I posted this song when I first started when I had only a couple of readers (Hanspostcard and Run-Sew-Read) so I thought I would give it another go. When I heard this on Lightning 100 in Nashville (an alternative station) I thought it was an old song. I liked it off the bat. Alex Ebert had left his band Ima Robot and formed this odd hippie-type band with Jade Castrinos in Los Angeles, California in 2007.
Never did I think I would like a song that started off…
Alabama, Arkansas
I do love my ma and pa
Not that way that I do love you
Holy moley, me oh my
You’re the apple of my eye
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you
But I did…and I couldn’t get enough of it. Their music has an old sound and is vibrant. I’m not comparing this in any way but it brought to mind Johnny and June Cash. Johnny and June didn’t sound like this but the type of song fits.
They were a band that had members that would come and go and were like a commune-type group. The song didn’t make it into the Billboard 100 although it was everywhere. “Home” was released in 2010 and it charted at #25 on the Billboard Alternative Songs in 2010 and #50 in the UK Charts in 2013. It did get a lot of play on commercials and TV shows.
The interplay between Ebert and his then-girlfriend and bandmate Jade Castrinos is infectious. The song is a true story. Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos were enjoying a day through Elysian Park in Los Angeles when she lost her shoes and he carried her on his back. After that, she fell out of his 2nd story window and had to go to the hospital.
The band is named after a character from a novel Ebert was writing…Edward Sharpe is an otherworldly figure who comes to Earth to offer enlightenment to the masses but finds himself getting distracted by the beautiful women.
Unfortunately Jade is not in the band now after a falling out in 2014. Their last album PersonA was released in 2016.
Home
Alabama, Arkansas
I do love my ma and pa
Not that way that I do love you
Holy moley, me oh my
You’re the apple of my eye
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you
Man, oh man, you’re my best friend
I scream it to the nothingness
There ain’t nothing that I need
Well, hot and heavy, pumpkin pie
Chocolate candy, Jesus Christ
Ain’t nothing please me more than you
Ah, home, let me go home
Home is wherever I’m with you
Ah, home, let me go home
Home is wherever I’m with you
La, la, la, la, take me home
Mommy, I’m coming home
I’ll follow you into the park
Through the jungle, through the dark
Girl, I never loved one like you
Moats and boats and waterfalls
Alleyways and pay phone calls
I’ve been everywhere with you
That’s true, laugh until we think we’ll die
Barefoot on a summer night
Never could be sweeter than with you
And in the streets you run a-free
Like it’s only you and me
Geez, you’re something to see
Ah, home, let me go home
Home is wherever I’m with you
Ah, home, let me go home
Home is wherever I’m with you
La, la, la, la, take me home
Daddy, I’m coming home
Jade Alexander, do you remember that day you fell out of my window?
I sure do, you came jumping out after me
Well, you fell on the concrete, nearly broke your ass,
You were bleeding all over the place and I rushed you out to the hospital, you remember that?
Yes, I do, well, there’s something I never told you about that night
What didn’t you tell me?
While you were sitting in the backseat smoking a cigarette you thought was going to be your last,
I was falling deep, deeply in love with you, and I never told you until just now
Ah, home, let me go home
Home is wherever I’m with you
Ah, home, let me go home
Home is where I’m alone with you
Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I’m with you
Ah, home, yes I am home
Home is when I’m alone with you
Alabama, Arkansas
I do love my ma and pa
Moats and boats and waterfalls
Alleyways and pay phone calls
Ah, home, let me go home
Home is wherever I’m with you
Ah, home, let me go home
Home is where I’m alone with you
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 
Wow, that’s quite a shout out, and thank you! Congratulations on your blog success. You’ve been thoroughly dedicated to it. So about this song and the group, I bet my comment back then was the same as what I’d say now…I do like this song, but my favorite of theirs is ‘Man on Fire’. Both songs are upbeat and catchy. Man on Fire has a super inspiring video, which elevates it for me. On this song, I like your Johnny and June comparison. It fits.
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Thank you for still following! I do like taking some songs that hardly anyone read and adding more to them. Some may be just 1 or 2 read.
Man on Fire is on my list along with Fiya Water/River of Love
I do wish they would have lasted longer. I liked the concept and of course the music.
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I recall hearing this song from somewhere, maybe a TV show, but I can hear why you rate it. Its very likeable and sweetly upbeat. The kind of good-timey retro vibe of, say, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. ‘Never Ending Song Of Love’-ish?
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Delaney and Bonnie is a much better comparison than Johnny and June… that is perfect.
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A lovely song, thanks for sharing this Max.
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An unusual tune. It’s definitely catchy, though not in the traditional sense. I can see why it resonated with you.
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Wow, look at that picture. lol Like the hippie version of The Partridge Family.
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Holy moley! More! More!
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LOL…yea I know what you mean…but it’s irresistible to me.
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I loved it!
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I don’t know how to really classify it.
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It deserved not to be pigeon-holed!
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I heard this band mentioned a bit back in the day but never actually heard them. It’s a nice blend of indie and roots music.
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I’ve heard them more on commercials since then for some reason. They could only hit the Alt charts really.
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can’t really decide if I like it very much but I for sure do like there was a band around at that time making such organic, retro-sounding music …very 1960s-ish . A cool discovery of yours
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The concept was really cool…having members come and go on stage…only the core staying. I heard their songs more on commercials.
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