Charles Wesley Godwin’s “Needle Fall Down” Is Appalachian Country Sadness At Its Best

Lou Nice

You’d think after listening to an album start to finish as much as I have over the past few months, it’d lose some of its luster, but not this one.

Charles Wesley Godwin’s How The Mighty Fall stands the test of time as absolutely one of the best top to bottom albums I’ve ever heard.

Literally every song on it is so good. From “Cranes Of Potter,” to “Strong,” to the title track, Charles showed off his insane talent to lock up the Number One spot on the Whiskey Riff Top 40 Albums of 2021.

But there’s a song that I believe has been overlooked.

“Needle Fall Down” is an absolute heartbreaker of a song.

It tells the story of a man whose life has been a string of unnamed hardships, so he’s putting on some music and pouring something strong for comfort, grabbing his gun and contemplating ending it all.

Truly a devastating picture and the unspecificity of it all allows the listener to imagine whatever their own worst fears are, taking a song that already sad and pushing it to the devastating side.

“Time in the evening, I pulled out my gun
Prepared for what’s after I pour something strong
I yearn for the road and lady’s sweet voice
Sing me my last words, I won’t sing along

Needle fall down, sing me a song
It’s been a long life and it all went wrong
Needle fall down, sing me a song
It’s been a long life and it all went wrong”

This song rocks me to the core every time I hear it and it deserves a whole lot more credit.

And the original version with his band Union Sound Treaty:

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