This is the fourth song to appear here from British singer songwriter David Gray and the second from his record Draw The Line. Cerca 2007, I was introduced to his music on a car trip to Hanging Rock, outside of Melbourne. Kathleen while being one of his more subdued tunes is one of my favourites from Gray. David Gray is so underrated it’s not funny. There’s real passion in his voice; but intelligence and nuance in the delivery. The song Kathleen always takes me on a journey, and I know there is something to be learned from it.
Lay down my head by the wayside
My worn out shoes
Quite why she went I can’t decide
Yeah but I sure could use
One plate of food steaming and hot
Clean linen ironed
On a fresh made bed but I ain’t got
One salty dime, one salty dime
One salty dime
Draw the Line is the eighth studio album by David Gray. Kathleen features the voice of Jolie Holland. Gray revealed in an interview that the original choice for Kathleen was Dolly Parton, to whom he wrote a letter with a demo of the song. Parton turned down the offer as she was busy. Gray commented to Billboard magazine about Kathleen: “It’s got some charm to it, that one. It’s just held its own amongst these bigger numbers. Holland’s vocals just lifts the song out. She’s a star; she’s a rare thing.”
Draw the Line entered and peaked on the UK Album Chart at number 5 and charted for only 5 weeks. In the United States, the album performed better on the Independent Albums chart, peaking at number 2 and charting for 20 weeks.
Reference:
1. Draw the Line (David Gray album) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
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