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"After 10 years and 15 albums of giving it all we had as a band, the world had become one cesspool of fools and their betrayals. Sometimes we included ourselves in that characterization..."
"Hat in Hand was a sinner's swan song, a prophetic lament, garnished with drone and feedback. A lump in the throat moment for all of us."
One of my all-time fav VoL tracks. Lyrically & musically. It's mid-tempo, raw and desperate...a lament. We saw it coming. Jake and Kevin? Stunning here.
Of course there were other pages to write, each of us moving on to other things, but I will always cherish those moments when VoL (against all odds be the religious whackos who expected something more "edifying" or the Americana music gatekeepers at No Depression) felt like the "lil' band that could."

lyrics

Hat in Hand Run Time: 3:47
Written by Bill Mallonee for CyBrenJoJosh (BMI)

pen the lament and shadow your eyes
there's a vapor trail stretching across a kansas sky
dirt lot kids making dirt lot plans
shuffle forward your hat in hand

could be the hangman could be the noose
could be the engine could be the caboose
it pays to know on which side you stand
shuffle forward your hat in hand

yeah gold in this house there's gold in my band
there's gold in your blouse honey gold in my hand
it's a rhythm and mystery you don't quite understand
shuffle forward your hat in hand

bridge:
run fast after everything
and that's just what you'll miss
live your life opened armed
or with a clenched fist

dirt lot kids doing dirt lot deeds
way too much living in the minor key
burn all these sins in a Love so grand
shuffle forward your hat in hand

credits

from ELECTROMEO (previously unavailable), track released January 1, 2000
Bill Mallonee: guitars, vocals, harmonica
Jake Bradley: bass
Kevin Heuer: drums

mixed and mastered by: Tom Lewis

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about

Bill Mallonee

Bill Mallonee is an Americana artist w/ 80 plus albums over a 30 year career. Voted by Paste Music Magazine #65 in their "Top 100 Living Songwriters" poll. He was the
founding member of Vigilantes of Love. He has worked with Mark Heard, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, & Peter Buck from REM.
His most recent work, "Lead On, Kindly Light" is a 23song double Cd released Feb 2020.
... more

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