An Introduction to America’s Music

CHAPTER 22 | ROCK, ROOTS, AND REBELLION 541

timing section lyrics comment

0:00 introduction 4 bars: Carter-style guitar suggests a Depression-

era setting. Very quiet organ (Optigan) chords

add a subliminal religious aura.

0:07 verse 1 I am an orphan... 8 bars: Welch’s unvarnished voice sings a folklike

melody whose rises and falls resemble Hank

Williams’s “Lost Highway.” Six-string electric

bass adds a very soft bass line played on the

upper strings.

0:23 chorus I have no mother... The 11-bar chorus is less a separate section than

an extension of the verse. Note the extra beat in

bar 9, reminiscent of the extra beats in the Carter

Family’s “Can the Circle Be Unbroken.”

0:46 verse 2 I have had friendships...

1:03 chorus I know no mother... Rawlings adds country-style vocal harmonies in

the choruses and for occasional lines in verses.

1:27 interlude

(instrumental

chorus)

Guitar plays a slightly modifi ed version of the

chorus melody on the lower strings. As in earlier

sections, organ chords swell near the end, only to

recede as the next section begins.

1:50 verse 3 But when he calls me... Welch modifi es the fi rst two phrases to end on a

clipped high note.

2:06 chorus I’ll meet my mother...

2:30 interlude Like the fi rst interlude, with the addition of

a countermelody on the upper strings of the

electric bass.

2:53 verse 4 Blessed savior...

songwriter: Gillian Welch

date: 1996

performers: Gillian Welch, vocal, acoustic

guitar; David Rawlings, vocal, electric guitar,

six-string bass, Optigan; T-Bone Burnett,

Optigan

genre: alt.country

meter: duple

form: verse and chorus

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

• “old-timey” sound of Carter-style guitar


• vocal style and lyrics suggestive of 1930s
  country


• understated yet sophisticated production
  indicative of song’s 1990s origin

CD 4.14 Listening Guide 22.2 “Orphan Girl” GILLIAN WELCH

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