In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
A heart on the run keeps a hand on the gun
You can't trust anyone
I was so sure what I needed was more
Tried to shoot out the sun
Days when we raged, we flew off the page
Such damage was done
But I made it through, 'cause somebody knew
I was meant for someone
So girl, leave your boots by the bed
We ain't leaving this room
'Til someone needs medical help
Or the magnolias bloom
It's cold in this house and I ain't going out to chop wood
So cover me up and know you're enough
To use me for good
Put your faith to the test when I tore off your dress
In Richmond on high
But I sobered up and I swore off that stuff
Forever this time
And the old lover's sing
"I thought it'd be me who helped him get home"
But home was a dream
One I'd never seen 'til you came along
So girl, hang your dress up to dry
We ain't leaving this room
'Til Percy Priest breaks open wide
And the river runs through
And carries this house on the stones
Like a piece of driftwood
Cover me up and know you're enough
To use me for good
So girl, leave your boots by the bed
We ain't leaving this room
'Til someone needs medical help
Or the magnolias bloom
It's cold in this house and I ain't going out to chop wood
So cover me up and know you're enough
To use me for good
Cover me up and know you're enough
To use me for good
You can't trust anyone
I was so sure what I needed was more
Tried to shoot out the sun
Days when we raged, we flew off the page
Such damage was done
But I made it through, 'cause somebody knew
I was meant for someone
So girl, leave your boots by the bed
We ain't leaving this room
'Til someone needs medical help
Or the magnolias bloom
It's cold in this house and I ain't going out to chop wood
So cover me up and know you're enough
To use me for good
Put your faith to the test when I tore off your dress
In Richmond on high
But I sobered up and I swore off that stuff
Forever this time
And the old lover's sing
"I thought it'd be me who helped him get home"
But home was a dream
One I'd never seen 'til you came along
So girl, hang your dress up to dry
We ain't leaving this room
'Til Percy Priest breaks open wide
And the river runs through
And carries this house on the stones
Like a piece of driftwood
Cover me up and know you're enough
To use me for good
So girl, leave your boots by the bed
We ain't leaving this room
'Til someone needs medical help
Or the magnolias bloom
It's cold in this house and I ain't going out to chop wood
So cover me up and know you're enough
To use me for good
Cover me up and know you're enough
To use me for good
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by JB220, MariaGabi, ronda5942
Cover Me Up Lyrics as written by Jason Isbell
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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First off - I FUCKING LOVE this song. I love the acoustic guitar and the little slide parts too. I miss Jason Isbell in Drive-By Truckers but I think he's really done a fantastic job on his own and with the 400 Unit.
To me this song is not just a love song but it also is one of those love songs that delivers a message of "we need to sort this out" or "can't you see we're supposed to be together?" The singer describes himself as someone who's constantly dodging falling in love because he doesn't trust anyone, but then this woman comes into his life and she changes everything. He no longer wishes to live the careless, reckless life he was leading before and vows to set himself straight for this woman. (And the old lover's sing “I thought it'd be me who helped him get home” But home was a dream One I'd never seen till you came along) His former lovers are nothing in comparison to this woman and therefore he doesn't want either of them to change or go anywhere until he can make her realize that she's all he wants. He's willing to do whatever it takes to make things right. "Cover me up and know you're enough To use me for good"
The first time I heard this song I was staying out of town to be in a friend's wedding. The girl I love hadn't been talking to me for quite some time and had pretty much disappeared from my life. I had a lot on my mind during that weekend between having to prepare a speech for the wedding and still trying to break through to her. I heard this song and included it on a playlist to share with her. I don't know if this particular song struck the same chord with her as it did with me but I can say that we started talking again. Sometimes you just have to lay it all out there and that's what Jason Isbell is doing in this song. Such a fantastic tune.
Nothin? Recently sober guy finds meaning in life in a lover's eyes maybe?
I feel like this song has a similar riff or chords to Norwegian Wood by the Beatles. I wonder if "I ain't going out to chop wood" is a nod to the Beatles song.