Austin City Limits

-"Austin City Limits" presents a roots music phenom like none other -- Billy Strings.

- My only enemy is out to get me To make me pay for what I've done He's out to catch me and he's on the trail to find me Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does Yeah, sure as hell he'll whip me when he does -Thank you, Austin City Limits!

-It's Austin City Limits.

-Austin City Limits.

-Alright, Austin City.

-Y'all know Austin City Limits rocks.

-1, 2, 3!

Rock!

-Alright, alright, alright.

Thank you very much.

-Austin City Limits, Austin, Texas!

-From the live music capital of the world, It's "Austin City Limits."

-Now mixing bluegrass with rock, jazz and psychedelia, it's Billy Strings.

- Daisy, red daisy growin' on a hill Sunshine fallin' on her petals so fine At first when I found you all covered in the dew The stars had all faded, the day was brand-new Oh, daisy, red daisy growin' on a hill Sunshine fallin' on her petals so fine When the skies are gloomy And you're covered in the frost Oh, daisy, red daisy, I fear my soul is lost Daisy, red daisy growin' on a hill Sunshine fallin' on her petals so fine Queen of the springtime My body's getting old Oh, winter winds might bind me But I'll keep you from the co-o-o-old Daisy, red daisy growin' on a hill Sunshine fallin' on her petals so fine One day a passing traveler plucked you from the ground Oh, how I'll miss you and your crimson crown [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

Howdy, folks.

Oh, it's good to be back here.

Sounds kind of cheesy, I guess, but this -- this tune, at least the beginning part of it, really did come to me in a dream.

In my dream, I was listening to this record and it was like some Grateful Dead thing, and I was -- it was like a live vinyl.

And I was listening to it and Jerry was singing down by the river, the water's cold.

I used to have a girl, but that's alright.

And, uh... That's all I remembered... [ Laughter ] ...about the dream, but I woke right up and I wrote that down.

But I mean, the whole melody and everything was in there.

And so this song, at least it was sparked by, like, some dream I had.

Down by the river The water's cold Used to have a girl but that's alright She came to me in a dream And slipped away like a running stream The hours of silence In the light of the moon Brings to me a sense of ease There's nothing else that I could do For that woman won't be pleased I see her running But I'm not the same I've chased after pleasure To bury my pain It's resurrected When I say her name When love and regret are one and the same The scream of a raven The screech of an owl A heartbroke and lonesome coyote howl [ Howling ] Old Hartford records we used to play And the silence when she went away I see her running But I'm not the same I've chased after pleasure To bury my pain It's resurrected When I say her name Love and regret are one and the same I keep wandering back To a place in my mind Where moonlit reflections return to her eyes To gaze at the water once more Before turning again to the sky Down by the river - The water's cold Used to have a girl but that's alright - She came to me in a dream And slipped away like a running stream [ Cheers and applause ] Y'all sound pretty.

It's good to play these intimate shows.

And this is my first show back in quite a while.

Uh, yeah, some of you probably know about that.

Some of you probably don't, but I was screwing around backstage at my last gig back in April, and I broke my leg, uh, on my skateboard.

It happens.

[ Laughter ] I met a guy at physical therapy and said, "Well, at least you didn't do it like me playing pickleball."

[ Laughter ] Yeah, skateboarding is kind of cooler, I guess.

[ Strums guitar ] But hey, it could have been my fingers or my head or something.

So at least, uh, I'll take the leg.

[ Cheers and applause ] This is a little thing called "Malfunction Junction."

[ Audience cheers ] There ain't enough corn mash in this whole sorry town Just to wash off or burn out the way it all went down But that cork squeaks fall out when it's sneaking its way out That I'm afraid to death she's gonna hear Now the fire on my tongue is for those who die young And the weariness of we who stay behind There's a poison sickness in my heart And I don't trust the ashes of my mind I've got too many sorrows and far too little time Just to sit and drown these memories under Tennessee rye Well, the salt on the rim has me thinking about him My shaking hands can't hold back no more tears Well, the fire on my tongue is for those who die young And the weariness of we who stay behind There's a poison sickness in my heart And I don't trust the ashes of my mind Whispering my shame to the bottom of my glass Won't get me through the dawn or make the darkness pass So I'll hold out tonight to clench this bottle And drink about the light I saw in you Well, the fire on my tongue is for those who die young And the weariness of we who stay behind There's a poison sickness in my heart It's tearing me apart And I don't trust the ashes of my mind [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you, folks.

I've got seven weeks in county, boys But I don't blame the man I've won and lost some poker chips But I don't blame the hand It's been seven years of famine But I never blamed the land Just give me peace and quiet, boss I'll take it where I can Give me peace and quiet, boss I'll take it where I can My only enemy is out to get me To make me pay for what I've done He's out to catch me and he's on the trail to find me Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does Yeah, sure as hell he'll whip me when he does There's a hunger in my belly and a pounding in my head Buzzards turn impatiently Expecting I'll be dead The desert sun is burning high above My shadow can't find shade I got seven weeks in county laying that bed I made Seven weeks in county laying in that bed I made My only enemy is out to get me To make me pay for what I've done He's out to catch me and he's on the trail to find me Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does Yeah, sure as hell he'll whip me when he does Each day I see his evil eyes, the man that put me here I see him when I shave my face, so guilty in the mirror Looking back, disgusted with a hollow, hateful stare For seven weeks in county and for always, everywhere Seven weeks in county and for always everywhere My worst enemy is out to get me To make me pay for what I've done He's out to catch me and he's on the trail to find me Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does Yeah, sure as hell he'll whip me when he does [ Cheers and applause ] I reach my goal at the end of the rainbow If the sun will shine for me once more If time don't change my mind about you For me there'll be no rainbow My goal is just to be with you Though you are the devil in disguise If time don't change my mind about you The sun will shine for me sometime I reach my goal at the end of the rainbow If the sun will shine for me once more If time don't change my mind about you For me there'll be no rainbow I reach my goal maybe tomorrow But they say tomorrow never comes It may be true I just keep hoping that time will heal a broken heart I reach my goal at the end of the rainbow If the sun will shine for me once more If time don't change my mind about you For me there'll be no rainbow [ Cheers and applause ] This is like our version of "Voodoo Child."

Twisted game of hide and seek The stench of darkness and defeat Another day without relief Leaves me broken Curtains falling all around Echoes up from underground Screaming out without a sound Leaves me breathless It's a dark time, I do believe A cold wind's blowing at my door Incredible light I'm gonna find Where I don't have to worry anymore A feast for eyes deprived of peace Internal pressure, no release Pain eternal, my disease never-ending Paralyzed and drowned in thought All the things that I have lost My salvation can't be bought Drains me empty It's a dark time, I do believe A cold wind's blowing at my door Incredible light I'm gonna find Where I don't have to worry anymore Wasn't ready to believe Constant failure to achieve Nothing hidden up my sleeve I remember It's a dark time, I do believe A cold wind's blowing at my door Incredible light I'm gonna find Where I don't have to worry anymore It's a dark time, I do believe A cold wind's blowing at my door Incredible light I'm gonna find Where I don't have to worry anymore [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you, folks.

Thank you so much, everybody.

We love the heck out of each and every one of you.

My name is Bill.

It's been a thrill.

I appreciate you guys.

Keep your stick on the ice.

Don't let your meat loaf.

Watch your top nock.

Keep it greasy side down.

If you ain't in bed by midnight, come home.

We love you.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Billy, here we are.

Usually we're backstage at Austin City Limits.

This time we're sort of like in the front row or in front of the stage.

So talk about the -- the song -- songwriting process for the new record.

I think you wrote all of them in a pretty short amount of time, right?

Like 20-some songs, 28 songs I think you ended up with.

-Yeah.

As far as writing the record, I think a lot of -- I had a lot of stuff to say.

I had a lot of stuff to get out this time around.

I just lost my mother last June.

And, um, so that certainly gave me a lot to write about and just all the stuff that I've been feeling and going through and, um, felt like a good way to kind of navigate that and kind of almost therapeutic, you know, in a way.

-Well, I know you did this album, you've said, to honor your mom, Debra.

-She was an amazing artist.

She was a poet, and she was always making some piece of art that had a story behind it.

And she'd call me and say, "Hey, I took this old hubcap and I glued some, you know, these UFOs on it.

And they're battling with the cowboys and the fairies and there's aliens."

And, you know, she had like this whole story behind each piece that she made, and she would make these shadow boxes.

Kind of mixed media art.

She was constantly going to antique stores and finding just old trinkets and stuff that she could use for her art pieces or garage sales, anything.

She just loved finding old junk that was kind of left behind and making some beautiful piece of art from it.

Um, and so we had always talked about, um, having her make the record cover for the next album.

That was kind of our plan is that she was going to make the next record cover, whatever it was.

And so when she passed away, there was this piece that she was working on and, uh, she was actually working on it the night she died.

And so I think it was unfinished, but we -- we took pictures of it and we kind of layered some of her other art inside of there.

And we made this kind of beautiful piece that I think it really encapsulates her soul.

And it's a beautiful thing that we still got to do that, you know.

-I hear you're taking guitar lessons?

-At some point a couple of years ago, I guess, I-I don't know.

I just got to hearing myself play the same licks over and over.

And it's almost like my whole life I've just learned by ear.

I don't know anything about theory, and I still don't.

At a certain point, I just felt like maybe I had reached a plateau in my own playing.

Maybe like I got myself as far as I could.

And, um, there was a time where I thought, "I don't need to take lessons.

I just play, you know?"

-Mm-hmm.

-But at a certain point, I sort of got over that and I said, "Well, what if I did, you know, study with some people and see if I could get further?"

-What stands out over these past few years?

-It's been a change in perspective big-time for me.

And it actually -- I'm playing better and singing better because I'm not so worried about it all the time.

I'm just -- I have this -- this joy in my belly and I'm able to go sing.

If my son's okay and my wife's okay and my dog's alright, then I can go sing and play.

[ Cheers and applause ]