The soundtrack for “Winter’s Bone” credits “Palm of His Hand” to Dirt Road Delight, the band that recorded it, but the creative force behind the song is a Cleveland, Tenn., resident.
Daniel Parkin, 57, wrote the music and lyrics for the plaintive tune, which is used as background music in the movie.
“It’s being played on a radio [toward the end of the movie],” Parkin said. “It’s not on there but a minute and 14 seconds. It’s just part of the song.”
Parkin said he composed the song last winter after he met up with Dirt Road Delight following a bluegrass festival in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He had dabbled in music since taking up guitar at age 18 but had taken a break from performing and songwriting. But sitting in with the band on a couple of projects got his creative juices flowing again.
“Palm of His Hand” was his first attempt when he returned to songwriting. The title is taken from a line in the chorus: “May the Lord light your way when you step in paths of darkness / May he hold you in the palm of his hand / May he lead you to salvation when every hand’s against you / May he blaze a path of glory to the Promise Land.”
He said its gospel message surprised him.
“It was kinda really making me cry when I was writing the song,” he said. “I’m not really too weepy … but there’s something in it. I think the Lord sent me the song.”
It was also one of his quickest turnarounds, taking only about an hour from start to finish.
“It just sort of wrote itself,” he said. “It really had nothing to do with me. It had a mind of its own.”
HEAR PARKIN PLAY* This Saturday: Daniel Parkin and Laura Walker will perform with John Rawlston and Kathy Veazey in a double-duets show at 8 p.m. at Southside Saloon, 1301 Chestnut St.* Sunday mornings: Parkin and Walker play during breakfast hours at Sweet Gipsy Bakeshop Cafe, 1404 James Blvd., Signal Mountain.* Tuesday evenings: Parkin, Walker and Owen Saunders perform for the dinner crowd at Nino’s, 720 Mississippi Ave., Signal Mountain.
Parkin and his girlfriend, local musician Laura Walker, drove to Knoxville to see the film, an independent release following a hopscotch schedule of opening dates across the country. The film is set to open today at Rave Motion Pictures’ East Ridge 18, according to www.wintersbone.com.
The song, one of 18 on the soundtrack, features fiddle, upright bass, guitar and haunting harmony vocals. Its old-fashioned, Appalachian mountain style suits the melancholy mood of the movie, which follows the perilous journey of a teenager to find her no-good father in the backwoods of the Ozarks.
“It’s pretty dark,” Parkin said of the film. “It’s not happy like ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou.’ “
Parkin said he didn’t peddle the song to the filmmakers, but band member Tedi May knew some of the movie bigwigs and suggested they take a look at the songs on the band’s website.
Parkin said he has high hopes for the movie, which has won several major awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for best picture at the Sundance Film Festival.
Despite the film’s critical acclaim, Parkin said he’s still waiting to make money on the song. It’s included on a CD by Dirt Road Delight, and he’s finishing a CD of all-original tunes to release soon.
“I’m hoping to get some royalties from it,” he said. “Right now, I’m pretty well broke.”