Emmylou’s hartverscheurende afscheid van haar in 1973 overleden mentor Gram Parsons. Parsons overleed op 26-jarige leeftijd aan een dodelijke combinatie van alcohol en morfine. Harris werd ‘ontdekt’ door Parsons, met wie ze een aantal prachtige duetten op de plaat zette. Zijn vroege dood maakte een einde aan Parsons’ poging country en rock te combineren in wat hij betitelde als ‘Cosmic American Music’. Na Parsons’ dood zette Harris zijn project voort.
Boulder to Birmingham is terug te vinden op Harris’ debuutalbum Pieces of the Sky, één van de mooiste country-albums ooit gemaakt.
I don’t want to hear a love song
I got on this airplane just to fly
And I know there’s life below me
But all that it can show me is the prairie and the sky
And I don’t want to hear a sad story
Full of heartbreak and desire
The last time I felt like this
I was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire
And I stood on the mountain
In the night and I watched it burn
I watched it burn, I watched it burn
[Chorus]
I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham
I would hold my life in his saving grace
I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham
If I thought I could see, I could see your face
Well, you really got me this time
And the hardest part is knowing I’ll survive
I have come to listen for the sound
Of the trucks as they move down out on ninety five
And pretend that it’s the ocean
Coming down to wash me clean, to wash me clean
Baby, do you know what I mean
[Chorus]
I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham
I would hold my life in his saving grace
I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham
If I thought I could see, I could see your face
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By C. Kuhl / www.chriskuhl.com/music. nl:Gebruiker:Ckuhl – Photograph originally uploaded on the Dutch Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1369713
