Towards the end of Joe Grushecky’s American Babylon, there’s a lovely but dark and evocative ballad.
The nondescriptively named “Billy’s Waltz” is the kind of song we’d expect to find on Nebraska: a confessional by a man who left his home and family to find work, promising to return for them but knowing he won’t keep his promise.
The narrator vividly recalls his father struggling to make ends meet and feed his family. He vows to never be in that situation, but his solution is to simply leave rather than confront it.
As he did for almost every song on the album, Bruce contributed his talents to “Billy’s Waltz.” You’ll hear his mandolin from the opening bars to the closing ones, and his backing vocals (uncredited) on the high harmonies.
“Billy’s Waltz” is one of the few American Babylon songs Joe and Bruce have yet to perform together, but given their long and continuing string of over fifty shared appearances, perhaps it’s just a matter of time.
Billy’s Waltz
Recorded: March 1995
Released: American Babylon (1995)
Never performed
