Uncle Tupelo – Graveyard Shift

The first thing that got me was that guitar riff. It has a raw sound that I love, but Graveyard Shift has much more going for it than a good riff. Farrar sings it like someone who has already lived through everything he is singing about. That is what surprised me when I watched the 1989 performance. These guys were young, but they didn’t sound young.

There is country in there. There is punk in there. There is some garage rock as well. Most of all, though, it sounds honest. Uncle Tupelo wasn’t trying to make old country music or follow what rock music was doing at the time. They took all of it and made something that sounded like them. And that riff doesn’t hurt either.

They were formed in Belleville, Illinois, with Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn at the heart of the original band. They took country and folk influences and mixed them with the harder sounds of punk and alternative rock. Farrar has said they were listening to bands such as Hüsker Dü while also drawing lyrical inspiration from Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. That combination helped create the sound that would eventually be called alternative country or Americana.

Graveyard Shift was written by Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn and became the opening track on their 1990 debut album No Depression. Farrar takes the lead vocal, and the song sounds like the area the band came from. Belleville had been hit hard during the late 70s to the 80s. That frustration found its way into his writing. The song is about wanting to escape a place where times were tough. The music matches the lyrics perfectly. That riff keeps pushing forward while the rhythm stops, starts, and changes direction underneath it.

The live video I found was recorded in 1989, before No Depression was released. It was aired on St. Louis television in November. Watching them play it then is strange because it’s so raw. They look like three kids playing, yet the sound is already there.

Uncle Tupelo would only last until 1994, but what came afterward tells you something about the talent in that little band. Farrar formed Son Volt, while Tweedy went on to form Wilco. Their influence also lasted much longer than the band itself. The title No Depression was eventually adopted by the magazine devoted to the kind of roots and alt-country music Uncle Tupelo helped bring.

Graveyard Shift

Hometown, same town blues
Same old walls closing in
Oh what a life a mess can be
I’m sitting here thinking of you once again
Won’t you talk to me

Well, time won’t wait, better open the gate
Get up and start what needs to be done
It’s winding down, there’s much you missed
Working on that graveyard shift

Well, I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong as the day comes along
If what I see is true I could learn to believe
Can’t look away
The powers that be might take it all away
Together we burn, together we burn away

Some say a land of paradise
Some say a land of pain
Well, which side are you looking from
Some people have it all
Some all to gain

Well a man in a tie gonna break his twenty dollar bill
There’s plenty of reasons in this world
We’re no longer standing still

But I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong as the day comes along
If what I see is true I could learn to believe
Can’t look away
The powers that be might take it all away
Together we burn, together we burn away

There’s too much time spent looking for a reason
It’s the simple ones that beat the most truth
Oh, what a life a mess can be
I’m sitting here thinking of you once again
Give a thought to me

Well, time won’t wait, better open the gate
Get up and start what needs to be done
It’s running down, there’s much you missed
Working on that graveyard shift

But I’m not saying there’s nothing wrong as the day comes along
If what I see is true I could learn to believe
Can’t look away
The powers that be might take it all away
Together we burn, together we burn away

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

29 thoughts on “Uncle Tupelo – Graveyard Shift”

  1. Totally up my alley, Max – I bet you knew that! 🙂

    I primarily know of Uncle Tupelo because of the Jay Farrar/Son Volt connection. I’ve also listened to some of Wilco’s music, though less than Son Volt. I guess what I really should is to check out Uncle Tupelo as well.

    “Graveyard Shift” is a great roots rocker. As you said, it’s also got a nice dose of garage and punk. I love the rhythmic changes and also dig the bassline.

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  2. I love it ! You’re right—Uncle Tupelo’s sound is sitting right at the intersection of country and Hüsker Dü, it is totally unique. Time has shown that those guys really had the goods.

    I can’t wait to see Wilco live in Paris next Sunday !

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  3. I can agree that you do miss out on a lot when you work on the graveyard shift, as you are out of sync with the rest of society. I liked the studio version better, as the sound didn’t come out right on the live recording.

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    1. Yea…I used that live recording more on how they looked. Jim…they looked like 16 year olds…it just took me by surprise. They are about the same age as me… Yes…I hated that shift….I saved a lot of money though because I slept through the day.

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      1. I worked almost 2 years doing midnight-8 as night manager of a hotel. It was interesting, at times easy (not much went on usually at 3 or 4 AM so it was sit at the desk with the music up and read books) but it was tough on my body and trying to fit in on weekends with the normal daytime people

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  4. It is more rock than I remember. I borrowed that Uncle Tupelo CD from the library years ago and quite liked it yet none of the songs really ‘stuck’ with me somehow. Certainly were an influential group.
    What you say about them looking so young reminds me of seeing early videos from Squeeze…somehow I always pictured them in my head as starting near middle aged but far from it.

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    1. Yea I commented to someone…they looked like us! There is a good reason for that…our band were their age. After listening to a band for such a long time…you don’t picture them that young.
      They had some talent no doubt.

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  5. I know so little of these guys but I can’t say I haven’t liked anything I have heard. I can add this to the list. Loved the first clip, they look like a bunch of kids but sure didn’t sound like it!

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  6. Almighty crashing drums and guitar. I bought No Depression on a cassette when it came out. I knew nothing about the band, just thought the title and the cover were interesting. Ended up liking it a lot. Farrar has a very distinctive voice. I’ll have to dial that album up, I haven’t listened to it in a long time.

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    1. They really were in the thick of things with the alt country scene…a lot of talent and it showed after they broke up. I have to wonder what direction they would have went in if they stayed together.

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  7. Tweedy and Farrar could pass for brothers from that clip. Yes they sure sounded like they were around for a long time. Man were they a special band. Good choice on the cut Max. So many to choose from. Really cant lose. I revisit often.

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  9. Keyword: flannel shirt. The success of Uncle Tupelo demonstrated that even the punk generation could cumb to the sentiment of country music if it sounded authentic and didn’t come along as a Nashville imitation.

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  11. 1990 doesn’t seem that far in the distant until you do the math. lol. My buddy is a Wilco fan so I will ask him if he has heard of these guys.

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