Oh Henry

Album: The Civil Wars (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The Civil Wars duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White wrote this slice of fulsome blues rock one week before their debut album, Barton Hollow, came out. They penned it in the mountains of Salt Lake City during the duo's first Sundance Festival. Williams explained: "We conjured up a story about a woman who was married to a philandering man. She is begging her man to level with her, and letting him know she can only take so much, a la 'it's gonna kill me or it's gonna kill you.'"
  • By the time The Civil Wars started recording their second album in 2012, they were already on the outs. The effortless chemistry they had on their first album had vanished in a swirl of artistic and personal differences. "Oh Henry" was written before they fractured and came in handy because they couldn't write together by this time. The album debuted at #1 in America, but by this time the Civil Wars had ended.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Female Singers Of The 90s

Female Singers Of The 90sMusic Quiz

The ladies who ruled the '90s in this quiz.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Gentle Giant

Gentle GiantSongwriter Interviews

An interview with Ray and Derek Shulman of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant to discuss counterpoint, polyrhythms, and... Bon Jovi.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."