Saw the notification; happy saw "Jason Isblell"; ecstatic saw the song title; foaming from the mouth saw the 35:33 time stamp; pile of ash on the floor
never knew how it all got started A problem with Holland before we were born And I don't know the name of that boy we tied down And beat till he just couldn't walk anymore. But I know the caliber in daddy's chest And I know what Holland Hill drives. The state let him go, but I guess it was best 'Cause nobody needs all us Lawson's alive. Decoration Day
Isbell has made an entire career of writing songs that if most other artists had written just one of his, it would be their crowning achievement. And he's showing no signs of slowing down.
This song makes me cry EVERY TIME. I was eating breakfast at a hotel, and the song came on. Yep, you got it. Sadly Jason and Amanda are no longer married.
The first time he started singing about "maybe we'll get forty years together. Likely one of us will have to spend some time alone" Michael started fiddling with his wedding ring on instinct. For some reason seeing that reaction hit me like a truck.
Whoever requested this and made Michael do it. You've changed my life. SOMEHOW I missed Jason Isbell and I've just listened to two albums all the way through and this dude IS the best songwriter of our generation. My God. Elephant, Cover Me Up, Live Oak...it just keeps going. Again, thank you.
You might also have missed John Moreland, definitely check him out if you haven't heard of him. He's every bit the singer/songwriter and lyricist that Jason Isbell is... I actually think Moreland is better!
Welcome to the rest of your life - smiles - and I second Shaun on Moreland being excellent (different, but excellent "Hang Me In the Tulsa County Stars" is a fave of mine.
Jason's writing isn't a fluke. Almost all of his songs are this deep and beautiful. He has the gift of economy of words...he paints a beautiful picture and expresses deep emotion in a simple phrase.
I’m not a musician but I’m an aspiring writer. If I can be a fraction of a writer as Jason Isbell, I’d be content. A three minute song of his has more depth than most novels.
Amen to that, Lionel. I’m a double major in Creative Writing and Anthropology, and I’d give at the very least a few digits to be able to write like Jason. It comes from an acute capacity for both external and internal observation.
Lionel and David, so happy to see others who share my love of Jason. I'm a writer as well, and he inspires me constantly. The unexpected analogies, deeply personal revelations so casually sung, the turn of phrase. All combined with gorgeous melodies. I'm listening to Reunion, his latest, in my car on repeat, and I'm finding new beauty in it all the time. And I LOVE how deeply affected Michael Palmisano is by If We Were Vampires. It will always be my favorite love song. So perfect it hurts. But it always makes me cry.
There's beauty in the recorded version. His voice trembles during the line "and hope it isn't me who's left behind." And I love that it was left in. ♥️
I was meant to find this channel today, apparently, on Thanksgiving, my third without Beth after thirty of them with her, and the first shared with no one at all. Because, you see, my amazing friends with whom I’ve been playing for all that time, they learned this song for Beth’s memorial at my request. There ain’t a song in the world better describes the feeling of saying goodbye to her that day. Music was an essential part of who we were together, and I think I’ll be low-key saying goodbye to her with songs we shared for the rest of of my life. Those moments are slowly becoming more comfort than grief. I’m thankful on this day of thanks for being reminded of the music that drives my soul.
OH MY GOODNESS!!! THE SURPRISES KEEP COMING! Michael, my friend, MY BROTHER, My kindred... You just made me completely relive the shock and awe from when you shared my song and WOW that feeling is EXACTLY how I remembered it. I'm humbled and honored to be mentioned again to begin with but IN A JASON ISBELL video. This is too much. That song COMPLETELY reduced me to a puddle. My wife and I VERY MUCH have what describes and WOW dude. I'm a MESS! That was GORGEOUS! Great video from a great human! I can't wait to show you my ideas for "OUR" song. Thanks again, Michael. You made my year!!!!
I was fortunate to see Jason live in Nashville many years ago and have been his evangelist ever since. Seen him at the Ryman at LEAST 25 times. And he can absolutely RIP on guitar. He is the whole package. He is my musical hero.
This is one of the most beautiful songs lyrically I’ve ever heard. Jason’s ability to bring up emotions that we all have but can’t express in words is short of astonishing. Thanks for doing this one
1 minute into this song and I'm bawling. These are my thoughts EVERY DAY as my husband and I make our journey (leave in 1 wk) to start our next (maybe last) chapter. We both are 50 and have been together 29 years; we are moving 2400 miles to Alabama to create the life we've worked so hard to get to...Homesteading on 10.5 acres and swinging on the front porch holding hands. It DOES get stronger the closer to the finish line you get! It can't be said more beautifully and perfectly. The life ahead of you becomes more precious as you look back on the life you've already had together. There's something to say about the gift of knowing there will be an end someday.
John Mayer posted this tweet in 2015 “Jason Isbell is the best lyric writer of my generation. He lives at a level where even great writers can only visit.” I think he is not wrong and the song Elephant by Jason shows it. If you’re not weeping at the end of that song I’m not sure what the f*ck is wrong with you😂
No offense to Jason (or J. Mayer) but "best lyric writer" is too subjective. I love Jason's work but the songwriting of James McMurtry touches me in ways that Jason's does not. All depends on perspective I guess. McMurtry writes in a way that makes me feel as if I am living in the song. For me there is a much higher "goosebump" factor when I listen to James. (BTW there are plenty of amazing songwriters out there we haven't discovered yet). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DFRqFy1QY6k.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oLNY30U8Vig.html
I hadn’t heard Jason until he opened for Steve Earle. The acoustics in hall were horrific and my tinnitus is worse, so I couldn’t hear the lyrics at all. Then he played Elephant. I’ve been a fan ever since.
Jason on playing cover me up for Amanda the first time. "I was nervous because I knew she wouldn't marry me if it was a bad song, which is why I love her" (Paraphased)
It's pretty great when someone discovers Jason and realizes how special he is. I've been a fan since I heard Flying Over Water 7 or 8 years ago - I've seen him close to 20 times and can't get enough of his music. Every record is just fantastic - his songwriting is currently unrivaled IMO.
I agree he is one of the best songwriters of our time and this is an awesome song. I lost my wife a few years ago 2 days before our 39 wedding anniversary. When I heard this song the first time I fell apart it was so real for me. He is really an interesting guy in interviews and works really hard to choose these words.
Another songwriter who’s lyrics will really hit you is John Moreland. He has a song called “you don’t care for me enough to cry”. Some of the audience is crying at the end, I’ve never seen a song hit a crowd like that song did. You can see the pain coming out of these people thinking about it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-euy4A5niG8Q.html Some of his other great songs are: Break my heart sweetly, hang me in the Tulsa county stars, Cherokee, and 3:59 am. He’s opened for Jason Isbell so you know he’s gonna be good if Jason picked him.
Agree 100%. So many good songs to choose from. Michael needs to do at least six videos per day! (I have also recommended John Moreland). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7s-oZALFMZ8.html
This is the first thing from Jason Isbell that I heard that got my attention within a few bars of hearing the lyrics. I was mind blown. I agree, the songwriting and lyrics especially are the best I've ever heard. I love Jason's work. He's a favourite of mine and I'm a metal/grunge head.
He wrote a song for his daughter called“ letting you go” on his most recent album reunions. This song came out as my daughter was just turning 3 years old. It makes me bawl my eyes out every time I hear it. I would love to see you do that song.
'Live Oak' gets me too. All about self improvement. Some amazing writing. He's a fantastic song writer. Their NPR tiny desk concert is fantastic, all the way through.
To me, this is one of those songs that punches you right in the gut the first time you hear it. It flips the traditional love song on it's head and cuts straight to what gives love value: The fact that we all have a limited time on this earth. It's simple, but so profound.
Dang I got in early this time! Jason Isbell is a modern legend IMO. You should check out "Speed Trap Town" it's the first song I ever heard by him. It's pretty simple, but very emotional and beautiful.
@@Guitargate I'm gonna confess, I listened to this one (If we were vampires) when I had the new album on repeat and it didn't really sink in. I just cried listening to that... (married with 2 kiddos so it hit pretty close for me)
@@Andy-th9kj Great tune! Very sad as it was written about a legend in the underground music scene in Atlanta, Ga. Patterson Hood wrote it four days before Gregory Dean Smalley died. I have never figured out whether Greg heard it before he died. Great suggestion but it's hard to find good quality live recordings. The Drive By Truckers were/are legendaryand when Jason joined them in the early 2000's they got even better. I'll see if I can find some DBT tunes before and after Jason.
Thank you! Fun little tidbit, Jason and Amanda's daughter is named Mercy so that line "mercy in your sense of right and wrong" brings in another dimension.
BartdWmusic Being a baseball player in high school the fungo bat line in super 8 baffled me the first time I heard it. “Like someone really just mentioned a fungo bat in a song?” References like that really put him in another league.
I love his songs "outfit" "decoration day" "if it takes a lifetime" "how to forget" "children of children" "traveling alone" "flying over water" whatever they are all good!! lol
John Dees that’s cool, is it like a job where you get to advise companies about the ramifications of their projects? Like ocean contamination for example?
My wife and I have been married 45 years, we cry every time we listen to If we were vampires . It's knowing that this can't go on forever Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone
That song tears me up every time. I used to resent it because it was so good and hit my inner soul so hard. Reminds me of my own mortality and how lucky we are to find love.
Jeff Storey Bruh I was fighting back tears for pretty much that whole album. Relatively easy and elephant were definitely the tear jerkers for me, Yvette wasn’t far behind.
Traveling alone is my all time favorite song from Jason. Promise you'll love it. I've been a singer song writer for years. Listening to Jason's songs makes me want to pawn all my gear and go to work at a used car lot. If that's the bar then the rest of us is SOL... he's so good
My first date with my wife was April 14, 1989. We were children and we're still together. That line, "and hope it isn't me who's left behind" gets me every single time. I had pre-ordered this album and we went to see Jason on this tour. I daresay I've heard this song hundreds of times. Every time my eyes tear up.
Love! Seriously! One of my favorite Jason Isbell songs is Children Of Children. Written about his own mother having him at the age or 17 and how it affected her life from his adult perspective. It's amazing! And he plays a mean Les Paul slide in the outro. Must listen even if you don't do a video of it, but I hope you do.
Loved loved this. I've been praising Isbell as a songwriting genius for almost a decade. Glad to see you feel the same way. His last five albums are all stone cold masterpieces. He literally can't write a bad song. He will go down with the legends. And his band is off the charts fantastic.
Jason Isbell is one of the greatest song writers we will ever see. In this era of music of ghost writers and the quality of music, Isbell stands alone. Hes also a phenomenal guitar play in his own right.
The keyboard swells make the song. Adds so much to the texture and the emotional fabric of the song. Awesome that you immediately recognized the genius. Most people are lucky enough to write something like that once in their lifetime. He catalog is cluttered with 10’s. Uncanny
Check out his stuff with The Drive By Truckers. His "Outfit" first clued him onto his lyric genius. He has many incredible songs both with DTB and his solo work.
There are so many things I love about your channel but one of the things I love the most is all the new music I'm exposed to here. I've never heard this song before but just, WOW. Didn't expect to be crying this morning but here I am. Thanks for exposing me to this great song and artist.
Jason's lyrics can brings tears to a grown man's eye. Unabashedly emotional and personal. I've said it once and I'll say it again, best songwriter of our time. He's at the top of my "must-see" list once the dust settles.
A lot of mentions of other songs. Check out “God damned lonely love” live at The Living Room in NYC. Was recorded at the height of his alcoholism after, despite his immense talent, he was booted out of Drive-by Truckers. Within months, he met Amanda Shires and got sober. The performance is riveting.
It wasn't within months. He put out 3 solo albums while still drinking. He may've gotten sober soon after meeting Amanda but it def. was not within months of leaving DBT. Just sayin :)
You're hands-down my favorite teacher on YT! Believe me, I've watched a lot lol. Had to subscribe to Guitar Gate. Learning there's way more to music than I thought!
Wow thank you for posting this. One of the best written songs i've ever heard. Now to find my wife and give her a hug and "i love you". Keep up the fantastic work Michael.
If you never heard the story, he was trying to play the song to Amanda to get her input but had a hard time finishing it the first couple of times cause he was so emotional.
Jason: the fragile heart you protected for so long, or the mercy in your sense of right and wrong. Me: holy f*ck that's it this is a f*cking song song real and surreal at the same time! Jason: it's not the way you talked me off the roof, your questions like directions to the truth. Me: f*cking legendary. Also me finding out what led to Jason writing this song and how long it took him to write it: I'm convinced there is no one alive that's on his level, close but none like him.
Lost my wife to a brain tumor eight years ago and this song expresses every emotion I have dealt with and continue still to this day. Before her sickness we would talk about life without the other and sadly it’s been all I thought it would be. John Moreland, another great singer/songwriter has a song called Cherokee which has a line, “I’ve given up on ever being well”, that hits me like a gut punch.
man, I have never heard of these guys but they had me from the first chord and when Amanda started adding harmony I quickly turned it up to 11! Reminds somewhat of Bright Eyes. Keep doing what you're doing Michael.
"Vampires" is my favorite song of his. He has literally dozens of great songs. "Only Children" is one of his newest songs that continues Isbell's tradition of writing great lyrics. Give it a listen. Enjoy! Great channel !
Going to see Jason in a little over a month. I cannot wait. I’ve been anticipating this concert as much as any I’ve ever seen. And I saw Kiss on their first tour, I’ve seen every rock ‘n’ roll band you could ever think of. I am as excited about this one, as I have ever been.
Just wow! I always enjoy watching them perform together. Somewhere out here on the tube there are older videos where they're playing in radio stations with either just themselves or a couple others. They're really good too!
You should check out some of the things he did when he was in Drive-By Truckers. "Outfit", "Danko/Manuel", "Never Gonna Change" and "God Damned Lonely Love" are powerful songs that I really think you would enjoy.
As a lover of Jason Isbell, the 400, and Amanda Shires, your enthusiasm is so wonderful. I'm so glad I ran across your channel. I'm not a guitar player, and I spread myself too thin across trying to do all kinds of things musical, as a film composer, mix engineer, etc, but listening to you breaking down his tunes is just amazing. Thanks for what you're doing. I'm just SO glad that other people "get" him.
The way you emotionally explained this was just as much of a journey as the song, itself. Love your channel and this one finally made me subscribe instead of relying on the algorithm to bring me back. Your passion for music is inspiring
Have to comment again. Thanks for doing these reactions in such a genuine way! It's what keeps me glued. I was thrilled to see you do this one!! As always...looking forward to your next video!
I've been a Jason Isbell fan for a few years, but like you I only discovered him by accident from being a fan of John Prine and Brandi Carlile. Jason's wife is part of group with Brandi called "The Highwomen", wich is a spin on the group that Waylon, Johnny, Willie and Kris had called "The Highwaymen". But, I have definitely grown to love him and his guitar playing, and just now realized he has a whammy bar on that resonator, how cool is that!!!
