-"Austin City Limits" presents two extraordinary singer/songwriters -- Jason Isbell... - I know you're tired and you ain't sleeping well Uninspired and likely mad as hell But wherever you are I hope the high road leads you home again To a world you want to live in -...and Amanda Shires. - We were wasted and rollin' Rollin' -Welcome, everybody, to Austin City Limits!
Cheers and applause
-Now one of the finest songwriters on the planet and a powerful singer, as well, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.
"Hope the High Road" plays
- I used to think that this was my town What a stupid thing to think I hear you're fighting off a breakdown I myself am on the brink I used to want to be a real man I don't know what that even means Now I just want you in my arms again And we can search each other's dreams I know you're tired and you ain't sleeping well Uninspired and likely mad as hell But wherever you are I hope the high road leads you home again I've heard enough of the white man's blues I've sang enough about myself So if you're looking for some bad news Well, you can find it somewhere else Last year was a son of a bitch For nearly everyone we know But I ain't fighting with you down in a ditch I'll meet you up here on the road I know you're tired and you ain't sleeping well Uninspired and likely mad as hell But wherever you are I hope the high road leads you home again To a world you want to live in We'll ride the ship down Dumping buckets overboard There can't be more of them than us There can't be more
Guitar solo
I know you're tired and you ain't sleeping well Uninspired and likely mad as hell But wherever you are I hope the high road leads you home again - To a world you want to live in - To a world you want to live in
Instrumental break
Song ends
Cheers and applause
-Thank you very much. Thank you.
Cheers and applause continue
It really is an honor to play this show. I've been watching it for a long time.
Cheers and applause continue
I really wish we had more shows like this, but I'm real damn proud that we have this one and that we're able to come on here and play music for you.
Cheers and applause
"Cumberland Gap" plays
There's an answer here If I look hard enough There's a reason why I always reach for the harder stuff It wasn't my daddy's way He was down in the mines all day I know he wanted more than mouths to feed And bills to pay - Maybe the Cumberland Gap just swallows you whole Maybe the Cumberland Gap just swallows you whole - I ain't cut out for war Unless I know what I'm fighting for And there's nothing here But churches, bars, and grocery stores There ain't much money in The old-time mandolin So I cash my check and I drink till I'm on my ass again - Maybe the Cumberland Gap just swallows you whole Maybe the Cumberland Gap just swallows you whole Maybe the Cumberland Gap just swallows you whole Remember when we could see the mountain's peak? The sparkle off the amphibole? Like a giant golden eagle's beak Now they say no one wants the coal - I thought about moving away But what would my mama say? I'm all that she has left, and I'm with her every day As soon as the sun goes down I find my way to the Mustang Lounge Where if you don't sit facing the window You could be in any town - Maybe the Cumberland Gap just swallows you whole Maybe the Cumberland Gap just swallows you whole Maybe the Cumberland Gap just swallows you whole Maybe the Cumberland Gap just swallows you whole
Instrumental break
Song ends
Cheers and applause
"If We Were Vampires" plays
Scattered cheers and applause
- It's not the long, flowing dress you're in Or the light coming off of your skin The fragile heart you've protected for so long Or the mercy in your sense of right and wrong It's not your hands searching - Slow in the dark Or your nails leaving love's watermark It's not the way you talk me off the roof Your questions like directions to the truth - It's knowing that this can't go on forever Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone Maybe we'll get 40 years together But one day I'll be gone Or one day you'll be gone If we were vampires and death was a joke We'd go out on the sidewalk and smoke - Laugh at all the lovers and their plans I wouldn't feel the need to hold your hand - Maybe time running out is a gift I'll work hard - Till the end of my shift And give you every second I can find - And hope it isn't me who's left behind Knowing that this can't go on forever Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone Maybe we'll get 40 years together But one day I'll be gone Or one day you'll be gone
Instrumental break
Knowing that this can't go on forever Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone Maybe we'll get 40 years together But one day I'll be gone Or one day you'll be gone
Instrumental break
Song ends
Cheers and applause
"White Man's World" plays
I'm a white man living in a white man's world - And under our roof is a baby girl - I thought this world could be hers one day - But her mama knew better - I'm a white man living in a white man's town - I want to take a shot of cocaine and burn it down - Mama want to change that Nashville sound - But they're never gonna let her There's no such thing as someone else's war Your creature comforts Aren't the only things worth fighting for - If you're still breathing, it's - Not too late - We're all carrying one great burden Sharing one fate I'm a white man living on a white man's street I've got the bones of the red man under my feet The highway runs through their burial grounds - Past the oceans of cotton - I'm a white man looking in a black man's eyes And I'm wishing I'd never been one of the guys Who pretended not to hear another white man's joke - Oh, the times ain't forgotten There's no such thing as someone else's war Your creature comforts Aren't the only things worth fighting for - If you're still breathing, it's - Not too late - We're all carrying one great burden Sharing one fate
Instrumental break
- I'm a white man living in a white man's nation - I think the man upstairs must've took a vacation - I still have faith, but I don't know why - Maybe it's the fire in our little girl's eye Maybe it's the fire in our little girl's eye
Song ends
Cheers and applause
-Thank you. Thanks for listening to that. Thank you.
Cheers and applause continue
"Last of My Kind" plays
Cheers and applause
I couldn't be happy in the city at night You can't see the stars for the neon lights Sidewalk's dirty, and the river's worse The underground trains all run in reverse Nobody here can dance like me Everybody's clapping on the one and the three Am I The last of my kind? Am I The last of my kind? So many people with so much to do The winter's so cold, your hands turn blue Old men sleeping on the filthy ground They spend their whole day just walking around And nobody else here seems to care They walk right past 'em like they ain't even there - Am I The last of my kind? Am I The last of my kind? - Daddy said the river would always lead me home But the river can't take you back in time And daddy's dead and gone And the family farm's a parking lot For Walton's five and dime - Am I The last of my kind? Am I The last of my kind? I tried to go to college, but I didn't belong Everything I said was either funny or wrong And they laughed at my boots, laughed at my jeans Laughed when they gave me amphetamines And left me alone in a bad part of town 36 hours to come back down Am I The last of my kind? - Am I The last of my kind? - And Mama says God won't give you too much to bear Well, that might be true in Arkansas But I'm a long, long way from there And that whole world's an old and faded picture in my mind - Am I The last of my kind? Am I The last of my kind? - Am I The last of my kind? Am I The last of my kind?
Instrumental break
Song ends
Cheers and applause
Thank you all very much. Thank you.
Cheers and applause continue
Thank you guys so much for listening to us. We've had a fantastic time playing music for you tonight. We hope to see you again real soon. Thank you.
Cheers and applause
"Anxiety" plays
Anxiety How do you always get the best of me? I'm out here living in a fantasy I can't enjoy a...thing - Anxiety Why am I never where I'm supposed to be? Even with my lover sleeping close to me - I'm wide awake, and I'm in pain Watching the sunrise slash through the blinds The dust in the room, it hovers over my eyes - Lying here in silence - Wife and child still sleeping deep enough to dream I know I'm a lucky man today But so afraid that time will take it all from me - Anxiety How do you always get the best of me? I'm out here living in a fantasy - And I can't enjoy a...thing - Anxiety Why am I never where I'm supposed to be? - Even with my lover sleeping close to me I'm wide awake, and I'm in pain It's the weight of the world Then it's nothing at all I'm light as a prayer And then I feel myself fall You got to give me a minute 'Cause I'm way down in it And I can't breathe, so I can't speak I want to be - Strong and steady, always ready - Now I feel so small, I feel so weak - Anxiety How do you always get the best of me? I'm out here living in a fantasy - I can't enjoy a...thing - Anxiety Why am I never where I'm supposed to be? Even with my lover sleeping close to me - I'm wide awake, and I'm in pain - A crowded room Is a burning battlefield - If I don't move I'll come undone My heart beats harder A hammer striking steel - Do I walk now Or do I wait and run? Anxiety How do you always get the best of me? I'm out here living in a fantasy - I can't enjoy a...thing - Anxiety Why am I never where I'm supposed to be? Even with my lover sleeping close to me I'm wide awake, and I'm in pain - I'm wide awake, and I'm in pain I'm wide awake, and I'm in pain
Instrumental break
Thank you all so much. Thank you.
Song ends
Cheers and applause
Cheers and applause continue
-Next, a musical breath of fresh air from Nashville by way of Texas -- Amanda Shires.
"My Love (The Storm)" plays
- My love is loud A thundercloud A mother searching In a crowd My love is fast As burnished brass A serpent hiding In the grass - I am the storm At summer's end Watch the willows mourn Watch the branches bend And the wind don't know Your daddy's name And the heart will break All the plans you've made
Instrumental break
- My love is bored When it's ignored A soldier playing With his sword Our love is mean It'll cause a scene Burn a hole Right through the screen - I am the storm At summer's end Watch the willows mourn Watch the branches bend And the wind don't know Your daddy's name And the heart will break All the plans you've made
Instrumental solo
- I am the storm - At summer's end Watch the willows mourn - Watch the branches bend - And the wind don't know Your daddy's name And the heart will break All the plans you've made
Instrumental break
Cheers and applause
Song ends
Drumsticks click rhythmically
Cheers and applause continue
"You Are My Home" plays
- You are my home Wherever you go Anywhere you stand Is my piece of land You are my home Your 6'1" frame My address is your name High ceilings, grand halls Walls are just walls And you are my home You are my home Wherever you go Anywhere you stand Is my piece of land You are my home
Instrumental break
The Bering Sea The Barrier Reef Anywhere you breathe Is where I believe I'm meant to be And you are my home Wherever you go Anywhere that you stand Is my piece of land You are my Home
Cheers and applause
What a dream.
Cheers and applause
For those of y'all that just walked in, I'm Amanda Shires. I'm from Texas.
Cheers and applause
A phased golden light Rained down from the streetlight It fell across your shoulder Paused just above your collar Like it had something to show me As if I wasn't already noticing Your eyes a shade of wonder Like if thunder had a color It could have been harmless Wanting to see If I could get a little closer And walk away breathing It might've been cheating Where exactly is the line? Too early to admit it I wanted you for mine I kissed Maria in the alley You laughed and spilled your whiskey There's some I can't remember A talented bartender And way out in the cheap seats The stars stared, unblinking The ones that know anything Won't be revealing It could have been harmless Wanting to see If I could get a little closer And walk away breathing It might've been cheating Where exactly is the line? Too early to admit it I wanted you for mine There was a sword In my drink Everything's a sign If you want it to be And you want it to be It could have been harmless Wanting to see If I could get a little closer And walk away breathing It might've been cheating Where exactly is the line? Too early to admit it I wanted you for mine It could've been harmless It could've been harmless
Song ends
Cheers and applause
So, for a brief minute, three days, um, I had this boyfriend, and he was like, "Come live with me."
Light laughter
"I have this house. It's big enough for the both of us." I said, "Okay," and he said, "Okay. You just got to pack up your car and head south, you know. I live in Alabama." And so I packed up my car, and then I pulled up to this address, and it was in the middle of, like, a shopping -- like a downtown or something. Anyhow, I called, and I said, "I don't see a house." And he said -- Here comes all the red flags. He said, "Well, you got to walk up the six flights of stairs." I said, "Okay." And so I walked up the six flights of stairs, and I knocked on the door, and he opened it. And inside... the room was the size of, um, David Guy.
Laughter
I said, "Okay. I can handle this. We brought a hammock, maybe?"
Laughter
And, uh... I said, "What is there fun to do around here?" He said, "We can go out and have a drink, you know?" "That sounds fun. Let's go." And then I go downstairs, and, you know, he makes a quick right, and I'm like, "Where are you going? He said, "It's right here. It's above a bar, you know, where I live." "Okay." Then on the third day of going to the one place in this town that you could go to...
Light laughter
...I was thinking to myself, "Isn't there anything else to do around here, you know?" But that didn't bother me so much as when we came in that night on the third night and it was June and the window was open and it was snowing. And I said, "Wow! Isn't that beautiful?" And then... bats flew into the window, towards my face.
Laughter
And he said, "Did you bring a Swiffer?" I said, "This is no time for cleaning."
Laughter
He's like, "No, I was thinking you could, like, Swiffer it out of the house."
Laughter
And I said, "I have a Swiffer. I'm going home to Nashville."
Laughter
"You can come with me if you want." In those three days, though... 2% of it was beautiful. The 2% that was beautiful...
Scattered applause
...and the drive home is when I made up this next song, and joining me -- My boyfriend wound up being my husband, so that's pretty cool.
Cheers and applause
He no longer has a bat problem.
Laughter
"Wasted and Rollin'" plays
It's fun, isn't it? The world zigzagged and leaned Like stepping out of a Gravitron still moving Holding you, holding on to me Like the sidewalk was a tightrope Or highwire We were wasted and rollin' - Rollin' - Electric, fluorescent Rollin' - Rollin' - And the trees were all a-sing Like synthesizer violins It was deafening Flicker, strobe, and don't fall down We were floatin' through Double-stacked, I remember that And we were wasted and rollin' - Rollin' - Electric, fluorescent Rollin' - Rollin'
Guitar solo
- A kaleidoscope confusion Figure and frame Adrenaline hallucinations - Adrenaline hallucinations - It all echoes the same And we were wasted and rollin' Rollin' Electric, magnetic We were rollin' - Rollin' - We were wasted and rollin' - Rollin' - Electric, magnetic We were rollin' - Rollin' - We were wasted and rollin' - Rollin'
Song ends
Cheers and applause
-1, 2. 1, 2, 3, 4.
She took her lover on a road trip Turned out to be a bad idea She lost his eagle feather roach clip A present from some sad Maria Things never made it back to normal He was the wrong kind of naive She stopped for gas in Oklahoma Left him alone on St. John's Eve - There's a pale fire There's a pale fire There's a pale fire rising on the plain
Instrumental break
- Remember when you were a fighter? Remember when I was a queen? Now I'm just another rider - Can't keep up with your machine - And every man I meet is perfect Any better, they'd be wrong That way it's never really worth it - And I can spend my days alone There's a pale fire There's a pale fire There's a pale fire rising on the plain
Instrumental break
- And every man I meet is perfect Any better, they'd be wrong Now it's never really worth it - And I can spend my days alone There's a pale fire There's a pale fire There's a pale fire rising on the plain
Instrumental break
Song ends
Cheers and applause
"The Life You Chose" plays
There's plenty left -to make a getaway I've spent enough nights in the Bluegrass State We could go somewhere where people stay up late - Or just somewhere new Are you living the life you chose? Are you living the life that chose you? Are you taking a grown-up dose? Do you live with a man who knows you Like I thought I did back then? - Ah, but I guess I never did Did I kid?
Instrumental break
Passport
Follow Us