Hallowed Ground

about this album

Hallowed Ground is the second album by the Violent Femmes, released in June 1984. Like the band's first album, the songs on Hallowed Ground were mostly written by singer/guitarist/lyricist Gordon Gano when he was in high school. "Country Death Song", for example, was based on a true story from an 1862 news article about a man who intentionally threw his daughter into a well and then hung himself in his barn. It was written by Gano during his 10th-grade study hall. The Christian-related lyrics on Hallowed Ground were thought by many to be sarcastic, but Gano is a devout Christian. The other two Femmes were atheists and initially refused to perform those songs, but after their debut had been recorded, they relented, and several of Gano's religion-themed songs were recorded for Hallowed Ground. The album divided critics and fans on release due to its style: a mixture of gospel rock, americana, roots music, cowpunk, and country, a shift from their debut's relatively simple folk-punk style. Considered one of the early Alternative Country albums, it later earned reappraisal and is considered their best album by the band themselves. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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