Coming Soon! Mother, Don’t Go featuring Joe Bonamassa. New single to be released 28th October 2022
Louw celebrates the restorative, nourishing love on “Mother, Don’t Go,” an insightful, insistent tune graced by guitar wizard Joe Bonamassa, who brings out the song’s incandescent spirit as he intertwines his playing with that of Doug Lancio, a guitarist who has just entered Louw’s orbit.
In 2020 I had been in my home on our farm for more than six months when I made the trip to Cape Town. I had been playing the only guitar that I had with me, an old acoustic.
In town, I traded with my buddy, Willem Moller, for a beautiful 1964 Epiphone Casino. When I got home, I took the Casino out of its case, and the first thing I played on it was the riff on “Mother, Don’t Go”.
The riff took me to the lyric, to the beauty of a mother’s love. It’s a simple song, and its simplicity celebrates the joy and longing for unconditional, selfless love.
Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician, Steve Louw, active since 1981, is recognised as one of the most respected and accomplished talents in the South African music industry.
I had old traditional Country songs, like “Long Black Veil” in mind when I wrote, “I’ll be Back”.
It’s essentially an acoustic song in its structure, story, and heart, but recorded in the context of drums and electric guitar, with a great Hammond solo by Kevin McKendree.
The acoustic guitar riff, doubled with Doug Lancio’s great mandolin playing, is the song’s beating heart and sets up the verse, the chorus, and the narrative.
I think of “I’ll be Back” as a modern folk song. Its story of the triangle of deceived husband, star-crossed lovers, and murder is one that keeps playing out through centuries.
The acoustic instrumentation sets the backdrop for the song, one of dusty plains, small-town intrigue, and broken love.
Steve Louw
Steve Louw – Mother, Don’t Go featuring Joe Bonamassa.
EXTRACT FROM BIOGRAPHY Louw celebrates the restorative, nourishing love on “Mother, Don’t Go,” an insightful, insistent tune graced by guitar wizard Joe Bonamassa, who brings out the song’s incandescent spirit as he intertwines his playing with that of Doug Lancio, a guitarist who has just entered Louw’s orbit.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
In 2020 I had been in my home on our farm for more than six months when I made the trip to Cape Town. I had been playing the only guitar that I had with me, an old acoustic. In town, I traded with my buddy, Willem Moller, for a beautiful 1964 Epiphone Casino.
When I got home, I took the Casino out of its case, and the first thing I played on it was the riff on “Mother, Don’t Go”. The riff took me to the lyric, to the beauty of a mother’s love. It’s a simple song, and its simplicity celebrates the joy and longing for unconditional, selfless love.
Coming Soon! Mother, Don’t Go featuring Joe Bonamassa. New single to be released 28th October 2022
Louw celebrates the restorative, nourishing love on “Mother, Don’t Go,” an insightful, insistent tune graced by guitar wizard Joe Bonamassa, who brings out the song’s incandescent spirit as he intertwines his playing with that of Doug Lancio, a guitarist who has just entered Louw’s orbit.
In 2020 I had been in my home on our farm for more than six months when I made the trip to Cape Town. I had been playing the only guitar that I had with me, an old acoustic.
In town, I traded with my buddy, Willem Moller, for a beautiful 1964 Epiphone Casino. When I got home, I took the Casino out of its case, and the first thing I played on it was the riff on “Mother, Don’t Go”.
The riff took me to the lyric, to the beauty of a mother’s love. It’s a simple song, and its simplicity celebrates the joy and longing for unconditional, selfless love.
Its nothing but a pleasure to work with an artist like Steve (Louw), with a world class band and Kevin “Caveman” Shirley behind the console, you can’t go wrong. Its a honour to play a part. “Thunder and Rain” sounds great!
Under a rain of protests and storms in the heart, this sound builds itself, in images and tones, to show its point of view and its emotions, struggling to raise awareness in its important message.
The guitar and the vigor of the vocals will convince you to listen to the end, to decide whether to take sides or not.
The world is navigating through a fraught time, economically and politically. Democracy is a deal between the people and the people in power, and that contract is under threat. Outraged but impotent, we consider our choices.
Written from the point of view of what we face in the aftermath of the last two years, the character in the song walks the line between right and wrong, unsure where that line is drawn and the consequences of following a moral imperative.
We are all making our way and, on our journey, trying to surpass the physical and spiritual roadblocks we encounter with grace and love for ourselves and our fellow travellers.
Steve Louw, September 2022
Thunder And Rain
Standing, waiting for the lights to change Yeah, I’m filled with rage Choppers are beating down Broken signs blowing across the ground.
Thunder and rain in our town I can’t understand the pain in our town.
A burning match lights a cigarette This flame won’t catch the fight that’s in my head In the window of a black and white My face reflected in the burning night.
Thunder and rain coming down I can’t understand the pain in our town.
Where I was raised, we knew no hate An open door and an unlocked gate Tried to live by the law I don’t know ‘bout that anymore I never crossed the line One that’s always been in my mind I’ve given truth to lies I see it written in my eyes.
Thunder and rain coming down I can’t understand the pain in our town.
In a concrete room under the ground This was all sent coming down The lights go out on a man who hates The book he holds, holds his fate.
Thunder and rain coming down I can’t understand the pain right now.
We’re all born, we all bleed We’ve all been torn, we’re all in need We all live, we all die We all wanna get high.
Thunder, rain coming down Can’t understand the pain right now.
Steve Louw 