This painting is from the artist’s series Ballads, based on songs from the Southern Appalachians. Davis says “Regarding the ballad paintings, I’m not sure if I want to tell the story that clearly. They are more about conveying a mood—quite a melancholic one, about being trapped in a place or a relationship. The songs to me are full of a longing for escape, and the often dramatic conclusion… is just a way to make that feeling of isolation extremely compelling.”
This particular ballad is about jealousy and possession. Some of the lyrics go as such:
“Over yonder stands little Maggie
With a dram glass in her hands
She’s drinking away her troubles
And a courting another man”
