We've all got stories. Through life's winding turns and harrowing twists, our experiences draw on who we are as human beings. We weave these tales throughout our existence, whether through something seemingly trivial like a trip to the store or something more profound like the passing of a loved one. We feel complex, sometimes lost and sometimes found. Sometimes somewhere else entirely. And as we try our best to record these stories in the language of our understanding, we feel whole for a minute or two.
Few weave stories like Emmylou Harris. Her Hard Bargain is a collection of tales that can make us feel whole again.
It's stunning to consider that Harris wasn't always known as a great songwriter. Yet like many of us, the great beast of creativity that dwells within sometimes waits far too long before it rears up. In the case of this Alabama-born legend, the beast came about with The Ballad of Sally Rose. And after Wrecking Ball, Harris dove right in and brought her songwriting chops to the fore with albums like Red Dirt Girl and Stumble Into Grace.
In the case of Hard Bargain, simple storytelling is the name of the game. Harris draws on a deceptively basic set of words, concocting songs of experience and passion that only a performer with her life could craft. She's sung with Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, and so on. There are gallons upon gallons of stories.
Yet at the same time, Harris puts us at ease and lets us know that the stories and the songs, moments of life designed to make us feel whole for a minute or two, belong to more than just her.
Hard Bargain opens with "The Road." The track recalls Parsons and Harris' relationship with him. She refers to fire and hunger, sinking her teeth into the deeply personal lyrics. "I can still remember every single song you played," she sings.
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