Hell or High Water is a song about the most famous shipwreck in history, but it doesn’t dwell on chaos, destruction, and loss (like the many other Titanic-inspired songs). Instead, it tells of the RMS Carpathia: the small steamship whose captain, crew, and passengers joined forces to overcome weather, ocean, and odds to rescue all survivors. The words are based (with permission!) off of a wonderful re-telling of the story written by Tumblr writer MyLordShesACactus that always makes songwriter Esther Wheaton tear up - you can read the original post here.
Part stirring sea shanty, part lyrical old-time ballad, the music and arrangement reflect the lyrics; each band member relays part of the story solo until a powerful final chorus is sung in unison. With references to Blind Willie Johnson’s God Moved on the Water, Gillian Welch’s Ruination Day, and Gordon Lightfoot’s Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Hell or High Water blends its folk touchstones into something new and compelling.
Onion Honey recorded this single in March with Andy Magoffin at his House of Miracles in Cambridge, Ontario.
