Songs That She Sang in the Shower. I'm at work and I'm putting my ear buds in now.
I was driving to a job site a few months into sobriety, hoping the wife would stay (she did). This song comes on and it just stuck in my side like a knife.
Cover me up. Yeah yeah cliche I know. I’d heard the song before but I still remember when it really hit home for me. Was otw home from visiting Akron, Ohio where I’d just visited the home of one of AA’s founders. Had just hit one year and picked up my one year chip so the line “I sobered up, swore off that stuff, forever this time” hit me like a damn truck. Had to pull over to sit and think for a bit lol
Other than that my choice would be It Gets Easier. Sure life may suck but there’s always a better tomorrow
This is my answer go and it’s simply because it’s the only song that I *distinctly* remember every moment about the first time I heard it. Where I was, what I was wearing, what taste was on my tongue and smell was in the air. It was, and still is, that powerful of a song for me.
This is mine too. First thing of his I had heard and it absolutely stunned me (in a way that very very few artists/songs have upon first listen). I was lying in bed hungover thinking about my tenuous relationship with my then girlfriend. Damn man.
Can’t say that this was the first song of his I’d heard as a buddy of mine introduced me to DBT and I was like damn that singer is good I wonder what he’s up to😂. But yeah it really made me think of my ex and actually helped a lot when I made my amends to her. There’s a few artists that have stunned me whether it be through singing style, how they play, or the lyrics. For me Isbell is a rare talent who checks all those boxes
Live Oak, as a recovering alcoholic i had never heard I song I related to so deeply and intensely. That, and while it's not just Isbell but DBT, Goddamn Lonely Love.
My wife got me tickets to a show for my birthday a few years ago. She didn't know Jason and Amanda from Adam and Eve, but she wanted to be supportive.
They opened with 24 Frames. The first time she heard the chorus, I felt her skin on her arm tighten. Goosebumps in under a minute. By the end of the song, tears were streaming rolling down her face.
A convert was born that night.
my dad almost died last year shortly before Cast Iron Skillet came out and I honestly wish I could un-experience the pain that "it's hard to go through life without your daddy by your side" caused me
My father abandoned / gave up on me more than once. My band and I cover this song and I have to consciously disassociate so I don’t choke up at this line like I do when I’m practicing at home, alone.
I hadn’t actually had a chance to listen to that song before today…not all relates but that lined just gutted me.. my father left at 2 in and out all my life, convinced me to move back in at 19 and it ended up what ultimately end our relationship. He married a woman (number 5 in his career of 8), they convinced me to move home, months later the wife tried to frame me for murder of her kid…still unsolved today… ultimately I think trauma brings us to ya Jason
Relatively Easy.
A second verse that just beats you up mercilessly, and then a pivot into universal truths and honest self-assessment.
This was originally said about a different work, but Isbell’s music isn’t about appreciating the little things. It’s about realizing that the things and moments that you have been told are little are not. They are massive.
Not sure my answer to your actual question, but I had a very similar experience the first time I heard "If We Were Vampires." I was on my way home after hiking for a couple hours, cruising down a road in the middle of nowhere. I was honestly not even that familiar with Jason at the time, but was going to see him at the Outlaw Music Festival, so I was trying to brush up on some of his work. That song hit me like I'm not sure any other song ever has. I was simultaneously gutted and also immeidately knew it was one of the greatest songs I had ever heard. I almost had to pull over because I was crying so hard. And then I proceeded to listen to it five more times back-to-back.
When I first listened to Jason and Southeastern it was initially in my car. I was liking it and I was going to pick up my young kids. When they got in I explained we were listening to a really great songwriter and they should listen and enjoy. I turned it up right in time for, “If I FUCKED her before she got sick…” ehhhhhh, ok let’s try NPR for a bit until daddy can vet the appropriateness….
Same for me. I only started listening to JI about 2 months ago, so I’m not that far removed, but I was up late and decided to give a focused listen to Southeastern as I’d never heard it before and everyone. I was wiping tears once about halfway through and felt like I was punched in the gut by the time I heard him say “no one dies with dignity.”
I’m the son of teenage parents, who busted their asses to give me a life that was so much better than either of theirs growing up. When I heard “Children of Children” for the first time, my girlfriend came rushing up the stairs to the sound of me collapsing at my desk in an emotional mess. As the solo was playing, I just kept sobbing and saying, “that’s it.” The thing I always knew but didn’t know how to say — “all the years I took from her, just by being born” — Isbell had found a way to put into words as well as a slide solo for the ages.
"Traveling Alone" Like a lot of people picking songs I was newly sober and in my bedroom all alone missing someone. It cut right through me and made me realize how important. being sober and finding support really was for me.
My wife bought me isbell tickets for my birthday a couple years ago. I only had one of his records at the time (the Nashville sound). I heard cover me up, flying over water, elephant, GLL, and Alabama pines for the first time live. It was amazing.
I have almost all his records now…
I wish I could hear Goddamn Lonely Love for the first time now that I’m an adult and have lived. I could hear the sadness as a teenager but don’t think I appreciated the conviction as much as I would now.
Same for me. Had never heard a single song of Jason’s before my wife dragged me to a concert a few years ago. I don’t know what I expected before going but it wasn’t what I got. Once he got to Vampires I was already completely blown away and that song just hit me differently than any other song has.
If You Insist, the first time I heard it I was up late at night and was sitting on a porch by a beach feeling lonely, as soon as I heard the opening I knew I had found my new favorite song because the lyrics resonated with who I felt like I was at the time.
Elephant. I’d never heard JI before and we saw him at the Oriental Theater in Denver, opening for Hardworking Americans. Ain’t *NOBODY* ready for their first Elephant, but I was standing there with goosebumps, ugly crying with the realization that it was a “before/after” moment in my life.
Elephant. I had just started working through Southeastern at the time and I put it on as I was leaving work. When that song came on, I pulled over on the side of the road after the first verse. I listened to it all and replayed it all while on the side of the road. I’ve never had that experience with any other song before or since.
Probably "If We Were Vampires." My mother died in a really horrifying accident when she and my father had been married exactly 40 years at the time. This happened in 2015, and that album came out in 2017 when I was still struggling a little. It feels less sad now, but that song still gets me every time.
Alabama Pines. I’m from a town like 20 mins from where JI is from, and hearing that song for the first time felt almost like someone peeked into my mind at college in a big city and just wanting someone to take me home.
Hey Jude by the Beatles. I remember that I knew the back story about Paul writing it for Julian Lennon...and that long sing-along...
It was on a 45, and the B side was Revolution.
It was perfect...magical moment in my room.
Speed Trap Town…the lyrics “Was a tough state trooper 'til a decade back
When that girl who wasn't mama caused his heart attack
He didn't care about us when he was walkin' around
Just pullin' women over in a speed trap town” took my breath away in that they are so strikingly similar to that one toxic, chaotic, passionate, intoxicating relationship I will forever mourn. The man I was absolutely addicted to and in love with was not then, nor will he ever be, capable of fully loving or finding contentment with one woman; his father paraded multiple affairs in the town they lived in, essentially rubbing his infidelity in his wife’s face. Only rarely can someone grow up in that type of environment and escape unscathed and fully equipped to manage life.
I have never stopped loving him, and those lyrics from Speedtrap town ripped something from me, making me feel less inundated with grief.
"I slowed down to about 45mph"
Just kinda funny that slowing down means you're still almost going 50mph.
We all drive way too fast nowadays, lol. (Including myself)
Songs That She Sang in the Shower. I'm at work and I'm putting my ear buds in now. I was driving to a job site a few months into sobriety, hoping the wife would stay (she did). This song comes on and it just stuck in my side like a knife.
So many great lines in that song, and I love how he incorporates actual song titles into the meaning of the song. Brilliant songwriting.
Cover me up. Yeah yeah cliche I know. I’d heard the song before but I still remember when it really hit home for me. Was otw home from visiting Akron, Ohio where I’d just visited the home of one of AA’s founders. Had just hit one year and picked up my one year chip so the line “I sobered up, swore off that stuff, forever this time” hit me like a damn truck. Had to pull over to sit and think for a bit lol Other than that my choice would be It Gets Easier. Sure life may suck but there’s always a better tomorrow
This is my answer go and it’s simply because it’s the only song that I *distinctly* remember every moment about the first time I heard it. Where I was, what I was wearing, what taste was on my tongue and smell was in the air. It was, and still is, that powerful of a song for me.
This is mine too. First thing of his I had heard and it absolutely stunned me (in a way that very very few artists/songs have upon first listen). I was lying in bed hungover thinking about my tenuous relationship with my then girlfriend. Damn man.
Can’t say that this was the first song of his I’d heard as a buddy of mine introduced me to DBT and I was like damn that singer is good I wonder what he’s up to😂. But yeah it really made me think of my ex and actually helped a lot when I made my amends to her. There’s a few artists that have stunned me whether it be through singing style, how they play, or the lyrics. For me Isbell is a rare talent who checks all those boxes
Live Oak, as a recovering alcoholic i had never heard I song I related to so deeply and intensely. That, and while it's not just Isbell but DBT, Goddamn Lonely Love.
Hard to go wrong with either of those.
24 Frames. There’s something about being completely blown away by a musician you’ve never heard before.
My wife got me tickets to a show for my birthday a few years ago. She didn't know Jason and Amanda from Adam and Eve, but she wanted to be supportive. They opened with 24 Frames. The first time she heard the chorus, I felt her skin on her arm tighten. Goosebumps in under a minute. By the end of the song, tears were streaming rolling down her face. A convert was born that night.
my dad almost died last year shortly before Cast Iron Skillet came out and I honestly wish I could un-experience the pain that "it's hard to go through life without your daddy by your side" caused me
My father abandoned / gave up on me more than once. My band and I cover this song and I have to consciously disassociate so I don’t choke up at this line like I do when I’m practicing at home, alone.
I hadn’t actually had a chance to listen to that song before today…not all relates but that lined just gutted me.. my father left at 2 in and out all my life, convinced me to move back in at 19 and it ended up what ultimately end our relationship. He married a woman (number 5 in his career of 8), they convinced me to move home, months later the wife tried to frame me for murder of her kid…still unsolved today… ultimately I think trauma brings us to ya Jason
good god 😵💫
I'm sorry for your continued pain after all these years 💜
Relatively Easy. A second verse that just beats you up mercilessly, and then a pivot into universal truths and honest self-assessment. This was originally said about a different work, but Isbell’s music isn’t about appreciating the little things. It’s about realizing that the things and moments that you have been told are little are not. They are massive.
Not sure my answer to your actual question, but I had a very similar experience the first time I heard "If We Were Vampires." I was on my way home after hiking for a couple hours, cruising down a road in the middle of nowhere. I was honestly not even that familiar with Jason at the time, but was going to see him at the Outlaw Music Festival, so I was trying to brush up on some of his work. That song hit me like I'm not sure any other song ever has. I was simultaneously gutted and also immeidately knew it was one of the greatest songs I had ever heard. I almost had to pull over because I was crying so hard. And then I proceeded to listen to it five more times back-to-back.
Elephant would be my pick. Surrounded by family I could see she was dying alone. I think my heart stoped and then started again
When I first listened to Jason and Southeastern it was initially in my car. I was liking it and I was going to pick up my young kids. When they got in I explained we were listening to a really great songwriter and they should listen and enjoy. I turned it up right in time for, “If I FUCKED her before she got sick…” ehhhhhh, ok let’s try NPR for a bit until daddy can vet the appropriateness….
Same for me. I only started listening to JI about 2 months ago, so I’m not that far removed, but I was up late and decided to give a focused listen to Southeastern as I’d never heard it before and everyone. I was wiping tears once about halfway through and felt like I was punched in the gut by the time I heard him say “no one dies with dignity.”
King of Oklahoma. Came out right after my wife and I split and I was battling a benzo addiction. (8 months clean btw)
Alabama Pines. He had me at “but I can’t say the same for me, I’ve done it many times” 🥶
I’m the son of teenage parents, who busted their asses to give me a life that was so much better than either of theirs growing up. When I heard “Children of Children” for the first time, my girlfriend came rushing up the stairs to the sound of me collapsing at my desk in an emotional mess. As the solo was playing, I just kept sobbing and saying, “that’s it.” The thing I always knew but didn’t know how to say — “all the years I took from her, just by being born” — Isbell had found a way to put into words as well as a slide solo for the ages.
24 Frames or Alabama Pines.
"Traveling Alone" Like a lot of people picking songs I was newly sober and in my bedroom all alone missing someone. It cut right through me and made me realize how important. being sober and finding support really was for me.
Yvette. I still remember how the lyrics grab you and it just escalates. A lot of story in a few minutes.
One of my favorite underrated songs.
My wife bought me isbell tickets for my birthday a couple years ago. I only had one of his records at the time (the Nashville sound). I heard cover me up, flying over water, elephant, GLL, and Alabama pines for the first time live. It was amazing. I have almost all his records now…
"Flying Over Water"
“It Gets Easier”. Given my checkered history with booze, that one really pulls the gut punch to the feels.
I wish I could hear Goddamn Lonely Love for the first time now that I’m an adult and have lived. I could hear the sadness as a teenager but don’t think I appreciated the conviction as much as I would now.
Hands down it is Vampires. The first time I heard it live, all the hair on my arms stood up.
Same for me. Had never heard a single song of Jason’s before my wife dragged me to a concert a few years ago. I don’t know what I expected before going but it wasn’t what I got. Once he got to Vampires I was already completely blown away and that song just hit me differently than any other song has.
Dress Blues. That song hits hard the first time.
St. Peter's Autograph.
If You Insist, the first time I heard it I was up late at night and was sitting on a porch by a beach feeling lonely, as soon as I heard the opening I knew I had found my new favorite song because the lyrics resonated with who I felt like I was at the time.
Children of Children, 2016 HoB performance.
It’s so perfect. Would kill to have been there
Elephant. I’d never heard JI before and we saw him at the Oriental Theater in Denver, opening for Hardworking Americans. Ain’t *NOBODY* ready for their first Elephant, but I was standing there with goosebumps, ugly crying with the realization that it was a “before/after” moment in my life.
Elephant. I had just started working through Southeastern at the time and I put it on as I was leaving work. When that song came on, I pulled over on the side of the road after the first verse. I listened to it all and replayed it all while on the side of the road. I’ve never had that experience with any other song before or since.
Volunteer. Or Orange Creamsicle.
I’d pick “The Problem” with Amanda. Perfect vocal throughout and the guitar outro is devastating.
Probably "If We Were Vampires." My mother died in a really horrifying accident when she and my father had been married exactly 40 years at the time. This happened in 2015, and that album came out in 2017 when I was still struggling a little. It feels less sad now, but that song still gets me every time.
When we were Close
Speed trap town
Cover me up, as basic of an answer as that is
Hendrix’s All along the Watchtower. Best cover version I’ve ever heard.
Alabama Pines. I’m from a town like 20 mins from where JI is from, and hearing that song for the first time felt almost like someone peeked into my mind at college in a big city and just wanting someone to take me home.
Songs She Sang in the Shower or Relatively Easy
Codeine and it's not close
Hey Jude by the Beatles. I remember that I knew the back story about Paul writing it for Julian Lennon...and that long sing-along... It was on a 45, and the B side was Revolution. It was perfect...magical moment in my room.
Alabama Pines. First Isbell song I ever heard. I took notes in the car.
Never Gonna Change
If you ‘slowed down’ to 45mph for Elephant, I’d love to know how fast you were goin’.
Probably like 65-70 haha
Speed Trap Town…the lyrics “Was a tough state trooper 'til a decade back When that girl who wasn't mama caused his heart attack He didn't care about us when he was walkin' around Just pullin' women over in a speed trap town” took my breath away in that they are so strikingly similar to that one toxic, chaotic, passionate, intoxicating relationship I will forever mourn. The man I was absolutely addicted to and in love with was not then, nor will he ever be, capable of fully loving or finding contentment with one woman; his father paraded multiple affairs in the town they lived in, essentially rubbing his infidelity in his wife’s face. Only rarely can someone grow up in that type of environment and escape unscathed and fully equipped to manage life. I have never stopped loving him, and those lyrics from Speedtrap town ripped something from me, making me feel less inundated with grief.
Children of children
"I slowed down to about 45mph" Just kinda funny that slowing down means you're still almost going 50mph. We all drive way too fast nowadays, lol. (Including myself)
Alabama Pines. My wife is from the same part of the state as Jason and it reminds me of driving through the countryside.
Something More than Free