GOSHEN, Ind. — “Richmond On The James” was originally a poem by G.T. Borges, written around the 1940s, which Alison Krauss transformed into a moving ballad. It opens with a bouncy, toe-tapping banjo line that contrasts powerfully with the somber lyrics. Both the poem and the song tell the story of a soldier’s death, as seen through the eyes of his grieving comrade and mourning mother.
Krauss’ vocals on this song purposefully suit the melancholic weight of the story. She lingers on lines that highlight the youth and innocence of the fallen soldier. One moment that stood out to me comes with the lyric, “My noble comrade, you will miss me for a while,” when a male harmony gently enters, adding a layer of warmth and sorrow that elevates the emotion. Just after this verse, a tender string solo comes in, offering a reflective interlude before the final, softly sung lines bring the story to its close.
A standout track, “Richmond on the James,” is one of the more traditional bluegrass songs on the album. This historical thread runs throughout the entire album, which delves deeply into Southern American lore, echoing themes of loss, memory, and resilience.
The album is a collaboration between Alison Krauss and Union Station. It marks Krauss’s first release since “Raise the Roof,” her 2021 collaboration with Robert Plant, and Union Station’s first album in fourteen years, following 2011’s Paper Airplane.
In an interview with Billboard, Krauss reflected on the album’s timeless storytelling: “The stories of the past are told in this music. It’s that whole idea of ‘in the good old days when times were bad.’” She also shared her appreciation for the way themes of human existence were expressed in earlier eras, saying she feels “privileged to be a messenger of somebody else’s story.”
– Ana, DJ
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