While the world is at a standstill due to the coronavirus, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit continue to prepare themselves for the release of their upcoming record Reunions. The group recently debuted “Be Afraid” and “What’ve I Done To Help” as soaring reflections on contemporary issues. Now, Isbell is back with the reflective ballad “Only Children.”
A lush country anthem, Isbell takes a look back on his life with “Only Children.” “Heaven’s wasted on the dead, that’s what your mama said / And the hearse was idling in the parking lot / She said ‘you thought the world was mean’ / And you were glad to see / They finally let me be an astronaut,” Isbell muses.
Isbell elaborated on Reunions’ theme in a statement: “There are a lot of ghosts on this album,” Isbell said. “Sometimes the songs are about the ghosts of people who aren’t around anymore, but they’re also about who I used to be, the ghost of myself. I found myself writing songs that I wanted to write fifteen years ago, but in those days, I hadn’t written enough songs to know how to do it yet. Just now have I been able to pull it off to my own satisfaction. In that sense, it’s a reunion with the me I was back then.”
Listen to “Only Children” above.
Reunions is out 5/5 via Southeastern Records. Pre-order it here.
