Marty Falle’s “Up Against the Big Hill Line” Presents a Modern David and Goliath Battle

Marty Falle’s “Up Against the Big Hill Line” is a fierce, Appalachian bluegrass ballad of faith, justice, and mountain pride – a David-and-Goliath tale pitting a Kentucky daughter against corporate greed in defense of her family’s land.

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“Up Against the Big Hill Line” – Marty Falle

Kentucky-based bluegrass singer/songwriter Marty Falle is a miner himself – not of coal but of stories – from the rich Appalachian soil.

“Up Against the Big Hill Line” from his most recent release Wanted in Kentucky is the kind of David and Goliath story that plays out across the country when corporate development in the name of progress threatens a way of life.

While many of Falle’s lyrics draw from the historical past, this particular song addresses a conflict playing out not only in the courts but on social media as residents square up against an energy company interested in mining the mineral deposits without concern for the impact on local family-owned farmland.

Playing the classic songwriting game of What if? Falle imagine a what a good Christian woman might do to protect the land she inherited from her great grandpa:

A Kentucky daughter with a Cherokee soul,
Mama’s roots run deep, like a graphite coal
Fierce mountain pride runnin’ through her veins
She’s a faith-based woman, lives her life in Jesus’ name.

Falle and his producer Jonathan Yudkin assembled a line-up of some of Nashville’s top studio musicians – Carl Miner on guitar, Mike Bub on upright bass, Josh Metheny on dobro, and Matt Menefee on banjo – as well as Kim Parent on harmony vocals. The melody sets off at a deceptively gentle pace –

Everything was going just fine
Until she got that call from the Big Hill Line

Falle leaves no question about the antagonists in the local battle – describing the corporate representatives who arrived “wearin’ suits flashin’ greenbacks in her face… slicker than a slop jar, claiming eminent domain / Pissin’ down her back and tellin’ her that it’s rain.”

The outcome is no surprise when their “shovel machines rigged with big steel claws” are met by “Mama’s big 45.” The protagonist of the song represents divine justice, protecting “All God’s creatures and the trees that would die.” The local jury just makes it official when they deem her actions justified.

The old-time feel of the instrumentals, with stellar solo breaks, settles the song into the timeless catalog of Appalachian bluegrass tradition. With his characteristic ear for Southern idiom and sensibilities, Falle brings current events to life, tapping into the timeless theme of the struggles that result when power and greed threaten deep rooted values.

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