Jason Isbell

[Asmina]

"New South Wales"

"New South Wales"


Here we sit
Across the table from each other
A thousand miles from both our mothers,
Barely old enough to rust

Here we sit
Pretending both our hearts are anchors
Taking candy from these strangers
Amidst the diesel and the dust

And here we sit
Singing words nobody taught us
Drinking fire, and spitting sawdust,
Trying to teach ourselves to breathe

We haven't yet,
But every chorus brings us closer
Every flyer and every poster
Gives a piece of what we need

And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back

Morning's rough
It don't give a damn about the mission
Has no aesthetic or tradition,
Only lessons never learned

And I'd had enough
About a month ago tomorrow
Parting holds no trace of sorrow
For the bitter and the burned

And the piss they call tequila even Waylon wouldn't drink
Well I'd rather sip this Listerine I packed
But I swear, we've never seen a better place to sit and think
God bless the busted ship that brings us back

And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back

 

[Asmina]

"Super 8"

"Super 8"


Don’t want to die in a Super 8 Motel
Just because somebody’s evening didn’t go so well
If I ever get back to Bristol
I’m better off sleeping in a county jail
Don’t want to die in a super 8 Motel

Having such a sweet night
Audience is just right
Drinking like a pirate do
Don’t want to sleep yet
Buddy it’s a good bet
I’ll raise more hell than you
Do a couple rails
And chase your own tail
And talk about the bad old days
Trimmer in a t-shirt
Telling me her heart hurt
Honey let me count the ways
Then a big boy busted in
Screaming at his girlfriend
Waving around a Fungo bat
Bass player stepping up
Brandishing a coffee cup
Took it in the baby fat

I don’t want to die in a Super 8 Motel
Just because somebody’s evening didn’t go so well
If I ever get back to Bristol
I’m better off sleeping in a county jail
I don’t want to die in a Super 8 Motel

Well I finally got the room clear
Bleeding from the left ear
Feeling pretty bad for the maid
Lost a couple drinks and my dinners in a sink
Woke up with the bed still made
Wasn’t quite morning and I wasn’t quite breathing
My heart way up in my throat
The Girl starts screaming and the maid starts screaming
And it looks like it’s all she wrote
Well they slapped me back to life
And they telephoned my wife
And they filled me full of Pedialyte
Some are guts some are glory
And it would make a great story
If I ever could remember it right

I don’t want to die in a Super 8 Motel
Just because somebody’s evening didn’t go so well
If I ever get back to Bristol
I'm better off sleeping in a county jail
I don’t want to die in a Super 8 Motel
I don’t want to die in a Super 8 Motel

 

[Asmina]

"Yvette"

"Yvette"


I can barely make out a little light from the house on the cul-de-sac
bedroom upstairs, it's a family affair.

I've watched you in class, your eyes are cut glass and you stay covered up,
head to your toe, so nobody will notice you

I might not be a man yet,
but that bastard will never be,
so I'm cleaning my Weatherby
I sight in my scope
and I hope against hope.
I hope against hope.

Your mother seems nice, I don't understand why she won't say anything.
As if she can't see who he turned out to be.

I might not be a man yet,
but your father will never be.
so I load up my Weatherby,
and I let out my breath,
and I couple with death.
I couple with death.

Saw your father last night, and in the window the light made a silhouette.
Saw him hold you that way, he won't hold you that way anymore, Yvette.

 

[Asmina]

"Relatively Easy"

"Relatively Easy"


Are you having a long day
Everyone you meet rubs you the wrong way
Dirty city streets smell like an ashtray
Morning bells are ringing in your ear

Is your brother on a church kick
Seems like just a different kind of dope sick
Better off to teach a dog a card trick
And try to have a point and make it clear

You should know compared
To people on a global scale
Our kind has had it relatively easy
And here with you there's always
Something to look forward to
Our angry heart beats relatively easy

I lost a good friend
Christmas time when folks go off the deep end
His woman took the kids and he took klonopin
Enough to kill a man of twice his size

Not for me to understand
Remember him when he was still a proud man
A vandals smile a baseball in his right hand
Nothing but the blue sky in his eye

Still compared to those
A stones throw away from you
Our lives have both been relatively easy
Take the(a) year and make a break
There ain't that much at stake
The answers could be relatively easy

Watch that lucky man walk to work again
He may not have a friend left in the world
See him walking home again to sleep alone
Or step into a shop to buy a postcard for a girl

I broke the law boys
Shooting out the windows of my loft boys
When they picked me up I made a big noise
Everything to blame except my mind

I should say I keep your picture with me everyday
The evenings now are relatively easy
Here with you there's always
Something to look forward to
My lonely heart beats relatively easy
My lonely heart beats relatively easy