Singer, songwriter, poet, actor and multi instrumentalist Willie Watson has released the single “Slim and The Devil.” The composition is a sharp adaptation of the Sterling A. Brown poem, “Slim Greer in Hell.” It is the story of a Faustian bargain made with St. Peter at the pearly gates in exchange for one more earthly adventure, it is a sly contemplation of the meaningless deals we make to endure when we all know what’s inevitable.
The track follows Watson’s previous announcement of his first-ever solo album of original material that was released over 20 years into his career. The former founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show has been part of numerous musical projects, soundtracks, films and is now set to release Willie Watson on September 13 through Little Operation Records and More (Thirty Tigers.)
While talking about his latest tune, Watson says: “I was disgusted by the imagery of white nationalists taking over the streets of Charlottesville. I pulled a book of poems off the shelf called ‘The Black Poets’ and the first page I opened was Sterling Brown’s poem ‘Slim Greer In Hell.’ The story is second to the honor aimed at the poet himself because history has told me that all the people in his position have been robbed by white folk artists and completely cast aside.”
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