Austin City Limits

-"Austin City Limits" presents Texas-born maverick Charley Crockett... - Lean on me, brother 'Cause I understand You got that 9-pound hammer swinging in your hand I'm just a lonesome drifter Only the only highway -...and acclaimed indie singer-songwriter Waxahatchee.

- I got a problem with it If you can't do better than that, babe I got a problem with it Justified it in my own way I lost myself in it If it's all you got and it's enough, you say I got a problem with it -Thank you, Austin City Limits!

-It's Austin City Limits!

-Can someone check the mic?

[ Audience chanting ] -Austin City Limits!

-Alright, Austin, Texas!

-One, two, three, rock!

-Alright, alright, alright.

Thank you very much.

-50 years of Austin City Limits!

Austin, Texas!

-Recorded live from Austin, Texas... it's "Austin City Limits."

-Now no-nonsense country music from Charley Crockett.

- I never saw a town where I threw them raises down I didn't know the lonesome sound of a midnight train The kind that calls my name, I was born to play the game Even if it's all in vain, call me what you want I'm bound to tell the truth The way that gamblers rarely do They be tying up your noose and calling you "friend" If it was up to me, like the bluebird, you'd be free Oh, this life ain't what it seems if you catch my drift Rich men pretend to be poor Poor folks only want a little bit more Of what they never had before And it's a crying shame My daddy worked the land And mama raised me with her hands We all do the best we can with the cards we're dealt I ain't one to beg or plead But I could sure use some relief From those who label me a thief for standing up tall And there's a woman on my mind For her, I'd gladly give my life And the little girl by her side that wears my name A one-trick pony knows That it's all about the show Life is but a rodeo And you can write that down I best be moving on You turn your head, and I'll be gone In this world I won't be long Just like you [ Cheers and applause ] Good evening, Austin, Texas.

I'm Charley Crockett.

It's the pleasure of my life to be here with y'all tonight.

I'm 25.

[ Chuckles ] I'm still alive.

[ Cheers and applause ] They laughed at me in New York City Called me a fool in L.A.

I doubt that Nashville saw me coming Besides the bar folks working late Played every room in the state of Texas All the ones in California, too So many nights I can't remember Maybe I've played a song for you Left San Francisco in a hurry They ran me out of Fort Worth town Been to the bottom of New Orleans Them riverboats make a lonesome sound Lawmen, they caught me in Virginia No need to tell you what I done But make sure you get your act together Before you roll up 81 I've seen the other side of Dallas Trying to climb up to the top One thing I know about that city Man, the hustle never stops That's how I got real good at losing And wasting precious time Those folks who talk about me Have never lived no life like mine They laughed at me in New York City [ Chuckles ] Called me a fool in L.A.

Still do.

I doubt that Nashville saw me coming Hey.

Besides the bar folks working late Hmm-hmm-hmm Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

I'd like to thank, uh, Bob Dylan for letting me get a piece of this song here.

A businessman in Taos wants you to go down So they hired Mr.

Garrett to force you to slow down Billy, don't it make you feel so low down To be hunted by a man who was your friend?

Hold on to your woman if you got one Remember in El Paso how you shot one Way up in Santa Fe, yeah, you bought one Billy, don't it make you feel so bad?

Tired of thinking about the future Always gotta stay one step ahead I know many who'd love to introduce ya To a bullet in your head Tired of thinking about the future You always gotta stay one step ahead I know many who'd love to introduce ya To a bullet in your head People 'round here love to talk about ya And I hope you like the legend you've become I heard it said in Truth or Consequences You couldn't be a day past twenty-one A businessman in Taos wants you to go down So they hired Mr.

Garrett to force you to slow down [ Cheers and applause ] I ain't the king of nothin'... except maybe the long way.

Gather 'round the fire, boys, a story I will tell About a persecution I'm sure you don't know well An Oklahoma tale of trading land and gems And doin' down a river that you can't come back up again Anna Brown was killed in May of '21 They made it look like Anna was just having too much fun Meanwhile in town they threw a big parade There stood William Hale and the range war that he waged Just across the county, on that very day In a pool of blood did Charles Whitehorn lay Charles was Anna's cousin, and so was Henry Roan Who died shortly after William Hale made him a loan William Hale had him a nephew who'd married Mollie Kyle Mollie was Anna's sister, and it sunk in after a while In cities across the country, all the papers read "Reign of terror continues, another Indian dead" Ol' Hickory Andrew Jackson Drove 'em down through Tennessee From Ohio came the Osage the mountains, Cherokee They left 'em there to wither on that Southern Kansas soil But this was before the man discovered oil So if you come around here with pretty flowers to sow You might stop and notice nobody's very old Grass grows so high, it covers up the graves But listen for a while, and it might start givin' you names They called him the King of the Osage Hills He went and got everybody killed Now they talk about the weather Like it's judgment coming soon For the killers of the flower moon [ Cheers and applause ] Oh, look.

Them boys worth a couple million dollars apiece, and they've returned, y'all!

It is The Blue Drifters.

[ Cheers and applause ] She just caught the Jamestown Ferry It's not a hot day in January Like she said it'd be If she ever left me A case of gone was all she carried As she got on the Jamestown Ferry And she said that gone was all she'd ever be I didn't think that she'd leave me After sayin' how much she needs me But the fact still remains I'm sittin' here all alone Missin' the lovin' of my baby Lord, it's about to drive me crazy She was the sweetest piece of heaven I've ever known She just caught the Jamestown Ferry It's not a hot day in January Like she said it'd be If she ever left me A case of gone was all she carried As she got on the Jamestown Ferry And she said that gone was all she'd ever be As I walk through that valley Of honky-tonks and bars I remember how she'd hold me And comfort me with talk She didn't cuss with every breath She had a soothing Southern drawl Made me feel like a man through it all Oh, boy, she just caught the Jamestown Ferry It's not a hot day in January Like she said it'd be If she ever left me-eee-ee [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you kindly.

Y'all have just been so wonderful this evening.

Thank -- Thank you for coming.

Uh, I want y'all to know that I know that this wouldn't be a thing without you.

[ Cheers and applause ] I'm a ten-dollar cowboy Baby, that's a fact I got some inhibitions That might be holding me back And I've been seeing this portrait Attached to a small fee For a ten-dollar cowboy Who looks a lot like me If you're a ten-dollar cowboy Then you already know That there never was a rider Who couldn't be thrown And even Billy McClain Fell off a time or two He was a ten-dollar cowboy Who looked a lot like you I'm a ten-dollar cowboy I play a little guitar And people always ask me If I'm a rodeo star Doubt if I got eight seconds But I can sing you a song Like a big bullrider I'm steady holding on You see, the ten-dollar cowboy He leads a colorful life Don't you worry about him He knows he'll only die twice Like Billy McClain He's the last of his breed He's just a ten-dollar cowboy Who looks a lot like me He looks a lot like me He looks a lot like me, yeah See, when I was out there on them street corners... learning to stand behind this guitar... ten dollars was a whole lot of money.

Cowboy.

Cowboy singer.

Both highly hazardous occupations.

You better look out!

[ Cheers and applause ] Desdemona, where do I begin?

Who among us here is without sin?

I'm just a lonesome drifter on the only highway Lean on me, brother, 'cause I understand You've got that 9-pound hammer swinging in your hand I'm just a lonesome drifter on the only highway I'm just a lonesome drifter on the only highway Everybody's working in them cotton fields Just a little bit different than it used to feel Everybody's waiting on the rising sun To turn red, drop down, and be done Hmmmmmmm Baby, you're not the only one Feeling it rising Rising on you Baby, you're not the only one Feeling it rising Steady rising up, rising on you I feel it, too, now.

Yeah!

I'm just a lonesome drifter on the only highway Come on.

I'm just a lonesome drifter on the only highway Yeah!

Thank you so much, Austin City Limits Television!

My name's Charley Crockett!

I used to work for Spacely Sprockets, then I got this job singing the blues for you.

Next time, I'll be twice as good!

[ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] People ask me, they say, "Why has your sound changed so much over the years?"

Say, well, I was born in 1984, the George Orwell year.

That's the year I was born.

And I spent a lot of time killing off the... ...the false version of me that was built up by folks whose only goal was to make an American like me into a consumer.

I killed him, and I became me.

It's taken me a long time to get there, but I did that.

I did that, you know?

I embraced being from South Texas.

I saw that the music business was treacherous.

I wasn't in a hurry to get in that river with them piranhas on the business side.

That's a big part of the reason I stayed on the street so long.

And the videos are emerging of me back then.

I don't -- I can't stand hearing that guy sing, that version of me, but I'm not mad at him.

I'm proud of that young man.

-Next, music with deep roots in indie rock and Americana from Waxahatchee.

- We will coalesce our heaven and hell My eyes roll around like dice on the felt My mind turns to something useless and trite My uneasiness, materialize I want you All the time Sanity Nullify When you're missing me or what you see Something wild that you think you'll never be Something safe that you could tend to and lead Something versatile to fill all your needs Maybe I Give it to you all on a dime I love Love you till the day I Love you till the day I Love you till the day I Love you till the day I die I guess it don't matter why In my loneliness I'm locked in a room When you see me, I'm honey on a spoon Do you think that you were reading my mind My uneasiness, materialize I'm waiting All the time Sanity Nullify Eee I Hold my breath, I don't make a sound I Love you that much any Love you that much any Love you that much any Love you that much anyhow Can't do much about it now I want you All the time Sanity Nullify I want you Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh [ Cheers and applause ] How you doing, Austin City Limits?

[ Cheers and applause ] It's a real honor to be here.

I drift out further away I got a problem with it, and I don't know how to say It's a pink carnation, it's a hand hastily played The potboiler wearin' out Give 'em something to kick up dust about If it was love you were after with a long shadow of doubt If it's all you got, yeah, it's all you gave I got a problem with it If you can't do better than that, babe I got a problem with it Justified it in my own way I lost myself in it If it's all you got and it's enough, you say I got a problem with it I drive fast on high alert Pass the Jet-Pep and the Baptist church On the county line, I'll be a songbird softly heard My loose change falling out Got a heartbreak burn, take the quickest route On this four-lane highway, I'll trace it in the clouds If it's all you got, yeah, it's all you gave I got a problem with it If you can't do better than that, babe I got a problem with it Justified it in my own way I lost myself in it If it's all you got and it's enough, you say I got a problem with it If it's all you got, yeah, it's all you gave I got a problem with it If you can't do better than that, babe I got a problem with it Justified it in my own way I lost myself in it If it's all you got and it's enough, you say I got a problem with it [ Cheers and applause ] Photograph of us in the spotlight, on a hot night I was drifting in and out Reticent on the off chance I'm blunter than a bull's-eye Begging for peace of mind I get ahead of myself Ooh Bracing for a bombshell Your love's written on a blank check Wear it around your neck I was at a loss But you come to me on a fault line Deep inside a gold mine Hovering like a moth I lose a bit of myself Ooh Laying out eggshells I've been yours for so long We come right back to it I let my mind run wild Don't know why I do it But you just settle in Like a song with no end If I can keep up We'll get right back to it If I swerve in and out of my lane Burning up an old flame Turn a jealous eye I'll fall down into a fair game Lick a wound that was not ever mine I get ahead of myself Ooh Refusing anyone's help I've been yours for so long We come right back to it I let my mind run wild Don't know why I do it But you just settle in Like a song with no end If I can keep up We'll get right back to it I've been yours for so long We come right back to it I let my mind run wild Don't know why I do it But you just settle in Like a song with no end If I can keep up We'll get right back to it We'll get right back to it We'll get right back to it [ Cheers and applause ] I left your heart of glass in my unmade bed In the right time You could shine so bright in my doubtful eyes And I imprint all your ideas on mine I move awkwardly at the speed of light Maybe it's easier to be afraid Drenched in tragedy, manmade And my compass is an antique But if I'm not back soon, don't come looking for me You can take it pretty far On a prayer that's pale and synthetic Bending my crowbar with tension that's telekinetic A paradox poetic You get choked up reading the classics Your pride'll take a gluttonous bite A stupid question, I'd rather not ask it I take a sip of something I can barely taste Dull as dusk With a skull and crossbones to bring us luck And I I know that you can't read my mind I swear I said the same thing a hundred times Maybe it's harder than it should be Variations on a theme I could wear it right on my sleeve But when an antagonist emerges, don't blame me You can take it pretty far On a prayer that's pale and synthetic Bending my crowbar with tension that's telekinetic A paradox poetic You get choked up reading the classics Your pride'll take a gluttonous bite A stupid question, I'd rather not ask it A stupid question, I'd rather not ask it A stupid question, I'd rather not ask it [ Cheers and applause ] You come alive in the heat, you ain't crossing state lines Stood up like a crepe myrtle, can't be killed or denied Throw a brick through the window Leave your mess at my door Lord knows sooner or later it'll wash up to shore Lord knows sooner or later it'll wash up to shore You're laughing and smiling, drove my Jeep through the mud And your teeth and your tongue bright red from tiger's blood We were young for so long, seersuckers of time Drank someone else's juice and left only the rind Drank someone else's juice and left only the rind And I held it like a penny I found It might bring me something It might weigh me down You've got every excuse, but it's an eerie sound Oh, when that siren blows, rings out all over town Named after a city you ain't never seen Spellbinding copperheads banging a tambourine And it's the kiss of death, but it's the only way out Galloped up to a mirror, looked her right in the mouth Galloped up to a mirror, looked her right in the mouth I'd have skated the surface, I'd have left you alone by now Truer words spoken like blood from a stone And it fills me with dread, but I've learned to ignore Smell of dust that creeps up through The cracks in the floor Smell of dust that creeps up through The cracks in the floor And I held it like a penny I found It might bring me something, it might weigh me down You've got every excuse, but it's an eerie sound Oh, when that siren blows, rings out all over town Oh, when that siren blows, rings out all over town [ Cheers and applause ] Alright, Austin City Limits.

[ Cheers and applause ] We're gonna do one more.

That's what I wanted It's not as if we cry a river, call it rain West Memphis is on fire in the light of day Give me something It ain't enough It ain't enough I take it for granted If I could love you unconditionally I Could iron out the edges of the darkest sky For some of us It ain't enough It ain't enough And I take off driving Past places been tainted I put on a good show for you [ Cheers and applause ] And when I turn back around Will you drain me back out?

Will you let me believe that I broke through?

Tomorrow could feel like a hundred years later I'm wiser and slow and attuned And I am down on my knees I'm a bird in the trees I can learn to see with a partial view I can learn to be easy as I move in close to you That's what I wanted It's not as if we cry a river, call it rain West Memphis is on fire in the light of day Give me something It ain't enough It ain't enough I take it for granted If I could love you unconditionally I Could iron out the edges of the darkest sky For some of us It ain't enough It ain't enough Thank you very much, Austin City Limits!

[ Cheers and applause ] We love you!

Good night!

[ Cheers and applause ] [ Cheers and applause ] -I think there's kind of some magic to growing up in the South a little bit.

Um, I think that really my sort of Southernness was something I was pretty ashamed of as I was coming up as, like, a young rocker, and I couldn't wait to get out of the South and move to New York City and kind of be in that -- be immersed in that.

Um, and, really, discovering Lucinda Williams is what helped me kind of embrace it or find the beauty in it or at least find the fodder for songs.

Um, and I think that, you know -- Lucinda and I have spoken about this to her and about her so much, but I think she was so difficult to place as,, like, a country artist, a rock artist, like -- She was sort of, um, like, both, or, like, all, um... And I feel like that really inspired me.

And how much she sort of leaned into this sort of Southern Gothic stuff really made me feel inspired, and so I think that -- I hope that answers your question.

[Chuckles] [ Cheers and applause ]