#Sturgill simpson call to arms lyrics how to
#Sturgill simpson call to arms lyrics manual

#Sturgill simpson call to arms lyrics how to

The set closing “Call to Arms,” rocks hard with the full horn burst and a rip-roaring piano solo by Jefferson Crow, while the lyrics rehearse America’s state of continual military engagement around the world, but concludes with a declaration of independence that applies just as appropriately to Simpson’s career trajectory: “Bullshit on my radio/Hollywood telling me how to be me/The bullshit’s got to go.”

#Sturgill simpson call to arms lyrics manual

“Brace for Impact (Live A Little)” and “All Around You” find the artist sharing a philosophy of life, the first a bit of a “how to” manual and the second suggests a spirituality that’s shaped by the conviction that underneath it all there’s a “universal heart” that surrounds us with good. “Keep It Between the Lines” continues the father/son conversation, with Dad offering the important advice that the kid should “Do as I say, don’t do as I’ve done/don’t have to be like father, like son… Keep your head out of the clouds and remember to be kind/And just stay in school, stay off the drugs/And keep it between the lines.” It’s the challenge every touring artist with a family must face. The song is divided conceptually and musically it opens with a ballad of gratitude expressing the wonder of holding a newborn infant, but midway through turns toward rock & roll, with brass played by The Dap Kings horn section, as the traveling musician father tries to explain his long absences to his young son. Thematically, Simpson’s Sailor’s Guide finds it’s focus in the opening track, “Welcome to Earth (Pollywog),” a song written for his young son who was born is 2014.

He manages to maintain his country bona fides on tracks like “Breakers Roar,” “Sea Stories,” and others which lean hard on the slide guitar of Dan Dugmore, who earned his chops playing with Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor back in the day.

With A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, Simpson expands the boundaries of country music employing a string or horn section or both, as the songs require, whether it be a ballad or the kind of big jazzy blues you’d be more apt to expect from the likes of Van Morrison or Harry Connick Jr. Lord knows, one more song about drinking beer (or other beverage of choice) in the back of your pickup with some girl you just met in tight jean shorts (or miniskirt) down by the river (pond, lake or stream), and the collective intelligence of middle America will drop below potential repair.īut even if you’re a dedicated rocker, there’s a strong chance you’ve heard rumblings about indie singer/songwriter Sturgill Simpson, whose second indie release, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Americana Album and came in 18th in Rolling Stone magazine’s “50 Best Albums of 2014.” Simpson’s still far from a household name, but his cover of Kurt Cobain’s “In Bloom,” from this his latest album has already begun to turn a few heads. Fire Note Says: Country like it should be!Īlbum Review: If like many, you’ve given up on modern country music, which these days sounds more like 80s AOR bands Foreigner and Loverboy than outlaw country icons Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and the like.