Chuck Ragan

Destined To Be Worth The Blood

Aug 25, 2009

tell your friends…

Words by Sean Moeller // Illustration by Johnnie Cluney // Sound engineering by Mike Gentry

You can chisel a man down to many different configurations. You can chop that man up and leave him lingering in pieces, separated out into their distinctive elements - the cream where it belongs, the enamel to the center and the skin on the floor of the measuring device, heavier than thou. You can leave them all muscles or all brains, or all of whatever they've gone through their marked up lives to value the most. You can leave them with all features and poses or as a lump covered over with fancy clothing and jewelry, not to mention a multi-colored ink blotch - all that remains from the tattoos that covered their arms, legs and backs. You can carve a man down to the barest of cores, whittling away and off the fat and the excess, all of the material that's just for show, for the small advantages it might bring when he least expects it. This could leave a man shivering, exposed for all to witness, showing as either a chicken shit, a proud man of impeccable moral standards or someone in between, a wishy-washy bundle of water, guns, gums, teeth, beady eyes, body odor and snickers. Chuck Ragan, the former leader of Hot Water Music, is a man who can be proficiently boiled down to his elements and to a soul that will leave you with few remaining questions about him and that's not an indictment that he's easily solved. It's actually an indication of the exact opposite because there are foyers of subtext and thin pages of fine print built into that compact thing that he'd fight a bullet for, that SOUL of his, writ large in the most capital of letters. I read an interesting quote from author Jonathan Ames in the newest issue of Fader magazine last night that addresses the way that we structure our lives to be nothing short of a cast of thousands, saying, "I think we all lead more than just double lives, actually. We'd need file folders to organize all of our lives. We find places and points on which to agree - like language - but even that is faulty. When people say things to you like, 'I feel like you don't even know me!' it's usually because you really don't." So many people are like this, certainly, and Ragan digs into the minds and guts of these people for a good chunk of his lyrical content, but should a mirror be thrust in front of him, you'd see an all-American man who can build things with his bare hands, who sets an alarm clock for early morning hours to get some fishing in before the sun's come up, and who knows that inevitably, all lives have a bad ending. It's this "when we're dead and gone" portion of thought that Ragan doesn't get dragged into, but rather drags himself into time and again, finding it the most fascinating and consistently intriguing consideration for any man to bother with. It's in thinking about the final chapter of gasps that brings one to a place where bullshit and flimsiness aren't welcome, where there needs to be a decision made on what's going to be stood for and what kind of a person you want to be when all eyes are locked on you. The fire overtakes Ragan on his newest album, "Gold Country," as it's done often over the years, as it seems to have branded his throat with a darkened coating of sin or an eye for it. He sings about making pacts with the devil and making up in the morning missing a tongue. He sings about the diesel fuel that he puts in his vehicles that are meant to bring him home at the end of long hauls, long time gone. He sings about being affected by loved ones from afar and he seems to do all of this as a man that is never going to need to act as if this is a dress rehearsal for anything other than a very black hole in the ground with little leg room and no air to breathe. Ragan's goal is to make something out of this life and this soul that isn't going to be diminished into invisible fumes when he's no longer present. He is destined to prove that he was worth his blood.

Chuck Ragan Official Site
SideOneDummy Records

tell your friends…

1. first song

   Welcome to Daytrotter

   
2. second song

   Between the Lines

   

   - original version appears on Feast or FamineI've never served in the armed forces myself and for years rebelled against all war in every shape and form whether it was against the warmongers and dictators who advocated the battle at hand, down to the lone soldier for even wearing the uniform. Over the years as I've grown older and have either family or friends live through the military, I've seen a different light somewhat. I'm still very much opposed to war, threats and instilling fear throughout the public. I believe war will breed hatred, which in turn breeds war. Yet it's hard to imagine being dropped off in a foreign land amongst death and bullets knowing that your life now revolves around the idea of "kill or be killed," and not doing whatever it would take to make it home to my loved ones and family who depended on me. For whatever reason it be of ending up there. That said, my respects go out to the young men and women who sacrifice their own freedom, way of life or life in general for the sake of their families, a living for their children and for some, a better tomorrow. This song was written from a perspective of a young man overseas fighting for his life in the days of the war in Vietnam. I was invited to write some songs for a group of gentlemen down in southern California who were putting together a documentary film that depicted the lives of two individuals who were fighting their own wars within a war. The folks who made this film are called Pure Frustration Productions. My friend Chris Fenn introduced us and I later went down to meet, surf and speak with Ty Ponder about their project and the music they were looking for. He as well as Scott Bass and Troy Page were kind enough to share the transcripts with me, show me footage and share their stories and vision for this project. To say the least, it was very moving and very much inspiring. I wrote a few songs for their film after meeting them and this one I named after their film and project they called "Between The Lines." Again, this song was written in respect to the young men and women who lost their lives in Vietnam, to their families that lived and dealt with the memory then and now and their friends who fought and lived beside them.

3. third song

   Cut Em Down

   

   - original version appears on the forthcoming Gold CountryWhat I can't understand about many political figures is that there seems to be such a stout sure way about them that they can do no wrong. "Holier than thou," as my wife puts it. Have a hard time admitting wrongs. Making amends or just plain changing. The fact of the matter is that we live in such diverse and ever changing countries of culture that it seems near improbable that their could be one man or woman who carries the ideals and standards that would appeal to an entire popultion. So it seems they change. Back peddle or pity to appease. I don't claim to know what's going on. I must say that I feel like the majority of the time in my days I'm about as unaware of what's happening in our country or in our world on a political level as anyone else living within a bubble. I know that may sound about as selfish as it gets but I've always had a hard time chewing on politics. I believe in making a difference. I believe in doing our best to treat people fairly, equally and the way that I'd wish to be treated. It was how we were raised in our home. I believe change starts at home. With that, political agendas, arguments and differences have always turned me off more so than anything in this world. Which is why I'd much rather plant tomatoes and peppers than to listen to a bag of wind that will change their mind or their tongue when it's convenient or when the heat is under their ass. Maybe that's just the way humans are or react once inflicted with power. Who knows? What I do know is what goes around comes around and if we feel like we can treat people poorly and run through life taking more than giving, we can rest assure that someone, somewhere at some point will have no problem in taking from us.

4. fourth song

   Glory

   

   - original version appears on the forthcoming Gold CountryThis song is for all of the friends and fans of music who give their heart and soul, time and money, blood, sweat, tears and energy in keeping independent music alive and thriving. For years I've been so lucky and blessed to have met so many amazing old souls through traveling and music. One thing that a lot of us have always agreed on was the way that we like our shows to work. It's a simple concept of action and reaction. You give out everything you've got until you're drained and empty and it's in turn given back to you to fill you back up to keep on keeping on. Basically, you get what you give. It was at the Stone Pony one night when I was hanging with my buddies from the Bouncing Souls. Brian coined the term that night and described this cycle I'm writing about, that energy or that movement we carry as sheer, "Glory." So here's to all of you who believe in it. Make it happen. And continue to give it back to us who play and sing till where empty. Much respect.

5. fifth song

   Symmetry

   

   - original version appears on Los FelizThis is for my wife Jill. My foundation and my love that keeps my chin up and keeps me looking forward to everyday I have left on this rock. Life is too damn short and we never know what we'll be dealt. Or who will stay and who will pass. I do believe in true love but I also believe in choice and will, just as much as chance and fate. If you're reading this and you're a person who believes there is no one out there for you, you may be right. Or you may just be lazy and drab. Life is what you make of it and sometimes we have the choice to reach and go for what we desire or grab what we feel may fulfill us. And sometimes it reaches out and smacks you in the head and drags you up a mountain to slide down sideways through the clouds right before bringing you to Mexico to be humbled by seahabilitation and what I like to call "the real world." If you don't believe in true love, you may as well not believe in the stars. If there's someone you believe in, a love you feel is true and real. Saturate yourself with it. Give freely and fairly and wear no regret.

6. sixth song

   Coal Tattoo

   

   - original version appears on unreleased Kingston Trio coverA good friend of mine named Lars Din gave me a couple recordings years ago. One was Big Bill Broonzy and the other Hazel Dickens. I wore em both out for quite a while but out of all the songs on those recordings one song jumped out at me the most. It was her rendition of Coal Tattoo. A loose song written about the coal mining industry by a man named Billy Ed Wheeler. This was some years ago and it wasn't until a few months ago, I received an messsage from the very man himself through my bud Martin at Leech Records. Martin did a live record for us where we covered "Coal Tattoo" so he contacted whom he needed to contact for licensing. Mr. Wheeler letting Jon Gaunt, Digger and I know that he enjoyed our version of his song, came from left field. Needless to say we were pretty taken back. Not only because we were given a compliment by an elder of great musical taste and history, we were given a compliment by a man whom we never in our wildest dreams thought we'd ever know or meet. It was an honor. Billy Ed Wheeler is an extraordinary songwriter among many other talents, but I owe learning and playing this song as well to the amazing Hazel Dickens. A strong strong woman who as far as I'm concerned had a huge influence and part in changing the face of folk and bluegrass to what we know today. Or at least to what I know today. And of course, my buddy Lars Din for turning me onto these artists first hand and being a huge inspiration in hanging onto the hunger of learning and passing on traditional songs and old standards that are here to stay.

7. seventh song

   Done And Done

   

   - original version appears on the forthcoming Gold CountrySome of us wake day to day with not a care in the world. Move through the day with some ease and leave very little tracks or trace of where we've been or what we've done. Caring less and less whether we live or die as the days and age grow longer and the time on earth grows shorter. Some of us wake day to day with the weight of the world wearing a heart on the sleeve and cutting ourselves open for the world to see. Moving through the days in a struggle hacking our way, blazing trails and leaving a mark and a path for like minds to find in the dark. Caring more and more whether we live or die as the days and age grow longer and our time on earth grows shorter. These are the ways and the people that inspire me. That make me want to push and fight the good fight even when my body tells me to lie down. These are the people that make me want to be like them and be myself at the same time. We have the choice of whether or not we want to get up and stand up for what we believe in or lay down and wallow in our own weak state. We either have the will or are able to find the will to overcome and do what we have to do to survive, make our way and make our mark for ourselves and the ones we love until we're laying breathless and still under the dirt. Or not.