Lake Charles is my favorite track from Lucinda William’s album, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. There are no weak songs on this seminal release by the great singer songwriter Lucinda Williams. “He had a reason to get back to Lake Charles. He used to talk about it he’d go on and on”. This is a song I would prefer to listen to at any given moment as it conjures the sentimental feeling we all feel about a period/place etched in our vibrational DNA. You know the place that feels like home.
“Lake Charles” is one of the most bittersweet songs on an album full of bittersweet songs, Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road— a song so close to the songwriter’s heart that it’s often difficult for her to sing, much less talk about. It’s about Lucinda’s one-time boyfriend, Clyde Woodward, who died long after they’d split up. Lucinda had married and divorced in the interim, but Clyde’s influence was so profound that when his deterioration from cirrhosis of the liver reached its final stages in August 1991, Lucinda jumped on a plane from Los Angeles to see him before he died. Clyde died as Lucinda was in transit and she didn’t get to say goodbye, but I could tell her what it was like: Clyde Woodward died as I sat on one side of him and held his hand, playing lowdown blues songs for him in those long last moments.” *(1)
* (1) Going Back to “Lake Charles”
BY MARGARET MOSER, FRI., OCT. 23, 1998
Austin Chronicle
Lucinda WILLIAMS lake charles
Lake Charles
Song by Lucinda Williams
He had a reason to get back to Lake Charles
He used to talk about it
He’d just go on and on
He always said Louisiana
Was where he felt at home
He was born in Nacogdoches
That’s in East Texas
Not far from the border
But he liked to tell everybody
He was from Lake Charles
Did an angel whisper in your ear
And hold you close and take away your fear
In those long last moments
We used to drive
Through Lafayette and Baton Rouge
In a yellow Camino
Listening to Howling Wolf
He liked to stop in Lake Charles
‘Cause that’s the place that he loved
Did you run about as far as you could go
Down the Louisiana highway
Across Lake Pontchartrain
Now your soul is in Lake Charles
No matter what they say
Did an angel whisper in your ear
And hold you close and take away your fear
In those long last moments
He had a reason to get back to Lake Charles
He used to talk about it
He’d just go on and on
He always said Louisiana
Was where he felt at home
Did an angel whisper in your ear
And hold you close and take away your fear
In those long last moments
Did an angel whisper in your ear
And hold you close and take away your fear
In those long last moments
In those long last moments
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Lucinda Williams
Lake Charles lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc
https://songmeanings.com
Lucinda Williams – Lake Charles Lyrics |
CR’s Take
OVERALL SCORE
73
CR RECOMMENDED
WIRELESS PORTABLE HEADPHONES
OnePlus Buds Pro Headphone
This wireless Bluetooth model from OnePlus delivers very good sound quality and active noise reduction, combining elements of in-ear and earbud earphones. These earphones have an isolating design and an ambient sound monitoring feature; they will provide some muffling and electronic canceling of external noises and reduce the amount of sound that escapes from the earpieces. As such, they are best for those who want highly portable earphones that reduce the noise they hear from their surroundings or don’t want the sound from the earpieces to disturb others.
Lake Charles Lucinda Williams YouTube
Lucinda Wiliams – “Lake Charles” [Live From Austin, TX]
From the Lucinda Williams album ‘Live From Austin, TX’ available now on DVD: https://www.livefromaustintx.com
Lucinda Williams – Greenville
Live at Later…, 1998. Introducing Car Wheels On A Gravel Road.
One of the most beautiful unrequited, love songs ever written or performed at any time in human history. Yes, hyperbole is warranted in this case. This vocal alone can and will melt the coldest of hearts. Listen with your most noble ears to this American master.
Lucinda Williams with Emmylou Harris – Greenville
Music
Blue from Lucinda Williams, Essence Album
How to Play Guitar Like Lucinda Williams
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers dives into the distinctive rhythm guitar style of legendary singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. Check out the complete lesson, including musical notation and tablature, in the September/October issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine, available here: https://store.acousticguitar.com/prod…