“Living For The Other Side”: A Review of the Hillbilly Thomists’ New CD

I don’t really know anything about bluegrass, except what I heard on the Hillbilly Thomists’ first CD. But I do know this: I liked this CD a lot.

“Living For The Other Side\” is a more introspective CD than “The Hillbilly Thomists”. If “Hillbilly Thomists” was a revival, this is a family reunion, fun but with a serious side to it. Most of the songs on this CD are original, which offers the talented brothers a chance to preach the Word through their deft blending of Biblical and doctrinal truth with contemporary lyrics. In the song, “You Will Still Walk Down The Line”, the chorus tells us, “Now people hear talk about eternity, / they just feel doubtful or afraid. / But truth is the very best medicine. / It\’s time to get real and get saved.” Or, on a more poignant note, from “Give Me A Drink”: “Give me a drink, I am thirsty. / I have drawn this well bone-dry / with this old rope and heavy bucket of mine. / Would you put in me a well I can draw from all my life.”

I have to confess, though, that the song I can\’t get out of my head is “Bourbon, Bluegrass, And The Bible”, even though only one of those things–the Bible–plays much of a role in my day-to-day life. The chorus for this runs:\”Death\’s in the world, and it\’s gone viral. / Everybody’s talkin bout a new revival. / When it\’s a question of love and survival: / bourbon, bluegrass, and the Bible.” Amen, brothers!

These songs speak deeply to me as a religious, and I pray they will speak to many in the secular world as well. I encourage you to go to their new website, hillbillythomists.com, where you can see music videos, order physical CDs, and download digital copies. And you\’ll be supporting the work of the Dominican friars, too!