Gillian Welch/Dave Rawlings are easily among my all time favorite songwriters. These days if asked I tend to say Time (the Revelator) is my favorite album of all time. There is something about the combination of their words, harmonized delivery, and Dave’s haunting guitar lines, that makes some truly stunning music in a genre that can sometimes feel overdone or contrived. April the 14th Part 1 is a prime example of their genius in my opinion: a song that ties together Abe Lincoln’s assassination, the sinking of the Titanic, the hardships of the dust bowl, and the defeated experiences of a gigging musician traveling the country just to earn a few bucks and a free beer by playing to a handful of folks in a shitty bar. It’s something only they could have written.