[music]

Alison Stewart: You're listening to All of It from WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. You've been listening to my conversation with Eric Larson, author of the new Civil War History, The Demon of Unrest. For the musical portion of our Get Lit event, we were lucky enough to find a duo that also drew inspiration from 19th-century history. Sons of Town Hall are the duo of David Berkley and Ben Parker, or, if you're inclined, you can refer to them by their names, George Ulysses Brown and Josiah Chester Jones, aliases they adopted in their act as wayward Victorian troubadours. They have a forthcoming album out next year, as well as a podcast detailing the exploits of the fictional musical duo. They had a show at Cine Winery the night of our Get Lit event, but luckily, they were able to stop by for an interview and performance before they headed off to their concert. You'll hear that conversation in a minute, but first, here are Sons of Town Hall with a special live performance of their song, Wild Winds.

[MUSIC -- Sons of Town Hall -- Wild Winds]

Sons of Town Hall: I was born in the wake of war

My dad had lost all he was fighting for,

but I never agreed with what he believed.

I crossed the ocean as a stowaway,

you know the sea don't listen to the prayers you pray.

I was knuckle and bone when I washed ashore.

and I'm the son of a butcher man.

The blood ran thick through both my father's hands.

I was always afraid when the work was through.

Mama said, you better find your way.

I wish I could, but I can't keep you safe.

There were tears in her eyes, but I didn't cry.

I said, blow, wild winds blow.

Lord, you know I've been sinking low

wherever I wander, wherever I roam,

wild winds blow me far from home.

I kicked around for a year or two,

you know, trouble slips through every crack in you.

If I had more to lose, well, that too would be gone.

I was running from the past I know

I worked so hard but had nothing to show.

Something needed to give,

I just couldn't go on.

I say blow, wild winds blow

Lord, you know,

I've been sinking low.

Wherever I wander, wherever I roam,

wild winds blow me far from home.

La-da-dum, da-da-dum. Da-da, dum.

La-da-da-da-da da-dum.

La-da-da-da-dum.

La-da-dum, da-da-dum, da-da-dum.

La-da-da-dum. La-da-da-da-dum.

Then one night, there was a change of fate

at the Old Star pub by the dark side gate.

It's strange who you'll meet

when you need it the most.

Looking back, it's where it all began.

We crossed the ocean for another land.

and we heard a song through the salt and stars.

It went blow, wild winds blow,

Lord, you know, I've been sinking low.

Wherever I wander, wherever I roam,

wild winds blow me far from home.

wild winds blow me far from home.

Wild winds blow me far from home.

[applause]

David Berkeley: Thank you. Thank you so much. Do one now that was actually taught to us by a man named Carl in a hay loft on a squash farm in Oklahoma.

[laughter]

[MUSIC -- Sons of Town Hall -- Broken Promise]

Sons of Town Hall: When the wind blows o'er the fields,

I'll be bound for Santa Fe.

I'm gonna take my trowel and troubles down

Oh, the west pulls me away.

Broken promise, broken bottles piled up on the floor.

Oh, to hold you in my arms once more.

I don't need your wages, man,

I don't need your worried mind.

All I need's the open road and my banjo, I'll be fine.

Broken promise, broken bottles piled up on the floor

Oh, to hold you in my arms once more.

I'm gonna ride the rails, cross the rolling hills,

to the setting of the sun.

And we'll pass the whiskey 'round the fire

until the morning comes.

Broken promise, broken bottles piled up on the floor.

I'm not the kind of man who stays behind an open door.

Oh, to hold you in my arms,

oh, to hold you in my arms,

Oh, to hold you in my arms once more.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: David.

David Berkeley: Alison.

Alison Stewart: How did George and Josiah meet? Who are they?

David Berkeley: I thought we explained that in the song.

[laughter]

David Berkeley; The story goes that we met in a pub fight in London by the docks, fighting over a woman. The truth is that we met maybe 20 years ago, touring.

Ben Parker: On the roads of the UK, touring together.

Alison Stewart: The songs have such a timeless feel to them. How do you go about writing them?

David Berkeley: We created this concept of two men who are escaping the realities of the ordinary world, a little bit like Don Quixote, who believe in a different environment and reality than exists and travel the world by boat, as we explained. Once we created the concept and made these characters, it actually became easy to write for them and in that place. If you've ever written fiction, it can be a great way to write songs as well.

Alison Stewart: Ben, how do the characters add to the music?

Ben Parker: They certainly, for me, it's like an amplification of all the things that I would love to be but can't be. George is definitely that person. He's a rascal. He gets into scrapes. He hangs out for too long at bars, late at night with women. All of those things I would have loved to have done but never have.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: You're launching a podcast called Mad Men Cross the Water. The tagline is "Think Dolly Parton's America if it shared a tour bus with Welcome to Nightvale and Iron and Wine." What's it about?

[laughter]

David Berkeley: First of all, it's done in the style of radio theater. The production value, we think, is very high. There's a beautiful score and sound effects. Think Garrison Keillor, that kind of world. It's hosted by a British actor who's a friend of ours, and he's our super fan archivist who spent his life studying our adventures. Each episode is one of those long adventures and unveils one of the songs on our forthcoming record. It's very immersive, and we think it's pretty wild.

Alison Stewart: Let's hear some more songs.

David Berkeley: Yes.

[applause]

Ben Parker: This is a song about when two men fall in love with the same woman.

[MUSIC -- Sons of Town Hall- Louise]

Sons of Town Hall: In the early hours of morning, way before the dawn

I creak across the floorboards, I pull my sweater on.

Then my boots get dark with dewdrops,

I walk across the fence line.

Louise, I'm looking for a sign.

Louise, I don't know if you're still mine.

Yeah, it's been a lonely winter, snow up to the roof line.

I've been writing you a letter, if only in my mind,

to say that I am sorry, it's been like one long night.

Louise, you always made it bright.

Louise, let me try to make it right.

Louise, I'm knocking at your door.

I want to hold you like before.

Louise, I know that there is more.

I've been batting down the hatches,

I've been harrowing the land.

You know I haven't touched the bottle

or raised an angry hand.

I've been trying to read the Bible,

but I don't know all the words.

Louise, I wonder if you heard.

Louise, I hope you're still my girl.

Louise, I'm knocking at your door.

I want to hold you like before.

Louise, I know that there is more.

Louise, the sun goes down they say,

but it was me, I looked away

Louise, take me back, I swear I'll stay.

Louise, I'm knocking at your door.

I want to hold you like before.

Louise, I know that there is more.

Louise, I know that there is more.

Louise, I know that there is more.

[applause]

David Berkeley: Thank you. I think we have time for one more. Thank you so much, Alison, for having us. We are Sons of Town Hall.

Ben Parker: Thank you.

David Berkeley: That was Louise. This next one is The Line Between from our first record, The Adventures of the Sons of Town Hal. Mad Men Cross the Water, there's a little intro out now, but the first real episode comes out on October 15 with two singles from the new record, the first one we played, Wild Winds and a song called How to Build a Boat, which will be very informative for anyone who would like to do what we do.

[MUSIC -- Sons of Town Hall - The Line Between]

Sons of Town Hall: Ooh.

He was in a washtub, and then he went to war.

Hard to know how that could be.

She was in the footlights, then crawling across the floor.

I've been trying to trace the line between

sky and ground, her and him, then and now, you and me.

Alison Stewart: That was Sons of Town Hall with a live performance of their song, The Line Between, from our September Get Lit with All of It book club event. The producers of Get Lit are Jordan Lauf and Simon Close. That is All of It for today. I'm Allison Stewart. I appreciate you listening, and I appreciate you. I will meet you back here next time.

Sons of Town Hall: Out of all the questions, the hardest one is why?

So we don't even ask.

Just close your mouth and kiss me.

And time will pass us by, and you and I will last

through thick and thin, from dawn to dusk.

Lose and win, you and me.

Yeah, I was in the washtub, and then I went to war.

Hard to know how that could be.

You were in the footlights and crawling across the floor,

trying to trace the line between.

Young and old, love and war, green and gold.

You and me, from dawn to dusk, sky and sea.

The line between you and me.

The line between you and me.

[00:18:28] [END OF AUDIO]

 

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