As the end of the year/decade draws near, I've been pondering which items I want to include on my "Best of 2009" and "Best of the 2000s" lists. The Drive By Truckers will be on the decade list I'm sure, the question is which record to choose? I discovered them via a birthday present of A Blessing and A Curse a few years back but the true clincher was seeing lead singer Patterson Hood's passionate cover of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died" at the first Virgin Fest.
Normally, the choices (IMHO) for these best-of lists should be based on "How many times did I listen to it on repeat?," "Do I still get the same goosebumpily feel now that I got the first time I heard it?," and "Am I still listening to it now?" And while A Blessing ranks high up there with this criteria, it can't be chosen hands down, and why? Because Jason Isbell's "Goddamn Lonely Love" isn't on it (it was on a previous record Dirty South).
Song after song, I keep noticing that it is Isbell's songs I am most drawn to in the Truckers catalog (Mike Cooley runs a close second), but "Goddamn Lonely Love" just floors me. With a combination of Isbell's descriptive and uniquely-stated lyrics paired with his choirboy-clear voice, this one, like most of his songs, are incredibly passionate. Like that friend you turn to when something happens because he/she can always relate and just gets "it," Isbell's songs act like an incredibly strong emotional salve.
I got green and I got blues
and everyday there's a little less difference between the two.
So I belly-up and disappear.
Well I ain't really drowning 'cause I see the beach from here.
I could take a Greyhound home but when I got there it'd be gone
along with everything a home is made up of.
So I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of what you got
to kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love.
Sister, listen to what your daddy says.
Don't be ashamed of things that hide behind your dress.
Belly-up and arch your back.
Well I ain't really falling asleep; I'm fading to black.
You could come to me by plane, but that wouldn't be the same
as that old motel room in Texarkana was.
So I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of what you got
to kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love.
Stop me if you've heard this one before:
A man walks into a bar and leaves before his ashes hit the floor.
Stop me if I ever get that far.
The sun's a desperate star that burns like every single one before.
And I could find another dream,
one that keeps me warm and clean
but I ain't dreamin' anymore, I'm waking up.
So I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take everything you got
to kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love.
Give a Listen: Goddamn Lonely Love (live @ 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA, 1-20-06)-Drive By Truckers
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