Billy Bragg and Wilco – At My Window Sad and Lonely

Since I did the Car Songs post and obbverse recommended Black Nova, I’ve been listening to Wilco much more. I first heard of Wilco when I heard the song “Secret of The Sea” which was on the album Mermaid Avenue Volume II. This song was on the first volume.

Mermaid Avenue was a collaborative album by the band Wilco and the British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg. It features previously unpublished lyrics by the legendary folk musician Woody Guthrie. The album was released in 1998 and is named after the street in Coney Island, New York, where Guthrie lived. There were 3 albums in all.

I can’t imagine the pressure Bragg and Wilco felt doing this. Having the legendary Woody Guthrie lyrics in front of you and writing melodies around them. They brought in a new generation of fans to Woody Guthrie. In this song, Jeff Tweedy wrote the music around Guthrie’s lyrics. Many of these lyrics were written in the 1930s – 1940s and finished in 1997.

The project was started by Woody Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie, who wanted to breathe new life into her father’s huge collection of unpublished lyrics. She invited Billy Bragg to set the lyrics to music, and Bragg, in turn, invited Wilco to join the project. They did a fantastic job on these albums.

The album was well-received by critics, who praised Bragg and Wilco for their ability to honor Guthrie’s legacy while bringing his lyrics into a modern musical context. Mermaid Avenue was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

The album peaked at #34 in the UK and #90 on the Billboard 100 in 1998.

Billy Bragg: I hate to draw comparisons, but it’s what Dylan and the Band were doing in the Basement Tapes. They took those old folk songs, that had deep roots, and they messed around with them and made a great record. We were able to apply that same idea to these songs, although we were perhaps more radical, because we had the whole history of rock music between when Woody wrote the songs, and us, whereas Dylan was quite early on in that tradition. That’s the trick with these Woody Guthrie compilations, is not to be too reverent to the material. Don’t worry about Woody’s words – they’re going to work. Bring yourself in – do what you think he would do. Do what you think you should do. Meet him half way.

There’s a hundred different ways to write a song. And every way is the right way, as long as you end up with a song. Some of those songs that Woody wrote, who knows what tunes he had for them? Maybe we were miles off, maybe we were close, I don’t know. But ultimately it’s what the guy was saying that matters – not the way he was saying it. And what he was saying is preserved. We were fortunate enough to put a frame around his artistic endeavors.

At My Window Sad and Lonely

At my window sad and lonelyOft times do I think of theeSad and lonely and I wonderDo you ever think of me?

Every day is sad and lonelyAnd every night is sad and blueDo you ever think of me, my darlingAs you sail that ocean blue?

At my window, sad and lonelyI stand and look across the seaAnd I, sad and lonely wonderDo you ever think of me?

Will you find another sweetheartIn some far and distant land?Sad and lonely now I wonderIf our boat will ever land

Ships may ply the stormy oceansAnd planes may fly the stormy skyI’m sad and lonely but rememberOh, I will love you ’til I die

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

22 thoughts on “Billy Bragg and Wilco – At My Window Sad and Lonely”

  1. I also featured this song last year. I love this Woody Guthrie tribute record especially this track, Birds and Ships, California Stars & Way Over Yonder.
    ‘I can’t imagine the pressure Bragg and Wilco felt doing this. Having the legendary Woody Guthrie lyrics in front of you and writing melodies around them’. Too right Max, but they did a sterling job.

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  2. Cant tell you how much I like this record (and the second one). I wore it out and did something I rarely do, I spread the word to anyone who would listen. Bragg, Wilco and Nora brought Woody’s songs to life. After hearing this cut Max, I’ll have to listen to them all. Great take.

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    1. Thanks CB…. I really like all three of these albums. I just started to listen again recently but they did such a good job…they kept Woody’s meanings but turned them into something more modern that works.

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      1. I think I caught the documentary first. California Skies is up there with my fave tunes, Waterloo, Makes No Difference, Hello In There. To me this creative idea trumps a bunch of various artists doing the tunes. I’m sure some cool stuff would have come from that but this was different.

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      2. Oh I agree that…it is better than others just picking a song. It says a lot about Bragg and Wilco for taking this on. They came out winning and we did also.

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  5. I didn’t really understand they had composed music to go with the lyrics, that’s impressive (I figured they more or less just took his existing music and perhaps modernized it a wee bit). I like what I’ve heard of the pairing but need to give more of it a listen

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    1. I like all three of the CD’s…I’m happy that Bragg invited Wilco to it…but like I told someone else…I can’t understand why Dylan wasn’t involved…

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  6. Thanks for the mention Max. This one is a great pick from the albums, to me this and ‘Airline To Heaven’ and ‘California Stars’ are right up there. As a baseball fan I’m sure you like ‘Joe DiMaggio Done It Again’ too!

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    1. Oh yes…that was a deciding factor! lol…the song is just so good. Can you imagine what pressure they felt…I sure would have. I agree on the other ones…this was almost California Stars…it was a toss up.
      I’ll be over to visit tonight obbverse.

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  9. Ooh, that song is right up my alley. I don’t recall hearing it before. I’ve heard some of Wilco’s and Jeff Tweedy’s other music and generally like it. In general, I’ve paid more attention to Jay Farrar and Son Volt, the other band that was formed after the demise of Uncle Tupelo.

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