Discover the story of the song > Annabelle – Gillian Welch

The lyrics are about a woman who has leased land and a mule to farm crops, but despite her efforts, she only gets a handful of dust and can't have everything she wants. She has a daughter named Annabelle who is very important to her and she tries to give her a better life than she had. However, in the end, when the protagonist dies, Annabelle is left with nothing but words on a stone, and the song suggests that we can only wonder why we can't have everything we want until we die and go to heaven.