Gypsy Runaway Train from The Roys

Brother and sister duo, The Roys launch their new CD, which hits today, with an album release party at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Nashville on June 6th

The much anticipated third project, Gypsy Runaway Train, features seven standards and six newly composed songs

Recorded following the death of Lee’s beloved father-in-law, and during Elaine’s painful divorce, the songs address a broad spectrum of emotion.

For Lee, the entire process was cathartic.

“I wrote Another Minute about my Grandpa. But it makes you think about all kinds of loss. Putting those feelings out there in a song makes it easier to live with them.”

Elaine Roy says…

“There was a real sense of freedom surrounding this whole project. The album strips away all pretenses and gives the listener a glimpse of both the highs and lows of life.”

Elaine has this to say in a track-by-track review of some of the songs on Gypsy Runaway Train …..

You Can Count On My Love

“Lee and I wrote this with our friend Arlis Albritton. We were on the bus heading back to Nashville after a show and started playing around on the guitar and came up with the idea for this song. I love singing it live. It has a great groove and it’s a true testament to a real love.”

Blue Moon Of Kentucky 

“I have been singing this song forever. When we decided to do cover songs this was at the top of the list. Mr. Bill Monroe is the king of bluegrass and I hope I did his song justice. We love doing it in our shows.”

I Wonder Where You Are Tonight

“I love singing this song!!   I love the melody and the lyrics. It’s a heartbreak song and you can just feel the pain in the words. One of my favorites.”

He Took Your Place

“This song Lee brought to the table and I ended up singing it. Lee sang this in his bluegrass band and I remember singing it with him. It’s a beautiful song about our Savior and what He sacrificed for us. He took our place so we could live.”

Enough For Me

“Lee and I wrote this with Steve Dean. This song is one of my favorites. It’s a simple song about being thankful. Life is in the small things and precious moments and being grateful for all we have. I love the last verse ‘cause it brings it home about meeting Jesus at the end of our life. The greatest gift of all.”

Those Memories Of You 

“This song is a crowd favorite. We changed the arrangement at the beginning and then it kicks into high gear. I am the biggest Dolly Parton fan and I loved this song when it first came out. I never get tired of singing this song. I can see the crowd singing and smiling. That is the best reaction!!”

Half Of Me

“This is the most personal song I have ever written. I went through the most difficult thing in my life, a divorce. I was not going to include this on the album but if it helps just one person maybe going through the same thing, then this song will have been worth the pain it took to write it.”

And Lee Roy speaks of the remainder ……

Another Minute

“I wrote this song for my grandpa but with my dad in mind as well. It’s simply about once that person is gone, you’d give anything for just another minute. My dad is still with us thankfully but one day, I’ll want just another minute!”

Born With A Hammer In My Hand

“I’ve been a huge fan of the group Blue Highway and when I heard them do this song it just stuck in my head. I knew I wanted to record this and do our thing on it. Hope them boys like it!”

Workin’ On It

“Here’s a song I co-wrote with my good friends Arlis Albritton and Josh Thompson. It’s just a roundabout way of saying I know I’m not perfect but I’m workin’ on it! It has a fun bluegrass feel and it’s a lot of fun to sing!”

Ramblin’ Fever

“Well growing up there was a lot of bluegrass around the house but there was also a lot of traditional country music. Merle Haggard was one of those singers mom and dad listened to a lot. This song is one that we’ve been covering for a lot of years and always got asked if we were gonna record it. Well now we can say we did!”

What Gives You The Right 

“This song was written by the great Adam Steffey. He’s a great mandolin player, singer, songwriter and I’ve been a fan of his since his days with Mountain Heart and Alison Krauss. When I heard this song it stuck in my head. I contacted him and asked if he minded that we wanted to record it. He was thrilled and even wrote the mando solo for me! Hope he likes our version of it!”

Gypsy Runaway Train

“I wrote this track with Morry Trent. We wrote That’s What Makes It Love for the Lonesome Whistle CD. When we got in the room to write this song, we knew we wanted to make it about our life as musicians and being kinda like Gypsy’s always on the run! This song is a Thank You to the fans for being there night after night at the shows and supporting not only us but all the bands!”

The CD release party takes place on Thursday, June 6, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., at The Silver Dollar Saloon in Nashville.

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About the Author

Richard Thompson

Richard F. Thompson is a long-standing free-lance writer specialising in bluegrass music topics. A two-time Editor of British Bluegrass News, he has been seriously interested in bluegrass music since about 1970. As well as contributing to that magazine, he has, in the past 30 plus years, had articles published by Country Music World, International Country Music News, Country Music People, Bluegrass Unlimited, MoonShiner (the Japanese bluegrass music journal) and Bluegrass Europe. He wrote the annotated series I'm On My Way Back To Old Kentucky, a daily memorial to Bill Monroe that culminated with an acknowledgement of what would have been his 100th birthday, on September 13, 2011.