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November 25, 2019
Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne's Playlist for Her Novel "Holding On To Nothing"
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Heidi Julavits, Hari Kunzru, and many others.
Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne's novel Holding On To Nothing is an empathetically written and poignant debut.
Booklist wrote pf the book:
"Shelburne's stunning debut novel is a long trip into small-town Tennessee. . .riveting, touching, heart-wrenching, tragic, and beautiful."
In her own words, here is Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne's Book Notes music playlist for her debut novel Holding On To Nothing:
Music is the foundation for my novel Holding On To Nothing. I had songs for getting into the mood of writing, songs that helped me think about what should happen in the book, and songs that my characters leaned on to get through the hard times I put them through. Music has always been the way I process my emotions and the songs below helped me get through the dark patches of writing a dark book, while also keeping me connected to my home, since I don’t live in Tennessee anymore.
Down in the Valley by The Head and the Heart
This was one of the two songs I'd listen to get in the mood to work on this book. It's about a person who wishes he could see something else in the world, know something else than all the trouble in his life, all the trouble he's caused. This is pretty much the story of Jeptha’s life. He wants to be any other kind of man, but just doesn’t know how.
Little Sparrow by Dolly Parton
This was the other song I listened to before I started working on Holding On To Nothing each day. I think of it as Lucy's anthem. She knows better, knows that going down the road she is going down will ruin her, but walk it she must. Dolly's voice in the beginning with no musical accompaniment just slays me every time.
Whiskey and You by Chris Stapleton
I could listen to Chris Stapleton sing the ABCs and probably learn something about my heart as a result. If Jeptha had been born with an ounce of discipline, he'd have written this song, which I listen to on repeat.
Holding on to Nothing by Dolly Parton
The original title for my book was Little Sparrow, (notice a theme?) but it didn't quite work because it didn't capture both protagonist's stories. Dolly is such an icon and has a song for just about every feeling. Even though Little Sparrow didn’t quite work, my publisher had the great idea of trying to find another Dolly song to title my novel. We found this one and both the lyrics and the title were just perfect. I love how it conveys both hope and the darkness of the world, but in the context of a very jaunty-sounding song, which I think of as such a quintessential 1960s country mix.
I Hung My Head by Johnny Cash
It's tough to pick just one song off the Rick Rubin-produced American Recordings albums. Each album, made with Cash late in his life, is astounding. But Cash's voice aches with regret in this song, just like Jeptha and Lucy's would if they were to sing it. Like the character in this song, their lives are ruined by an accident and the remorse they feel over the parts they played in it, will make them hang their heads with pain and shame every day.
Day to Day by Alabama Mike
You can't beat the blues for a story about working hard and getting nowhere, which is the story of Jeptha and Lucy's lives.
Wild Horses by Old And In the Way
Wild horses couldn't drag Jeptha away from Lucy, but they also couldn't drag him away from alcohol and therein lies the crux of his problems. For
Lucy, love for her son and for the idea of family to replace what she’s been missing prove to be a similarly toxic combination. I love this bluegrass cover of a song made famous by The Rolling Stones.
Shady Grove by Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and Tony Rice:
Back in the '90s, a very prized bootleg among Deadheads was The Pizza Tapes, a recording of Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and Tony Rice playing bluegrass in Grisman’s studio that was stolen and bootlegged by a pizza delivery boy. Shady Grove is an old Appalachian folk song, one of those that seems to have existed in my head before I ever actually heard it. There are a thousand variations and it’s been recorded many hundreds of times, a testament to it being a song that resonates no matter the age. Jeptha sings this song lying in bed one morning and for Lucy one night at the bar because it’s one of her favorite songs.
Man of Constant Sorrow by Soggy Bottom Boys
Another Appalachian folk song (can you see a pattern here?), there is nothing sadder than this song. I use it in my book in a key moment between Jeptha and Lucy and the lyrics are just so true. “For six long years I’ve been trouble/ No pleasure here on earth I found/ For in this world I’m bound to ramble/ I have no friends to help me now.” It sums up all of heartbreak and regret in one song.
Boondocks by Little Big Town
This song is a little cheesy, sure, but it’s also a heartfelt call for those of us who grew up in rural areas and may or may not live there anymore. The video makes me nostalgic for high school field parties every time I watch it. The song talks about how no matter where the singer goes, “he keeps his heart and soul in the boondocks.” I listened to this whenever I was working on my novel and wondering if I had the right to tell this story since I don’t live in East Tennessee anymore. But, like the song says, I keep my heart and soul there.
Rank Stranger by Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys
Stanley helped make bluegrass famous outside of Appalachia, but his love for and respect of the traditions of that music made him revered. Another traditional Appalachian ballad, Rank Stranger is about a man who has come home from away (prison, probably) and recognizes no one in his town. “Ever’ body I met/seems to be a rank stranger.” I learned this song singing it call and repeat style at field vespers at church camp in the mountains of North Carolina. In their brief moments of happiness, I can imagine Jeptha and Lucy having sung this on the porch of their trailer.
Hold On by Sam Bush
Sam Bush is a mandolin genius, and he can make those strings sing in a way that few can. Jeptha doesn’t have the work ethic to be as good as Sam Bush, but he recognizes the deep emotion one can find in the sound of the mandolin—in my book, I talk about how he, even as an eight-year-old, knows there is “something magical in that high, forsaken sound.” In this song, Bush sings “Hold on to me when you’re falling.” LouEllen and Judy are the only source of support Jeptha and Lucy have and this feels like their song.
East Tennessee Blues by Bill Monroe (with Doc Watson on guitar)
Often called “The Father of Bluegrass,” Bill Monroe was a legend. His picking on the mandolin is so fast on this song it boggles my mind every time I hear it. There’s a scene where Jeptha is trying to play this song and gives up to drink instead, and that says about all you need to know about Jeptha.
Come On In My Kitchen by Guitar Slim
There are other versions of this song, made famous by Robert Johnson, but I like this one best. This version is off an album of field recordings of living blues players. The sound quality is as if you are sitting on a front porch listening to Guitar Slim sing the blues about losing his lover to another, and how she won’t be coming back. I imagine Jeptha spending a lot of time listening to the blues after he loses Lucy. And Lucy’s loss needs the blues.
Down To the River to Pray by Alison Krauss
I don’t think Jeptha will ever go back to church in any real organized fashion, but I imagine him sitting on the porch singing this song in that last scene of the book when his life has fallen apart, but maybe, just maybe, he can see some small redemption. Another old hymnal, this old Presbyterian can’t help but sing along when Krauss sings “Hey sinners, let’s go down/ Down to the river to pray.”
Rocky Top by Dolly Parton
I will never NOT get goosebumps when I hear Rocky Top. It’s the Tennessee state song and about as close as I get to gettin’ religion. I love every version of this song (its 100% worth your time to youtube Dolly singing it and playing about nineteen instruments while she does it) but I have to say, I love the University of Tennessee’s Pride of the Southland Marching Band’s version. If this doesn’t get you up on your feet, you may be dead and just not know it yet.
Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne and Holding On To Nothing links:
the author's website
excerpt from the book
Deborah Kalb interview with the author
Kingsport Times News profile of the author
All Things Considered interview with the author
also at Largehearted Boy:
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