Cowboy Junkies Lyrics Follow

The Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985. In addition to Alan Anton, four of its five original members were siblings: Michael Timmins (guitar), Peter Timmins (drums), and Margo Timmins (vocals). John Timmins, a guitar player, left the band before it coalesced. Carolyn (Cali) Timmins, made her career as an actress in soap operas, TV dramas, and films. (There are six siblings in the Timmins family, three brothers and three sisters. The third sister is in the fashion industry.)
Alan Anton and Michael Timmins, lifelong friends who met in kindergarten, formed their first band in high school. In 1979, influenced by the wave of post-Sex Pistols punk bands, particularly Siouxsie & the Banshees, they recruited drummer Geoff Railton and singer Liza Dawson-Whisker, and formed Hunger Project. They relocated to Manhattan’s Lower East Side where they played regularly at various clubs and "tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to make a living playing adaptations of the kind of fierce rock that was then coming out of England." In the spring of 1981, Hunger Project embarked on a 35-city tour of the United States. After that, Hunger Project moved to the United Kingdom, where they toured for three months and released a single (The Same Inside/Assembly).
When Hunger Project disbanded, Alan Anton and Michael Timmins remained in London and started an improvisational unit named Germinal. The members – Michael Timmins on guitar, Alan Anton on bass, a drummer, and saxophonist –played whatever they wished on their instruments at the same time. Germinal released two LPs (Germinal 1 and Din). The music newspaper New Musical Express said Germinal "ranks among the most innovative and aggressive sounds to emerge from the independent scene this year." Alan Anton and Michael Timmins had a somewhat different take, saying, "It was the ultimate release for us. But for the audience, it was quite a chore." Germinal broke up after three years, in the autumn of 1984, with core members Alan Anton heading to Berlin and Michael Timmins returning to New York City.
Upon their return to Toronto in 1985, Alan Anton and Michael Timmins rented a house, insulated the tiny garage, and, with younger brother Pete Timmins sitting in on drums, began exploring a new musical direction. Margo was drafted to join and recalls, "I was contemplating going on to graduate school, staying in school. That was safe. I never wanted to be a musician or be onstage." Nevertheless, Michael Timmins began to hear something in what they were doing with their initial jams, realizing that a female voice was what the band needed. Michael Timmins said, "I thought if you had this female voice on top of it, you could do anything you wanted."
However, the languid tempos and whispery tone that would characterize their early work was as much a product of necessity as it was of inspiration. Their tiny rehearsal space sat just a few yards behind their house, which was pressed closely with their neighbors. During their very first jam, the police descended on the troupe; a neighbor having complained about the noise.
"We realized we had to tone down," Michael Timmins said. "One thing fed into the other: Margo began to realize that her singing voice was more effective quiet. We began to realize, if we can get down underneath Margo, the sound will be more effective. Pete picked up brushes – he was just learning to play drums at that point. Everything sort of came down. We learned to play with less volume."
As they drove to their first gig, they realized they needed a name for the band. When they arrived, Margo Timmins had come up with the name Cowboy Junkies. The newly minted band performed at a small space in the back. In those days, the group would lay down a rhythmic groove while Margo improvised vocal melodies and sang snatches of old blues songs. Often, the entire performance would consist of a single, ever-shifting jam.
In the audience at that first show was Peter Moore, a recording enthusiast who had ambitions of becoming a producer, and would later go on to earn a Grammy. "I was mesmerized by Margo," Moore remembers. "The very first show, people weren't paying attention to them, because they were playing so softly and quietly. Margo had her back to the audience a lot of the time."

Source: Wikipedia