the Hill Country Devil, "Rats Get Fat" // GemsOnVHS™
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- Опубликовано: 12 апр 2019
- I introduced Ben and Hayden some time ago, and they've been fast friends ever since. Kindred spirits even, both prone to trouble and writing great songs about it. Both were in town for the recording of Hayden's album we put together, and we decided to sit down and talk shop. Ben actually helped Hayden with getting physicals to be made. Part two will be one of Ben's songs.
That's what I love about our project here; we're bringing great people together, fostering community, including y'all! All of our favorite musicians came from a scene. Dylan in Greenwich village, Townes hanging with Guy and Steve Earle and Blaze Foley. When you're around other talented, like minded folks it raises your ability and makes you stronger.
This is actually a song off of that new record, which you can find on our website here, www.gemsonvhs.com/store
or here for a physical copy, thehillcountrydevil.com/shop
Want to learn how to play this song? Check out these tabs: tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/...
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GemsOnVHS is a long running series of intimate, off-stage performances by songwriters we love.
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I saw Guy Clark back in the early 90s. He talked about writing songs. He told a story about a man who asked him how he wrote such great songs. Guy's response was that he wrote about what happened to him in life. The inquiring would be songsmith replied, "Nothing happens to me!"
Guys response: "Then don't write songs."
or be like John Cage.
Lots of things happen to me, but I have no musical talent to turn them into songs.
The side to you, best fed, is what will best succeed. If you cant hear music in your mind when you write, begin with poetry. After, figure your music out and then add bridges and the chorus @@galaxyanimal
If Benjamin Todd is backing him like this, you know this guy has something.
The grit in his voice when he sings “swing low” kills me. This song is fantastic
Daaaamn the two dudes that made me love this channel are HOMIES
I JUST THOUGHT THE SAME THING
Same
gonzalo duran word.
I know right ?
Right! Great comment.
the reason ben isn't singing/playing along is simple; this is called a song swap. amongst songwriters it is very common. you don't noodle around on a song you've just heard for the first time - you sit silently and listen to the world the other writer is painting for you. in part 2, ben will play one of his.
Totally understand that I just love that he's there kinda it gives a really special feeling
Cannot wait until part 2.
I will be waiting ever so impatiently for yours Ben..with a dread of pain shared but the need to feel more all the same. Love you both from a sacred space-only someone who has set one shoe on your path can know those feelings..
Cool, thanks for explaining that.
This song deserves a full band - fiddle, second guitar, banjo, drums
I fkn dig that Ben Tod is sitting there Chillen and digging it
This channel is amazing. Gives you surreal feelings watching someone you know to be an amazing artist just in the background holding space for another amazing artist to also shine his own light. It gives the picture of a larger world they all inhabit, one I want to be a part of.
@@Philly7Eagles tell ben he sure fuckin shakes the earth with his music.thats how i found this song and i LOVE it! What a voice..
First Townes, then Justin Townes, now this guy... you can hear it
Crazy how heroin makes soo much sense to an active user and yet no sense at all at the same time. It’s like your first serious relationship, you get addicted to the emotions you discover and crave the intensity of them while refusing to acknowledge their destructiveness. Makes it so hard to want to pull yourself out of what makes sense when it’s your first taste of emotional reciprocation. I never thought I’d hear someone illustrate the feeling with words so accurately until I heard this song. Going on 5 years clean now and this makes me weep like I’m going on 5 hours. God bless you brother👊🏻
This guy is a damn poet. So freaking beautiful and haunting.
Justin Bowen Agreed!
I dare say Dylan but damm.
Love seeing this get likes. No smoke and mirrors just raw and beautiful. Celebrate Dylan, the man has inspired many along with many many others that have too as well.
@@jrc7660 this song got me ..hard. top left hun. Respect, I simply can not imagine the pain you'd have had to had gone threw but 'wow' is all I can say
hes very careful what he gives you before he pulls the rug out. brilliant writer.and Benjamin todd is like some kinda gift from somewhere. his work is the only thing that's struck me down in years. I'm retired but these 2 fellas need to know the world needs to hear this. I know; I'm a friend of the worlds.
The opiate epidemic in all these of it’s sadness and horror helped create some amazing songwriters. As a recovering heroin addict (7 years sober) I can fully connect to the writing.
I think people connect with these two particular men because when they perform their songs you can easily see, feel, and hear that their music comes from depths that most cannot reach. These two do some deep dark diving into themselves and they come out with the ugly truths that we all can relate to. I do not ever get the sense that they “perform” necessarily, but that they are most sincerely sharing their pain with us. They are both truly special writers and artists.
Truth but we all lerform at some point n life
Perform
Well said!
It would be nice to be able to pour that much of yourself into expression must be a amazing feeling even if without audience I imagine they do it for themselves
Well said
Lost Dog Street Band brought me to Gems on VHS and the rise and fall with and without her. Watching two young lovers starting off in a trailer croon our anthems to the American tales of love and woes, to Bens heart break as he fell back into the bottle and bottomed out onto the spoon separated from her, shirt tattered and eyes sunken in on “using again”.
I remember trying to write songs in a garage in bum fuck Egypt California, with a long time friend and we both were broken at the time, up all night and soulless when Ben released “I will Rise”. I played it for my friend Louie that morning on the monitors and some hope came back in both our eyes. Just enough to keep going and maybe think about putting ourselves back together.
Documenting these journeys from Ben to Hayden and both their struggles brings addiction, music, and the joy we find in our suffering that much closer to home.
This is the second time I’ll thank you.. Gems and your artists.
Finally, I have an ex stuck in Colorado still trying to live but living to die and it’s heartbreak every time she falls again. She could be gone tomorrow as is the life of an addict. Either way It’s good to see both of these guys still breathing.
Anyway,
Anyone that reads this..
don’t stop fighting.
-
From a Southern California Junkie trying to get it right.. May we all one day “Rise”.
Much love bud.. keep on keepin on.
Laveine?
Hope you'll make it.
We do recover brother..
A. Janse that’s right brother man your not a loser til you stop fighting. Much love from philly I’m a dirtball doper that only wants to live right too🙏💪🙏
This song helped me get clean.
This song really hit home... I’m a 33 year old recovering heroin addict from Sacramento, California... I heard this song for the first time while I was sitting in the hospital waiting for heart surgery. I spent 2 long month’s in Sutter General downtown Sacramento. I had pneumonia and endocarditis, which is an infection in your heart valves, that is usually caused by iv drug use. I spent the greater part of the last 10 years slamming dope. I’ve been clean for a little over 4 months now. Now I try to summon strength to labor thru this fight trying to live drug free. There really is light at the end of the tunnel. Fortunately I’m still here. Stay strong everyone.
Stay up Chris, the road to a clean life is bumpy, but well worth it. Stay safe brother
Stay strong, brother. Glad to hear you are in good health again.
Just keep the needle out of your arm my friend. I know that's easier said than done because I'm going through it myself. Honesty I'm snorting dope instead but it's a start. That damn rig will get you for sure though. I've seen it to many times. Stay strong brother.
Hayden - it was super rad watching you play twice in Denver during these weird times. You apologized for only playing sad songs. Well, as Weezer once said, "All my favorite songs are slow and sad".
Weezer SUCKS! Hate that band!
@@brianwagner384 Brian Wagner sucks
@@corynadermann2479 Lol
...Cory sucks! 😁
Your killin it gems. Keep up the good work.
This may be his best song yet
He is definitely playing, and obviously feeling better than I've seen.. Lots of folks are low down.. But Hayden has the tools.. He is gonna do great
Dude these guys are bad ass! I am from San Antonio, tx. Jumped fright all over USA, Mexico and Canada. I fought a 16 year heroin addiction and been clean for five years! I hope these guys keep doing what they are doing! Thank you! Somebody finally put words to hope I feel that's for sure!!!
Man, those lyrics and emotion. It's so hard to find music like this. Raw and personal but hauntingly relatable.
Spent a year lost in San Antone... thank God that town didnt bury me... great job buddy
No music recorded and produced in the finest studio can touch this. Thank youGemsOnVHS!
I've always devoted most of my Gems attention to LDSB, Josh Okeefe, and Sierra Ferrell, but I've listened to this on repeat for the last 3 days. This channel and the artists you feature just do it for me. Thank you @GemsOnVHS for your hard work and the beautiful music you've allowed me to be part of.
Lyrics:
Better men have died for less, rats get fat no matter where you've been
And San Antone’s a catacomb where Sirens speak the tongue of broken men
They say your body is a credit card, sell your ass they're sure to get you well
And if they offer tainted points, just bleach the ends, add a crack upon your belt
And it wasn't all too long ago, crying out in a hospital gown
With a bandage torn off from the chest and an oath to stick the landing coming down
The boarding house was an easy out, but it don’t help when the noise begins to tower
And every second is a minute and every minute is another endless hour
Swing low, sweet northern wind to guide my weary bones
Don't let them bury me in San Antone
Don't you bury me in San Antone
Pacing an apartment, gifted clothes hang tattered, torn, and loose
How deeply green the grass must be as it calls beyond the window of a noose
And now cowardice is baring teeth, a fit of shakes in wait before the sight
To only kill a part of me, the cost that buys some shelter for the night
Now morning comes with vengeance, taunted by the light now growing wild
Bathing in the warmth she brings, a kick to shut down weeping like a child
Begin the false bought clarity, the summoned strength to labor through the fight
Just to thumb a stolen wallet and to stumble towards another endless night
Swing low, mother misery let the shackles go
The gift of ease before I die alone
And I know I'll die alone
Better men have died for less, but the rats get fat no matter where you've been
This song is about being homeless and addicted to heroin.
Brilliant poetry here
Thanks for the lyrics. This is so honest.
@@charliechristian1097 Yeah.
@@orangeiceice12 I wasn't shooting dope but I relate. Lot of my friends from the old days did, couple made it out, most didn't. Really sad how guys get restless and stuff and can't acclimate to "normal" life so they run back into the old familiar stench of the gutter. Seen it happen a good few too many times. "Treatment" centers are all too willing to take em back in to the tune of a couple grand a day
This is amazing! I've been waiting on this since the IG sneak peak! Hayden is truly so talented!
His album is beautiful ! One of my best purchase this year.
Thanks gemsonvhs!
Mathias Louvet same!
hey thanks bud. more coming.
@@GemsOnVHS can't wait !
Hands down my best purchase this year lol
His voice is mesmerizing ❤
Thank you once again for bringing this to us.
One of the first videos I watched on this channel. Such a solid song and artist.
Also saw him post recently on Instagram that he’s been sober from heroin for a year now. That’s what it’s all about man.
Tragedy, suffering, heartache, and redemption this is the formula to writing songs that hook into the soul of the listener. Some music barely scratches through the ears while the songs that these two fellas write peel back the eye lids and jump in possessing anyone in earshot!
“In the presence of giants!”
I am thoroughly convinced that Benjamin and Lost Dog Street Band are the greatest “unrecognized” artists of the 21st century. Unbelievable talent and emotion
The rasp in his voice at 1:49 is the freaking truth... That's awesome and raw.
Legit just came here to comment that
I lost it at that point...tears.
Music is so powerful
It reminds me of Kurt Cobain a bit. Its harsh and rough yet still beautiful.
This touched my soul...you are brilliantly gifted...I know where those songs come from...thank you
Wicked song ... I could watch that half a dozen more times.
There i just gave you a reason to listen again...
i hope they do a song together, ive been a big fan of both these guys for some years now!!!
Those guys and some others on gemsonvhs, how they live for their music, remind me to Townes van Zandt
Adam Lukas Agreed, may he rest in peace!
you can hear the strength in his vocals more and more with each song. Keep em coming Gems, and Hayden, keep doing your thing.
Seriously. The music is so beautiful, but it's also so powerful when you can hear someone who has been in a dark place recover.
You know that feeling you get when your hair stands on end and you get goose bumps from a song. That's what I got from this guy. Amazing. Fucking phenomenal 👏 😍
At times I feel these artists give us a part of their lives, we relate, we feel our stories in our own lives, others feel connected by some unconscious measure. In any form we derive some pleasure, I feel a bittersweet emotion. This is raw, untethered, this the lives sang through true emotions. This music is touching lives for the very reason they create it.
this has made it to my top 5 songs of all time
This is my favourite off the album. Seeing ol Karch play it makes it even stronger. Thank you for this
Two of my favorite artists God damn you guys kill it with your finds!
These two brought me inspiration in times hope seemed like science fiction. If it weren't for their music, I'm not sure if I would have even started playing/writing again. The world needs more REAL musicians like you guys.
Both these dudes write amazing music. Thanks for the gems, y'all.
Wow this was brutal, had my stomach flip flopping the whole time. So raw and real. Please keep 'em coming guys, you're both incredible!
This one is by far my favorite of all the Gems songs/vids... hits ya deep.
This channel has been a blessing to me for finding music that's changing my life, you guys are fkn dope!!!!
Benjamin looking at Hayden, is LIFE! 🎸🎶🖤🤘
What a voice and great lyrics you can feel this song in the centre of your soul
It seems you're in such a better place Hayden, we're all happy for you xo keep it up. Much love
Yes! Keep up the good work Hayden, you’re an inspiration
Reminds me of my time in detox and rehab
I think all of us that suffered that same fate are reminded
When I was in Colorado finding myself I listened to this song EVERY morning. I got my dreamer and my addiction faded. To nothing. Just her face. Nothings impossible
Pain in music transitions to beauty. This is amazing!
Brilliant!!! Very heartfelt tune. THIS is music. 🤘💀🤘
If I could only convey the look apon my face after hearing this the first time, seeing the artists I feel most connected to at this point in my life in the same space-Id give so much to spend one day sharing our music with you both. You are more strength and power than you know. Thank you for this Hayden.
Favourite from the album I think. What a songwriter!
this is amazing, love both ben and hayden
Anthony thank you for archiving what music is ment to be. You take an artist's gift to the world and perfectly capture the intimately personal experience of the song.
This song is a gem amongst gems. I absolutely love it.
Better men have died for less, rats get fat no matter where you've been
And San Antone’s a catacomb where Sirens speak the tongue of broken men
They say your body is a credit card, sell your ass they're sure to get you well
And if they offer tainted points, just bleach the ends, add a crack upon your belt
And it wasn't all too long ago, crying out in a hospital gown
With a bandage torn off from the chest and an oath to stick the landing coming down
The boarding house was an easy out, but it don’t help when the noise begins to tower
And every second is a minute and every minute is another endless hour
Swing low, sweet northern wind to guide my weary bones
Don't let them bury me in San Antone
Don't you bury me in San Antone
Pacing an apartment, gifted clothes hang tattered, torn, and loose
How deeply green the grass must be as it calls beyond the window of a noose
And now cowardice is baring teeth, a fit of shakes in wait before the sight
To only kill a part of me, the cost that buys some shelter for the night
Now morning comes with vengeance, taunted by the light now growing wild
Bathing in the warmth she brings, a kick to shut down weeping like a child
Begin the false bought clarity, the summoned strength to labor through the fight
Just to thumb a stolen wallet and to stumble towards another endless night
Swing low, mother misery let the shackles go
The gift of ease before I die alone
And I know I'll die alone
Love your guitar styles man-o. Picking, strumming... Strumicking
Howdy, folks! If you're enjoyin' these recordings, please consider becoming a Patron to keep us going. For the price of a slice of pizza every month, you can help us bring you new stories and songs. We'll return the favor with plenty of digital downloads, CDs, behind-the-scenes takes, giveaways, and more! www.patreon.com/gemsonvhs
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. Jag l
So underrated. The pain it took to write this is understated.
It came out beautiful. Thank you.
Another perfect moment captured. Thank you.
They’re both my favorites gems so far
Love these 2 guys.bens lost some weight.keep up the great songs lads.please come to the uk.big up to gems on vhs
Such a cool crowd to hang out with. Keep it up bro.
I love this channel so much! Every time a new video drops 1st thing i think is This is the best song i ever heard, 2nd thing i think is Isn't it a shame that none of these artists will ever be as famous as they deserve to be. Every single artist and group here needs to b on the radio but nooooo we have to listen to Beiber and Selena Gomez and other garbage. Maybe one day the industry will realize their mistake
Super good.. Absolutely amazing in fact.
That effortless vocal fry has me jealous. Dude can sing, hot damn.
I thought "lets change things up and listen to something without ben." so much for that. Can't get away from my favorite singer. what a wonderful curse
Wonderful artistry here....
I love this song!!!!! Thank you!!!!
My favorite song off the album !!!
Benjamin Tod (and his other stuff!), Hayden and Jason Dea West (And his other stuff) right now are on loop this end. Wicked channel @GemsonVHS you're curating a whole new taste I'm lapping up. Big Love!!
I had to come back! This is brilliant!!
This Is honest and real as it gets. This is what I consider true talent. Awesome job
Holly cow. This is very good. Songs like this make the long nights of pain in my body worth while. To share in something like this is worthwhile.
Omg I am definitely going to learn this song! I wish I could write more poetic lyrics like the ones in this song. Truly truly soul grabbing and heart wrenching! The lyrics are so deep but also so relatable. I want to meet that guy and pick his brain & of course Jam with him!!! A+++++++++++++++++++
Very nice. Ive connected with everything Bens ever wrote. And now starting to get on with the hill country devil but i like what ive heard.
As raw as it gets. Love it
Fantastic chords to the words 👍👍👍👌
I lost my fiance to heroin addiction. This really hits hard.
Im sorry for your loss
Every second is a minute and every minute is an endless hour...
You both convey jus fine and it’s most excellent
hope your happy and healthy hayden, you mean so much to so many people, you can't fake this kind of raw emotion
I wanna marry this guy!! I love his voice and his songwriting is so deep and well said. He's up there with some of my all-time favorites like Counting Crows, Bright Eyes, etc.
I’ve created a playlist of the Hill Country Devil (and other GemOnVHS artists) that lives on repeat! Ben makes the world stand still while he sings. Different in many ways, but when I first heard Jack Johnson it had the same affect 20 years ago and still today. Thanks Ben
His lyrics are insane. My heart broke listening to this one
okay I lied there won't be a song swapped cus Ben didn't like his rendition sorry guys i'm a LIAR!!! love you all tho more Ben soon.
This performance must have been real hard to follow.
Come on Ben lol
this hurts. can we at least get a duet, like "blue eyes dancing" with Matt Heckler?
@@johncuriel355 Dam straight. It almost looks like Ben is paling out while sitting there listening.
You know I get it Ben and Hayden have two very different styles and I'm not sure how well this song would fit Ben's. But this has to be one of my favorite songs I've heard so far.
Great lyrics, great song!
Instant favorite!! Thank you for sharing!! ~\m/~ 🍄
Great song
Love your real music so much guys ❤
From Girl from quebec 🤟
Real music. Painfully honest, rough around the edges, the ability to tell a story, and best part is when these two sing any of their songs you can tell it's painful for them or was at one point in their life's.
How deeply green the grass must be as it calls beyond the window of a noose - FUCK that's incredible!
Such an ace song mate.
Gosh, I love this channel ❤️🙂
we love you
Two modern legends. Thanks Gems.
This song is so raw and powerful