Heartbreak, Misery & Death

by Grayson Capps

supported by

Paul Goode Beautiful, incredibly well-produced record. The vinyl is amazing: Capps delivers these folk standards with breathtaking immediacy. Order without fear! Favorite track: Early Morning Rain.

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
180-gram classic black vinyl including insert with complete lyrics and credits

Includes unlimited streaming of Heartbreak, Misery & Death via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
With insert featuring complete lyrics and credits

Includes unlimited streaming of Heartbreak, Misery & Death via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

$20 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.

$15 USD or more

1.	Wake Up Little Maggie 01:53		buy track
2.	Columbus Stockade Blues 03:13	lyrics	buy track
Way down in Columbus Georgia I wish I was back in Tennessee Way down in that old Columbus Stockade My friends all have turned their backs on me. Go and leave me if you wish to Never let me cross your mind In your heart you love another Leave me, little darling, I don’t mind Many a night with you I’ve rambled Honey, countless hours with you I’ve spent Thought I had your love and your little heart forever Now I know it was only lent. Go and leave me if you wish to Never let me cross your mind If in your heart you love another Leave me, little darling, I don’t mind Last night as I lay sleeping Oh, I dreamed I held you in my arms When I woke, oh, I was mistaken Still, I lie behind these bars Go and leave me if you wish to Never let me cross your mind If in your heart you love another Leave me, little darling, I don’t mind Lord, I’ve got these walking blues
3.	Barbara Allen 02:17		buy track
4.	Moody River 02:29		buy track
5.	Today 02:00		buy track
6.	Early Morning Rain 03:13		buy track
7.	Guilty 02:10		buy track
8.	Stoney 04:38		buy track
9.	I Really Don't Want To Know 01:18		buy track
10.	Old Maid's Lament 01:59		buy track
11.	Louise 02:39		buy track
12.	St. James Hospital 03:04		buy track
13.	Alberta 02:46		buy track
14.	Wreck On The Highway 03:02		buy track
15.	Hallelujah 04:40		buy track
16.	Copper Kettle 02:03		buy track

about

'Heartbreak, Misery & Death' is the seventh studio album by beloved Alabama-based troubadour Grayson Capps. For this latest effort, Capps—joined by his long-standing guitarist Corky Hughes— turned his attention to 16 long-lost folk songs and traditionals originally written and performed by artists ranging from Doc Watson and Jerry Jeff Walker to Randy Newman and Gordon Lightfoot. Introduced to these timeless touchstones as a child by his father, they'd catalyze Capps' love for music at a young age, while informing the Southern Gothic vernacular that he went onto so eloquently explore and reimagine in his own body of work.

As Capps explains in his own words:

I grew up with music, whether hearing Fred Stokes, Bobby Long and my dad, Ronnie Capps, singing around the house on Fridays and Saturdays, or listening to vinyl records in the den, my youth seemed to always be surrounded with music. One of the first artists I gravitated toward was Doc Watson. I first found my own voice by emulating him singing “Wake Up Little Maggie.” We had The Essential Doc Watson and Doc Watson Memories, and I wore those records out. “Columbus Stockade Blues” was one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar.

“Barbara Allen” was a favorite song of Bobby Long’s to sing. I remember him saying to Fred, “Come on Fred, give me a chord,” pronouncing the ‘ch’ like ‘chore.’ Fred would hit a chord, and Bobby would start in singing. I guess that’s where I learned the joy associated with singing and playing guitar.

I love Doc’s version of “Moody River,” and that song led me to appreciate more complex chord progressions. “Today” was another favorite of Bobby’s and my dad’s. I figure I’ve known that song ever since I can first remember. “Early Morning Rain” holds a special place in my heart and memory. We listened to the Peter, Paul & Mary version of the song after taking a severely hung-over Bobby Long to the airport on a rainy morning with no shoes on his feet, headed to Las Vegas. I see him there every time I sing that song.

A little later on, I discovered Randy Newman, and it wasn’t until spending some time playing on the streets of New Orleans that the song “Guilty” became a sordid truth in my life. It ties itself to “Stoney,” seamlessly sewing the fabric of my youth to the fabric of my adulthood. I learned “Stoney” for Bobby off a Jerry Jeff Walker record, and he swore it was his theme song until I wrote A Love Song for Bobby Long. The song, “I Really Don’t Want To Know” would have Bobby, Fred and my dad in three-part harmony, cracking themselves up while trying to record it into a Realistic tape recorder. “Old Maid’s Lament” was another song in their repertoire, though they called it “Sister Sarah”. I remember Fred singing “Louise,” and when I heard that baritone voice of his with that old Martin guitar, singing that sad-ass song, my soul soared like the raven from Edgar Allen Poe.   As the album title 'Heartbreak, Misery & Death' suggests, I have always gravitated toward dark songs, and probably the darkest one on this album is “Saint James Hospital,” but no matter how forlorn it is, it somehow makes me feel good to sing it. That leads me back to Doc Watson and his most beautiful version of “Alberta.” I think you can only sing that song after having experienced unreciprocated love. The reason I gravitated toward Doc is because his voice resembled Fred’s, and their baritone registers are much like my own natural voice.

Bobby, Fred and my dad had great harmonies which were highlighted when they sang “Wreck On The Highway.” When I was young, I was sure everybody knew that song. My father introduced me to all of the songs in this collection. The one song I introduced to him, a song he absolutely loved, is the Leonard Cohen classic “Hallelujah,” and I learned this song for him. My memories of the music my dad and his friends made sculpted a large part of who I am musically and spiritually. So, just as they might end a Saturday night drunk and high with “Copper Kettle,” I, too, shall end this collection with the greatest campfire song of all time.

credits

released October 25, 2024

Recorded at Dauphin Street Sound, Mobile, AL

Produced by Grayson Capps with Ryan Avinger
Engineered and Mixed by Ryan Avinger
Mastered by Keylan Laxton

Vocals, Acoustic Guitar: Grayson Capps
Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Tiny Piano: Corky Hughes

Art Direction and Package Design: Gregory J. Del Deo
Photography: Chad Edwards — MCE Photography

Label Management: Kevin Calabro

Grayson Capps would like to thank Kevin Calabro and everyone at Royal Potato Family, Trina Shoemaker, Ravenpaw, Rufus, Lido, Sonny, Traveler, Fergus, Banjo, Silk, Missy, Annie, Dido, Infiniti, Red Bell, Abby, Typsy, Silver Bell, Maple, Lexus, Caroline, Autumn, Newt, Junior and Gracie

Special thanks to Glenda (the Good Witch from the East)

This album is dedicated to my father Ronald Everett Capps

© ℗ 2024 Royal Potato Family

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about

Grayson Capps Mobile, Alabama

Grayson Capps is relaxed. You can hear it in the tone of his voice when he speaks, in the thoughtful, laconic way he reflects on the sometimes-tumultuous course of his life and work. It’s not the sound of complacency or comfort, but rather of personal growth and understanding. ... more

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