Tag: Harlem River Blues

Good times come and they go
Even a good man’ll break
He’ll let his troubles bury him whole
Even though he knows what’s at stake

I’m just starting to explore Justin’s music lately. I’m going over some of his catalog, and I really love what I’ve been hearing. It’s pure music at its finest with a great marriage of music and lyrics. Around a month ago, I was cruising around YouTube and I found him singing this song on The David Letterman song around 2020…I kept listening to it over and over. 

When I heard this song, I stopped what I was doing just to listen. This sounds corny, but I did get lost in the moment and listened carefully. I don’t usually do that with songs on the first listen…but this I did. I love its gospel, blues, rock,  and overall feeling. It’s a very somber song, but he packages it with an upbeat music attack. He was born in 1982 to Carol Ann Hunter Earle, and his father was singer/songwriter Steve Earle. He was born in Nashville and named in honor of his father’s mentor, Townes Van Zant. 

When he got older, he started to help out his dad touring, and he was in a couple of bands in Nashville. A rock band called The Distributors and a bluegrass band called the Swindlers, and he continued to play in The Dukes, his father’s backup band. He had his own style, and I admired him for that. 

In 2007, he released his first EP called Yuma, and then he released his first album, The Good Life, in 2008. Harlem River Blues came off the album of the same name in 2010. It was his highest charting album in the US. It peaked at #47 on the Billboard Album Charts, #18 on the Billboard Rock Album Charts, #9 on the Billboard Indie Charts, and #3 on the Billboard Folk Charts. 

The song received acclaim and earned Earle the Song of the Year award at the 2011 Americana Music Honors & Awards. Justin Townes Earl passed away in 2020 at 38 years old. 

I had to include three versions…all of them have something to offer. 

Harlem River Blues

Lord, I’m goin’ uptown to the Harlem River to drown
Dirty water gonna cover me over
And I’m not gonna make a sound

I’m on a roll, mama, I gotta go
Gotta get there while I still can
Troubled days are behind me now
And I know they’re gonna let me in
When you see me walkin’ up the FDR
Just a-singin’ and a-clappin’ my hands
Tell my mama I love her, tell my father I tried
Give my money to my baby to spend

‘Cause Lord, I’m goin’ uptown to the Harlem River to drown
Dirty water gonna cover me over
And I’m not gonna make a sound

Good times come and they go
Even a good man’ll break
He’ll let his troubles bury him whole
Even though he knows what’s at stake
So I’m taking no chances
Carrying over while I’m still good in His grace
Sayin’ I’m no fool, mama
I know the difference between tempting and choosing my fate

So Lord, I’m goin’ uptown to the Harlem River to drown
Dirty water gonna cover me over
And I’m not gonna make a sound

Lord, I’m goin’ uptown to the Harlem River to drown
Dirty water gonna cover me over
And I’m not gonna make a sound

Lord, I’m goin’ uptown to the Harlem River to drown
Dirty water gonna cover me over
And I’m not gonna make a sound