February 11, 2006
I Can't Write Left Handed
> Bill Withers – I can’t Write Left Handed
In the cannon of soul music, Bill Withers is often left out of the yolk that defines the genre and found in the white area that connects soul to folk or pop. Though his voice carries pre-requisite gospel drenched grit and his songs scream of lost love and brotherhood, the wide acceptance of his music, and his tendency towards accessible music serves to distil his hard earned cred. I held Withers in that category myself, a category that other artists with equally ubiquitous talent such as Richie Havens, until I watched an interview with Withers himself about how the song "Ain't No Sunshine" came to be. The story, in which Withers tells of heartbreak so deep that he had to admit to himself, getting past his male ego in the process, that the sun no longer shone when his woman left him, gave his songwriting a degree of authenticity that eludes some of the more recognized names in the cannon chiefly because they lack such a deep personal connection to their material. The interview, which sees Withers telling it like it is, at one exclaiming: "I am the goddamn blues," has it right; Bill Withers sang soul music with all the honesty of a Nina Simone and all the torment of a Bobby 'Blue' Bland.
"I can't Write Left Handed" which was originally recorded on October 6th, 1972, is a lilting, frank statement about the Vietnam War. The song imagines the thoughts of a veteran returning home without an arm: he has lost his right hand and he can't write left handed. The simplicity of the statement, typical of Withers' lyrics, belies the depth of the concept. This version, from his overlooked Live At Carnegie Hall album includes an Isaac Hayes like spoken word intro, a textbook "Story Tellers" vamp that leads into a minimalist and moving blues-drenched account of the horrors of war. Bill Withers was, after all, a story teller.
Posted by pd3000 at 05:40 PM | Comments (0)