Jason Isbell is a highly acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He first gained recognition as a member of the alt-country group Drive-By Truckers, but has since carved out a successful solo career that has garnered him numerous accolades, including four Grammy Awards. One of the standout tracks from his discography is "Live Oak," which was released on his 2013 album "Southeastern."
"Live Oak" is a poignant and deeply personal song that reflects on Isbell's struggles with addiction and his journey towards sobriety. The lyrics are introspective and introverted, as Isbell grapples with the demons of his past and the challenges of moving forward. The song's title refers to the live oak tree, a symbol of strength and resilience that is often associated with the South.
Musically, "Live Oak" is a stripped-down, acoustic-driven ballad that showcases Isbell's exceptional songwriting skills and emotive vocals. The song begins with a simple guitar line that sets the mood for the rest of the track. As the song progresses, the instrumentation builds slowly and subtly, adding depth and complexity to the arrangement.
One of the standout moments in "Live Oak" is the chorus, in which Isbell sings "I wanna be a live oak / Standing tall and proud / I wanna be a live oak / When the winds come tearing through." This line perfectly captures the spirit of the song, as Isbell expresses his desire to be strong and resilient in the face of adversity.
Overall, "Live Oak" is a powerful and poignant song that showcases Isbell's exceptional songwriting abilities and emotive vocals. It is a testament to his journey towards sobriety and serves as a reminder that even in our darkest moments, there is always hope for a better tomorrow. So, Jason Isbell's "Live Oak" is a must-listen for anyone who appreciates great songwriting and powerful, emotive vocals.
Is Jason Isbell’s “Live Oak” a Gothic murder tale—not really
The narrator is walking around at night and sees kids in cutoffs who might or might not be homeless and is reminded of his friend. He has become a self-righteous hypocrite. The fear of losing fans, of losing his success, and ultimately the fear of failing at sobriety and relapsing. Stories have real gravitational fields that pull in settling directions. There's a man who walks beside me He is who I used to be And I wonder if she sees him And confuses him with me And I wonder who she's pinin' for On nights I'm not around Could it be the man who did the things I'm living down? He is trying to start afresh and meets this woman, but he is worried she is only attracted him because she can sense his edge - that he has an element of danger about him. Things that my significant other liked about me? We're pretty far apart politically, but that's never been a litmus test I've used to dislike someone, be it musician, actor, coworker or friend.
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He and his friend were on the streets or nearly so, writing songs and recording demos. In the song, it turns out the woman was attracted to the outlaw wicked behavior of the narrator, a side of himself that he needed to escape, so he kills her removes her from his life. In February 2012, Shires, Isbell's manager Traci Thomas, and Southeastern, Isbell's 2013 solo album, is reflective of his newfound sober lifestyle. His lead in to Live Oak was the story of a little girl I think he said 8yr old at a meet and greet, who said Live Oak was her favorite song. It's a lengthy, poorly written, hit job. Words escape our intentions—anyone who thinks carefully about language, will I believe come to this conclusion.
Who the fuck is he to judge anyone else anyway? I suspect the truth most likely lies somewhere between. Is this what they call a bromance? He thought he was going to start a new life for himself. Castle walls that you could walk through And do the dead believe in ghosts? Erasing the story about the actual world or a close approach to it is satisfying because it puts to rest the unsettling vibration of uncertainty that the song, the story, the world sets up in us. When it looks like his past is catching up with him, he makes the choice to kill her. But it was based on personal concerns of mine. In their view the song is a murder story and a Gothic one at that. The narrative unfolds with the economy of a Sherwood Anderson short story in a little over three minutes.
He wrote his songs in a drunken haze, and people loved them. The last time I ever did this was in my 30s. Welcome to A subreddit for fans of the music of Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. Not many people have a gift for songwriting or poetry like he does. His wife blames her lack of talent on some contrived systemic discrimination and then chirps and henpecks his ear to do something about it. So this my attempt and I Hope others will leave their thoughts too. I always had the feeling it was about a man who would never be able to escape himself and killed her because he hated that she was attracted to the man he was trying not to be, but therefore also continues to be that man.
Only Children by Jason Isbell meaning : jasonisbell
And you have concerns when that happens. He heads south, now resolved to be free of his murderous past, wondering if anyone will ever be his friend. It's somewhat sad to me as I get the impression that he does. He moved to a new town. Thinking about all that, I created that character and allowed him to behave in a way that I thought he would naturally behave.
But I imagine you see the problem with this line of reasoning instantly. And say goodbye to Yvette too. To me, that song is probably his best written song. And do the dead believe in ghosts? To get a little of the human touch Hand to mouth and reel to reel And are you still taking notes? The skyville version on YouTube is phenomenal. His drive by Truckers days were good, but doing it his way with the 400 Unit is his story. Am I still going to be any fun? I've always read the friend as a former lover in the first verse. Nor are there internal hints that his assessment of her reactions is off base.
All is right with the world. As far as I know, Isbell has refused to say what happens in the song, and has even joked about it. I was rougher than the timber Shippin' out of Fond du Lac When I headed south at 17 The sheriff on my back I'd never held a lover in my arms or in my gaze So I found another victim every couple days But the night I fell in love with her I made my weakness known Through the fighters and the farmers diggin' dusty fields alone The jealous innuendos of the lonely hearted men Let me know what kind of country I was sleeping in Well you couldn't stay a loner On the plains before the war My neighbors took to slightin' me I had to ask what for Rumors of my wickedness had reached our little town Soon she'd heard about the boys I used to hang around We'd robbed a Great Lakes freighter Killed a couple men aboard And I told her her eyes flickered like the sharp steel of a sword All the things that she'd suspected I'd expected her to fear Was the truth that drew her to me when I landed here There's a man who walks beside me He is who I used to be And I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me And I wonder who she's pinin' for On nights I'm not around Could it be the man who did the things I'm living down? Instead he discovers she might have seen this potential violence in him all along, and it drew her to him in the first place. Conspiracy theories offer a way to erase the world and substitute our preferences. The Holy Ghost could get inside you You'd do whatever you put your mind to Will you read me what you wrote? Half of it is attacking BuzzFeed for its facts and the other is somehow equating Isbell's alcoholism to domestic abuse, sexual misconduct, and saying racial slurs. But he has fallen prey to the same hubris that affects many influential artists…he started believing his own bullshit. And how, in America, the bottom is very low.
Someone on the Live Oak thread asked if someone could break down Only Children. Isbell's record received praise by artists like Isbell's fifth solo record, Something More Than Free. Minor point and not important overall but I never got the vibe he had left this friend behind or was cruel to him- the line about stealing from Dylan sounds playful and fun. That earlier line about victims and the last verse describing her burial must raise in the listener the question of whether the narrator in fact killed her though the care he takes in that burial and the evident time it would take argues against the murder thesis. He fell in love, for the first time in his life. I think the dual layers are present in the first verse. Well I carved a cross from live oak And a box from shortleaf pine And buried her so deep She touched the water table line I picked up what I needed And I headed south again To myself I wondered Would I ever find another friend There's a man who walks beside her He is who I used to be And I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me Jason wrote this song about the type of life he lived before he got sober, and who he was after he quit drinking.
Hydrocodone in your backpack Maybe these words will hold the beast back And will you read me what you wrote? You can feel how he felt when he wrote it. And the line attributed to the deceased friends mother are just overwhelmingly sad. I was rougher than a timber shippin' out of Fond du Lac When I headed south at 17 ol' sheriff on my back I never held a lover in my arms or in my gaze So I found another victim every couple days But the night I fell in love with her I made my weakness known Through the fires and the farmers diggin' dusty fields alone The jealous innuendos of the lonely hearted men Let me know what kind of country I was sleeping in Well you couldn't stay a loner on the plains before the war My neighbors had been slightin' me I had to ask what for Rumors of my wickedness had reached our little town Soon she'd heard about the boys I used to hang around We'd robbed a Great Lakes freighter, killed a couple men or more And I told her her eyes flickered like the sharp steel of a sword All the things that she'd suspected I'd expected her to fear Was the truth that drew her to me when I landed here There's a man who walks beside me he is who I used to be And I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me And I wonder who she's pinin' for on nights I'm not around Could it be the man who did the things I'm living down? There's a man who walks beside me It is who I used to be And I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me And I wonder who she's pinin' for on nights I'm not around Could it be the man who did the things I'm living now? Yet I believe this is true. I cleaned up my life and became a citizen — an adult, really — for the first time. His former self now walks alongside her in the afterlife. Random people who write random crap on the internet are not journalists.
But this is the guy whose best known song is Cover Me Up so. He shared his experience in such an eloquent way and he brought us along for the experience. Isbell submitted demos and eventually got a publishing deal with Southeastern. And do what the broken people do Are you still taking notes? Will it be things that make me less interesting to people? He starts out in Fond du Lac, and heads South, ending up on the Great Plains someplace, so the titular Live Oak is probably Southern Live Oak. Will you have anyone to talk to? When we were locked outside the building Over-encouraged only children Cold coffee on the fire escape We bet it all on a demo tape And we still had something left to steal Remember when we took too much? He had tried to leave his rough and rowdy life behind. Well I carved a cross from live oak and a box from shortleaf pine Buried her so deep she touched the water table line I picked up what I needed and I headed south again To myself I wondered would I find another friend There's a man who walks beside her, it is who I used to be And I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me. My students greet me with astonished disbelief when I suggest that the author might not know any more about a story than the reader.
