members.

That version is modern day Rockabilly and has the punch of the old Sun studio sound. I think Dave knew that the emotional core of the song – it’s sense of longing and loss and desperate hope had got somewhat lost in that production.

By the time of his solo record from 1987, ‘Romeo’s Escape’ he had figured out that the song needed to be performed slower and with more emotional intensity for it to fully bloom in the listeners imagination.

So, this version drips with emotional humidity.

There’s a palatable ache in Dave’s vocal and a tender tremor to Greg Leisz’s guitar and Katy Moffatt’s backup singing.

The song is now a country ballad – but a country ballad infused with southern soul stylings.

Like that song from 1962 Border Radio lingers in the mind echoing on and on as it encounters and colours the particular incidents and memories it evokes in each listeners own life.

Which is to say that Border Radio is a Keeper!

Dave Alvin is well aware of its merits and that its one of those songs whose power only grows over the years.

That’s why you can’t imagine a Dave Alvin concert without Border Radio.

And, it’s one of those songs that other songwriters, hard schooled in the craft, instantly recognise as a classic.

Here’s a live take on the song featuring David Hidalgo from Los Lobos and accordion maestro Flaco Jimenez that crosses back and forth across that borderline and rocks out too!

 

Why do we let time stand still and live in memory of the lonesome times?

Why not, by an act of will, stop this troublesome loving?

Useless to say.

Because, while you’re alive you’re in search of love.

Might as well ask the waves to cease surging to the shore.

Such folly!

Yes, but divine folly.

If you won’t risk being a Fool you’ll never find Love.

Oh, you’re crazy for crying and crazy for trying but it’s all worth it for Love, Love, Love, Crazy Love.

It often doesn’t travel on the broad highway.

No, true love often travels on a gravel road.

You can’t start it like a car – you can’t stop it with a gun.

And, in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.

One more midnight, one more prayer, one more turn around the floor with the Border Radio playing that song from 1962.

One step for aching and two steps for breaking.

I can’t stop loving you.

Those happy hours that we once knew.

Those happy hours.

She calls toll free and requests an old song.

She prays to herself that wherever he is he’s listening to the Border Radio.

The Border Radio.

 

69 thoughts on “Dave Alvin : Border Radio”

  1. It’s a marvellous song and I think forms a wonderful diptych with his song Abilene. Another of his songs about loneliness and loss. Dave and Robert Earl Keen should both be far more famous than they are. And he comes to the UK on a regular basis (are you listening REK?)

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    • Good shout Stephen, “Abilene” would fit within this discussion very well, as would “California Snow” and “Evening Blues”, both from the same album. Amongst a host of others following a similar vein could be “Every Night About This Time” and “Rio Grande”, Alvin really is a brilliant song writer. Equally valid point regarding Robert Earl Keen, another who I personally, don’t think is capable of putting out a bad album, (“Mariano” and “Gringo Honeymoon” both come to mind, within this general topic)

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      • Hi Stephen Lynville Train is a beautiful REK song about loss as well and Corpus Christi Bay is my favorite all time song. As you say he is incapable of making a poor album. If you haven’t got the Musicfest REK tribute album it’s very good, lot of different interpretations some better than the original.

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      • Can’t believe your comment about “Corpus Christi Bay”, yes REK’s greatest song, (“He said he’d finally given up drinkin, ’
        then he ordered me a beer!”). I’ve also a version by Johnny Rodriguez from 1996, but wouldn’t particularly recommend it.

        First came by REK in 1986 after buying Lyle Lovett’s self-titled debut album, on which, as I’m sure you are aware, is a little ditty called “This Old Porch”. The entire album blew me away, I was already familier with Lovett through Nanci Griffith, but had never come across REK before, that’s also some song.

        Haven’t got the “Undone” album, would I be right in thinking it’s all done live?. It’s now going for a small fortune on Amazon UK.

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      • Steve I like the Johnny Rodriquez version but the Todd Snider version not so much (yes I am a bit of a music nerd). The Undone cd is worth having , you can get it from Waterloo Records in Austin for about 12 pounds. It’s live but the quality is first class. I’m a big Lyle fan as well and have seem him a good ten times. His earlier stuff still sounds as good as ever. Try the Turnpike Troubadours and The White Buffalo they’re both really good (live as well).

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    • Love the Turnpikes, have got the last 4 albums but not the first, “Bossier City”. In particular, really impressed with “Diamonds & Gasoline”, tremendous stuff. (Is it just me or do you think Evan Felker sounds an awful lot like Ryan Bingham?).

      Have nothing by The White Buffalo and only one Todd Snider album, “The Devil You Know”. My links with Todd are rather tenuous, really only through the John Prine/Keith Sykes connection. Wasn’t even aware he’d recorded a version of “Corpus Christi Bay”, will attempt to check it out.

      Do Waterloo Records supply direct to the UK, must admit these days, the only US imports I purchase tend to be via the UK Amazon Marketplace site, ‘though for many years I used Village Records from Shawnee in Kansas.

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      • Bossier City is pretty ordinary. But as you say the rest is great, they are pretty big in the states. I saw them in a small venue in Newcastle last year. Dead good. Try shadows, greys and evil ways for the white buffalo (there’s also a lot of his stuff on YouTube ). I’m not sure about Waterloo Records, I have the good fortune to go to Austin on an annual visit so stock up when I’m there. I can’t see the Ryan Bingham connection myself but I’m not a big fan. It’s probably you. I was always a John Prine and Nanci Griffith fan. I bet you’re a Iris DeMent fan as well.

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      • Steve I’m going to Austin last weekend in May. Guess who’s on at Antones with Jimmie Dale Gilmour (one of Texas’s favourite sons). Dave Alvin and as he’s performing with JDG he’ll be doing his country stuff rather than blues. Made my day.

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      • Hi Stephen, thanks for replying again, (and sincere thanks to Thom for allowing us to hijack your site!), yes I’ve loved John Prine ever since first hearing “Sam Stone” in 1971. First saw him live a year or two later at the Cambridge Folk Festival and have been with him ever since. Greatest memory was in the summer of 1976 at the Regents Park Open Theatre, (mainly used for Shakespeare etc.plays). That year there was a succession of folk/rock concerts, of which I got to see 3, (Loudon Wainwright, Tom Paxton and John Prine).

        At the time, (and even now), I was seriously into all 3. John Prine was supported by Bryan Bowers, the autoharp player, (who at the time I had never heard of) from “Flying Fish Records” who just blew me away. Prine, as always, played a great, solo, acoustic set, apart from a few numbers when he was joined on stage by Steve Goodman. To see these two, both at the peak of their physical and artistic well-being, was indeed something else, (I can still vividly recall their rendition of a “A Good Time”, when both, clad head to foot in denim, as one, turned away from the audience, then Goodman reeled around again to play the most heartfelt solo acoustic solo, (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out Prines’s 3rd album, “Sweet Revenge” from 1973, side 2, track 5).

        Yes, I love Iris Dement, saw the first UK visit with John in, I think, 2000 at The Royal Festival Hall, to promote the “In Spite Of Ourselves” tour. She opened up with “Our Town”, and it just got better from there. In my mind, she’s another “National Treasure!”.

        Finally, Nanci is another story completely, suffice to say, just another Dolly Parton country/pop album, “Real Love” from 1985, from which I heard the song, “Once In A Very Blue Moon” by Pat Alger, which very quickly led me to the same titled album by one Nanci Griffith, the rest, as they say, is history.

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      • Hi Steve. Good to talk with you and I look forward to the next time. I forgot to mention that Kelly Willis also does a version of Border Radio tho I don’t think it’s that great, everyone suffers in comparison to the original. The Turnpikes have done a great cover of the Alabama song “if your gonna play in Texas get a fiddle in the band (or something like that). Looking forward to the new John Prime and Parker Millsapp albums due out soon.

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      • You’re right about the Kelly Willis version, it’s on “Cheater’s Game” the first of the two albums she cut with husband Bruce Robison. I picked up both of these together for about a tenner on EBay a couple of years back, played them both once and then filed them away. I must admit, I didn’t even know “Border Radio” was included and you’re spot on about their version, I’ve just played it again after reading your post, sung far too fast and without a trace of emotion. There’s also a cover of REK’s “No Kinda Dancer”, but you’re probably already aware of that.

        I’ve always thought Bruce wasn’t quite up to older brother, Charlie’s level when it came to making records, got most of his stuff, amongst which there’s some really good music, “Bandera” in particular, is a tremendous effort and “Desperate Times”, is one of the great “outlaw/boy/girl songs”, in my opinion, it’s right up there with REK’s own “The Road Goes On Forever”.

        Wasn’t aware of Parker Millsapp, just read some very positive reviews, will check him out and get back to you.

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      • I saw Kelly and Bruce about 4 years ago in Antones in Austin . They were good live but you’re right about their recording no emotion there ( I missed the steeldrivers by a day). I really like the Bruce album he released after he separated from his wife. No kinda Dancer is a great song. I’m sure you have heard of Reckless Kelly, check out Bulletproof , it’s flawless. We should start our own blog . Two men called Steve bang on and on.

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      • Hi Stephen, sounds great, I’ll never been to Texas, (only ever done California) and even worse, I’ve never caught Jimmie Dale Gilmore live, (or Joe Ely or Butch Hancock either), which is terrible admission considering how often Ely in particular, visited the UK back in the eighties. Just had a look at a couple of web sites, and see that the your Alvin/Gilmore gig is on Saturday 2 June, which is the SAME NIGHT as Joe Ely and Terry Allen are playing the Hogg Auditorium, also in Austin. (For me Terry Allen is the greatest songwriter ever to come out of Texas, as much as I love Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark). You really will be spoilt for choice, only wish I could get over there to join you.

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      • Hi Steve. It’s my fifteenth consecutive visit to Texas and Austin in particular. I’ve seen the Flatlanders twice now and they were great both times. As you can imagine they’re massively popular. I don’t know much about Terry Allen, I’ll have to seek him out. Austin is a wonderful place, full of great bars to see bands. The locals love the British accent and the North East accent that I have baffles them even more.Texan waitress ” I haven’t understood a single word you’ve just said” We’ve been capsized in the Colorado river, driven down Congress at 3 in the morning in a monster truck with the local redneck and his sister and drank all day at Chicken Shit Bingo and then went dancing with the local lasses. It gets in your blood. I love the place.

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      • Hi Stephen, sounds as if Austin’s everything I’ve ever read about and more, will have to join you one day on one of your visits. A quick note about Terry Allen, he’s another Lubbock native, has crossed paths with Ely, Gilmore etc. over the years and has been putting out albums since the mid-seventies at irregular intervals, the most well known and best being “Lubbock On Everything” from 1979.

        REK covered “Amarillo Highway” from it on “A Bigger Piece Of Sky”, and Little Feat did a version of “New Dehli Freight Train”, from the same record on “Time Loves A Hero”. Apparently, he was great friends with Lowell George, and they’ve name checked each other on various albums. There’s probably one or two more artists who’ve recorded his songs, but nothing comes to mind at present.

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      • Hi Steve. I checked out my many compilation albums and indeed I had Terry Allen and Amarillo Highway on one of them. Very good. I think he has a new one out (best of?) HMV had a copy. I’m looking forward to listening to the new John Prime album. I listened to Dave Alvin this morning. His duet with Syd Straw (crazy name crazy girl) is great. What about Chris Stapleton?

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    • Hi Stephen, thought you would have had some Terry Allen hidden away somewhere in that collection of yours. 8 studio albums in over 40 years is hardly prolific, but there’s some great stuff on them. To my knowledge, his only
      compilation/best of albums are a collection of outtakes, “The Silent Majority”, (1991) and “The Best Of The Sugar Hill Years”, (2007), but I could be wrong about that. Syd Straw is a name that appears from time to time, I think
      she’s also on Alvin’s “Museum of Heart”, and to keep the Lubbock connection going, she also contributes to David Halley’s first two superb records ,”Stray Dog Talk” (1990) and “Broken Spell” (1993).

      I’ve been playing “Billy The Kid & Geronimo” from the new Alvin/Gilmore album, “Downey To Lubbock” constantly for the past couple of weeks, it’s available as a free download on one or two websites, and is quite brilliant, (and you’re going to see them both live next month!). I’ve also heard the new John Prine album, all 10 songs are up on ITunes. It’s been gathering some great reviews, and contains some fine songs, all in a very under-stated fashion.

      Don’t know much about Chris Stapleton, I’ve nothing from The Steeldrivers, but have copies of “Traveller” and “From A Room, Vol 2”. I think it’s good Nashville based country-rock, reminds me a little of Waylon and Billy Joe Shaver, although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

      If you get time, drop me a line at: stevewayne@blueyonder.co.uk, so we could discuss all this in more detail.

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  3. It’s a great choice Thom, I’d like to think that here in the UK, if he were British,we would call Dave Alvin a National Treasure. However the vast majority of people in this country who would profess to have any interest in popular music have almost certainly never heard of him. A phenomenal songwriter and guitarist, who I don’t think has ever made a bad album, (and I can’t even say that about Dylan! and Bob’s even recorded some of his songs). Along with his friend Tom Russell, the two great exponents of Californian/Mexican “border music”. Regarding “Border Radio” itself, I tend to think the version from 1994’s “King Of California” just has the edge over the others, although that is very much a personal choice.

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