It’s one of the defining songs of Gram Parsons’ all-too-brief solo career. “How Much I’ve Lied” tied into Parsons’ artistic image of a ne’er-do-well with a heart of gold, perhaps as well as any song he ever recorded.
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Parsons needed a co-writer to bring the song, found on his 1973 album GP, to fruition. That co-writer would go on to play an integral role for another iconic, mysterious artist, albeit one who made music quite far afield from the output of Parsons.
Gram’s Greatness
Gram Parsons nearly blew the opportunity of a lifetime. He secured a solo deal on the strength of his work with bands like The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers. But he first wasted time partying with The Rolling Stones before finally getting down to business.
Even once he made it to the studio, where he was surrounded by members of Elvis Presley’s band and Emmylou Harris, who provided her inimitable vocals, Parsons still struggled. He partook in booze and drugs, dragging the sessions on much longer than was necessary.
None of that is evident on GP, on which he sounds assured, confident, and moving while setting a template for the Americana genre that would owe much to him. Parsons worked with a songwriter named David Rifkin to create “How Much I’ve Lied”.
If Rifkin’s name doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps we should tell you that he would later go by the professional name David Z. Now you might recognize him as a guy who relocated to Minneapolis, where he often collaborated with Prince on his landmark albums in the 80s.
Exploring the Lyrics of “How Much I’ve Lied”
“How Much I’ve Lied” is striking because of the honesty shown by the narrator. He knows how poorly he’s treated the love of his life. And it’s because he loves her so that he suggests that she leave him behind, even as he knows how much her departure will devastate him.
He begins the song by admitting that it’s difficult to come clean with her. But he pulls himself together long enough to do it. “This fancy that I’m on,” Parsons sings. “Has been going on too long/It’s time to stop pretending things are real.” He’s trying to convince her that he’s irredeemable, which, in an odd way, is kind of noble.
As the song progresses, he suggests that he’s beyond help. “And I just don’t know what’s right or wrong,” he admits. “To take a chance of losing you was such a silly thing to do/The chance I might wake up and find you gone.” “But I know I’ll only make you cry,” he admits, right after professing how much he still loves her.
He suggests that even criminals might be a better choice for her. “A thief can only steal from you,” he says. “He cannot break your heart/He’ll never touch the precious things inside.” His summation: “So one like you should surely be miles and miles away from me/Then you’d never care how much I’ve lied.”
“How Much I’ve Lied” built on the Bakersfield country sound that Gram Parsons so dearly admired and added his own idiosyncratic touch. Meanwhile, David Rifkin/David Z would soon come to know a thing or two about idiosyncrasy himself, once he started working with His Purpleness.
Photo by Robert Altman/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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