Power Pop Friday will be back in two weeks.
Ever since I heard him in the mid to late 80s I liked Steve Earle. He opened up for Bob Dylan in 1988 and he was fantastic. His music was between country, folk, and rock. You can’t really put Earle in a box…and you shouldn’t. I’ve read reviewers compare him to Randy Newman, Bruce Springsteen, and Waylon Jennings in the same review. That is a great span of artists.
The song is about escaping the town you are living in. I knew a lot of people who wanted to escape the small town I grew up in. The song reminds me a little of The River by Bruce Springsteen in content. It’s a song that many people will be able to relate to.
The song was from his debut album Guitar Town. I remember he was being played on country radio and WKDF…Nashville’s number-one rock station back in the 80s. The album is ranked 489 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s top 500 albums. They called it a rocker’s version of country. The album peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts, #89 on the Billboard Album Charts, and #82 in Canada.
Four singles were pulled off of that album. Hillbilly Highway, Guitar Town, Someday, and Goodbye’s All We Got Left. All were in the top 40 in the Billboard Country Charts and two of them were top 10. Someday peaked at #28 on the Billboard Country Charts and #31 on the Canada Country Charts.
His next album Exit-0 is one that pushed him closer to the rock genre. His third album Copperhead Road broke him in the rock genre. Earle himself calls his music the world’s first blend of heavy metal and bluegrass…according to Wiki…Rolling Stone magazine called his music “Power Twang.”
Someday
There ain’t a lot that you can do in this town
You drive down to the lake and then you turn back around
You go to school and you learn to read and write
So you can walk into the county bank and sign away your life
I work at the fillin’ station on the interstate
Pumpin’ gasoline and countin’ out of state plates
They ask me how far into Memphis son, and where’s the nearest beer
And they don’t even know that there’s a town around here
Someday I’m finally gonna let go
‘Cause I know there’s a better way
And I want to know what’s over that rainbow
I’m gonna get out of here someday
Now my brother went to college cause he played football
I’m still hangin’ round cause I’m a little bit small
I got me a 67 Chevy, she’s low and sleek and black
Someday I’ll put her on that interstate and never look back
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That’s a great song off a great Album. I agree with you can’t fit him in a box, he’s like a moving target for genre. Got the chance to see him play and we love our Steve Earle in Canada and he has repaid that with a lot of touring up here.
He is so authentic… he was great on the night he opened up for Bob. I want to see him again one day.
Speaking of authentic, have you listened to Chris Knight?
No but I just did….
He does have that sound…probably a touch more country than Earle in some but there all the same. Of course I just sampled two songs.
He’s great, saw him some years back in Bowling Green.
Speaking of Bowling Green…we plan to go back there soon. We would stop there at times on our way to West Virginia. We have been going to Russellville lately because we only live around 45 mins away.
I knew I didn’t have to identify which Bowling Green when talking to you!
I only know of one! I wouldn’t think it was a common name…but I could be wrong…I just looked it up…there IS a Bowling Green in Canada…I had no clue.
I think there are about 10 or so between Canada and the US!
I had no clue! The only one I know of is KY…. well until today!
Speaking of Canada…next week I’m trying something new…”Canada Week”….entirely Canadian artists…we will see how it goes…it was fun to write them.
Looking forward to that!
Let’s see… Canadian artists I hope you cover: Papa Neil, Mr. Lightfoot, Miss Joni, The Band, Blue Rodeo, and JP Hoe.
All of them but two…and I start tomorrow. I had written some writeups and I noticed…hey I have 3 Canadians I’m writing about…lets throw a few more in and make a week of it.
Very cool, Max. Looking forward to it.
good lyrics and a pretty good-sounding song. An under-appreciated artist (commercially at least) though your writeup explains why clearly… he doesn’t fit any traditional radio format. Not really country, not really ‘classic rock’, not really bluegrass (not that that’s a big popular genre anyway)… he gets ignored far and wide.
Copperhead Road was in that mode also…yes you had the rock guitar but his voice had that twang…but all in all he is a great singer-songwriter….and as I saw in the 80s…performer.
I think Steve sounds a bit like John Mellencamp in this song.
He does have a little of that sound… a more rawer sound but yea I see it.
Great track. Love his live version on Shut Up And Die Like An Aviator release from ’91
Cool dude… I didn’t know you were a fan
Here’s a shameless plug….lol…..https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2019/12/09/steve-earle-copperhead-road-1988/
So much I can relate to in this song. Like a mini film. Yes and so much to like about Steve. No one is better at pumping out good quality music. I think I’ll go count some “out of state plates” maybe watch the freight train go through town, go shoot a couple pop cans, throw a line in the water, kinda what I do everyday
Yea me also…a small city in TN for me. He is one of the more consistent ones just never ending releasing quality stuff.
We had a place called “Pops pool hall”…I think most towns had a Pops but it was the place to go.
My aunt owned the poolhall. The only person banned from it was her own son. He would follow the “No Profanity” rule hanging over the moose head.
lol her own son….A moose head is a must.
No kidding.
Hey try this one below for Steve hitting the big city. Another absolute killer by Earle. Sort of an answer to the tune you posted.
Great song…love the line “I never really been there…Just like the way it sounds”
CB, I’m sure you like that movie, “The Last Picture Show.”
I don’t answer for CB but I know this answer… he got me more into it… a big fat YES
🙂
Max knows me to well. Love the film and the book it was based on. ‘Sam the Lion’ is one of my all time favorite film characters. Ben Johnson brought him to life. Great Hank Williams soundtrack. Max and you are hitting the right buttons for me today.
I thought you liked Steve Earle and I knew Lisa liked him…him and Townes Van Zandt.
I watched that movie the other day again.
Ive caught Steve at various times in his journey. Big fan. I just listened to that NYC song the other day. Same page fella. You know how I feel about Townes. Speaking of Townes Im really diving into Steve’s son’s work. We might have discussed this before but he does a great version of ‘Can’t Hardly Wait’. Man did you set me off today.
That is a really great version of that song. I never thought about it acoustically and it works. CB…that song is special. First it’s a well written song AND it’s accessible for people. The song should have been a top 20 hit…and top 20 and good sometimes don’t go together.
I don’t know much about him…but I want to check more of him out.
Cant argue with that comment Max. There’s our cover thing again. Im always a little leery about offspring of musicians. In this case Justin is his own man. Finding all sorts of great music by him. It doesnt hit you over the head . Sneaky good (like some big league pitchers). Steve cut an album of Justin songs. How emotional would that have been.
Steve is a special musician and has an endless source of inspiration. I havent caught up with all his stuff (He’s so damn prolific). He just did an album of Jerry Jeff Walker songs. That’s like a big dessert waiting for CB to slam his face into it.
I first noticed Steve in the mid to late eighties. He was in Nashville a lot but wasn’t totally country and people here didn’t know how to act toward him….when I heard I Ain’t Ever Satisfied I was hooked….and Devil’s Right Hand.
I remember when he recorded that album…yea after what happened…I can’t imagine it.
I read the book before seeing the movie too. I think it was a Doubleday Book Club selection. I read a LOT of books through that club. Agree on Ben Johnson and ‘Sam the Lion’ (I never would have remembered his name.) Forgot about the soundtrack also.
I went back in CB’s vault and looked at a take of Ben’s performance. Both you and Max bit on that one.
I saw the movie first then read the book. McMurtry is a favorite author.
This reminds me of around here:
“There ain’t a lot that you can do in this town
You drive down to the lake and then you turn back around”
Been doing it all my life, first riding with my parents, and now on my own. Matter of fact, I did it this morning!
Good tune. You know how I feel about the Earlester and his “Power Twang.” gotta laugh at that description. You’re right, Steve shouldn’t be put in any box.
The same here….I grew up in a two stoplight town… it’s down the road and like I told CB…we had Pop’s Pool Hall…that was the hangout lol and we have a dam to go to.
Great song! Escape from the humdrum. Makes me want to get into my 67 Chevy and head into the sunset – except I don’t have a 67 Chevy.
My friend had a 69 Chevy… as a teen I thought about taking something out of there… well you did…you escaped the country.
I had a 1977 LTD Ford that I call Jill. If someone phoned they were usually told that “He’s out with Jill”. No one knew who Jill was but they all thought I was having a torrid affair!
Small world…my mom had a LTD…it was a late seventies one.
LOL…I can see why
Steve never hesitates to get political. One where he gets in the face of racism, but at the same time he does it in a way where you’ll never forget it from the same album CB pulled on from:
https://youtu.be/SpEn1lWBY7k
Steve Earle was a late discovery for me. He only entered my radar screen a couple of years ago. I immediately liked what I heard and “Someday” is another great song!
Yes it is…a true song….it reminds me of the same story of The River
BTW…i have some blues for you tomorrow
Cool, looking forward to it! I also got a great new song tomorrow by an octogenarian from what looks like a true late career gem! I’ll probably do a separate review of the album for early next week.
Cool dude I’m looking forward to it!
Whenever I get blues…you are the one I think of.
Sounds good, thanks! Yeah, I do like blues!
Good song, good player. In the same vein I recommend (if I may- I don’t think I’ve recommended it before but if I have- whoopsy) Jason Isbells ‘Speed Trap Town.’
Good song obbverse…yes it is in the same vein there. I always welcome your recommendations…
I have this album. Feels like he underachieved a bit – he’s a big talent, but personal issues got in the way.