Song for the Weekend

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It's the first weekend in November. You might be bogged down with lots of work-so why not take a load off and listen to Jason Isbell's stunning live performance of his 2015 song "Something More Than Free"?

Here, Isbell is accompanied by his wife, Amanda Shires, who plays a fiddle that manages to add some beautiful atmosphere to this rock-solid folk tune. "Something More Than Free" stands as a living testament to all the workers out there in the world, longing, and thankfulness-touched with just the right amount of sadness and hope.

For a beefed up, full band version of the song, listen to this cut:

Here, Isbell is totally alone. I recently heard Neil Young state, in an interview, his appreciation for any artist who can deliver a song directly with just a guitar and their voice. There's just something about that simple form of communication that is transcendent:

Lastly, I'd not that the phrase "something more than free" is deeply poetic. Something about it strikes at the heart of all human longings. Free can't mean that road trip a rich guy takes with his friends was liberating and fun. Free doesn't mean I can own a gun. Free isn't in search of hedonistic pleasures. The word "free" and especially "freedom" is far overused and essentially misunderstood. Perhaps free, here, is the absence of insecurity-a strong conviction that one is living a dignified life. It may be the work of a lifetime. I appreciate Jason Isbell for never dealing with the trivial in his songs, and this tune is no exception.


Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 5, 2017 at 7:06 PM

    Thank you. I enjoyed this piece. Reminds me a little of the interplay of Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams.

    ReplyDelete

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