After the semi-acoustic funk of his Dire Straits cover, “The Bug,” Mountain Home Music Company’s Ashby Frank is heading back to hard core bluegrass turf with a blazing meditation on the burdens of daily life and work in “Everybody’s Got Their Nine Pound Hammer.”
Written by 3-time IBMA Songwriter of the Year Tim Stafford with the Gibson Brothers’ Eric Gibson and Greg Cornett, the song takes its central image from a durable bluegrass symbol that appears not only in the canonical “Nine Pound Hammer,” but in subsequent entries like Ralph Stanley’s “Swinging A Nine Pound Hammer.” Focusing on the song’s classically simple yet powerful chorus:
Everybody’s got their nine pound hammer
Everybody’s got their load to bear
You ain’t no stranger to trouble
Everybody’s got their share
Frank works his way through verses depicting the hard work and trouble of a miner, a high steel construction worker and a firefighter, as the band races along behind him, emerging to offer breathtaking banjo, mandolin and fiddle solos that punctuate the headlong rush. The result is a burst of emblematic bluegrass energy that makes its taut two minutes plus seem even shorter than it is.
Says Frank, “I was immediately drawn to ‘Everybody’s Got Their Nine Pound Hammer’ when my good friend, Tim Stafford, shared a work tape with me. I loved the way it focuses on the everyday struggles we all face, and it really has that traditional Bluegrass feel.”
“To bring this song to life,” he continues, “I brought in some incredibly talented musicians, including Matt Menefee on banjo, Seth Taylor on guitar, Jim VanCleve on fiddle, Tony Creasman on percussion, and Travis Anderson on bass. I was also honored to have Tim and my friend Kelsey Crews add those high and lonesome harmonies. They truly made the tune come alive and gave it a timeless quality. I’m really excited for everyone to hear it!”“Everybody’s Got Their Nine Pound Hammer” is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
