Goddamn Lonely Love

Jason Isbell: I tried real hard to come up with a different way of saying this, but it just seemed to fit. Loneliness can be drowned if you hold it under long enough, but it takes a lot of other things with it.

(http://www.drivebytruckers.com/writeup_tds.html)

Whatever it means to Jason Isbell, it sure has a profound meaning for me personally. This song hits home so damn hard that it's all I can do to keep from crying whenever I hear it. Just saw these guys live the other night and they blew me away.

Yeah, this is one of those songs that is so damned moving yet it's hard to put a finger on what it's supposed to be about. I guess it's one of those "it can mean whatever you want it to mean" kinda songs, I guess.

I just take it as he's got this love, but he knows he can't ever do anything with it. He can't make it be what it once was, so he's just stuck with it. The only thing he knows to do about it is just drink it away, even if it means drinking himself away in the process.

'i got green and i got blues…'

he's got money but he's still depressed. and regardless of how much money he has it still doesn't make any difference to him. so he gets drunk to take his mind off it.

'well i ain't really drowning…'

he refuses to admit that it's a problem. as if he's saying i'm not an alcoholic, i can stop anytime i want. or he thinks he doesn't 'need' to drink, it's just a temporary solution, he has his feelings under control.

'i could take a greyhound home…'

he realises that home is not just a place, it's about the people and the emotions you have when you're there. so even if he travelled to his hometown, it wouldn't be the same as he remembered it. he would still be lonely because that's the frame of mind he is in.

'so i'll take two of what you're having…'

this could be a conversation to a stranger in a bar, as if he's saying my life's worse than yours, i'd take any of your problems over mine. at the same time saying he'll need twice as many drinks to forget about how lonely he is. i think the reason he is so depressed is because he has actually fallen in love, but found that ironically he now feels more lonely than before, perhaps because he can't be with the person, either physically or emotionally.

I've always thought this was about how a man that has grown so much and ;earned some much in life already that he has to watch out for his self...and since that is all he has ever known...that all he will be able to do...and he really wants to share his heart with someone but he will never get the chance because he is too afraid for himself...that what i always meant for me anyways

One line in particular says to me this song is indeed about yearning for the past. He says

"You could come to me by plane, but that wouldn't be the same as that old motel room in Texarkana was."

This says to me its about a relationship that only worked under certain circumstances. He's realizing whatever this is isn't going to work and it's purely in the past and that's it. Essentially he's just sort of drifting along in the present. As an earlier line indicates he has no sense of home. Seems like he just has fleeting memories of the past and that's all he has to work with.

I don't know that there's a definite answer to this one, but I'll give it my take. It's certainly a beautiful song.

He's found success in life moneywise, career or whatever, but it doesn't help him find happiness, and he's drinking to quell that sadness. He knows he'll never get back to where he was truly happy, before he found success, so that just adds to his sadness and drinking.

the next part is iffy, but I think that maybe she cheated on him and got pregnant. He knows it was his fault somehow that she strayed, and tells her not to be ashamed. He also knows that its completely over, it'll never be the way it was in Texarkana.

So he's back to drinking. He had something good and f'd it up chasing some money/success. But that's no substitute, so here he is, rich and lonely and drinking. He could search for another girl, but doesn't want to deal with the pain again. He's content to let the misery and alcohol swallow him whole, soul and all.

Ah, a good ol' "hard drinkin'/hard lovin'" song.

Isbell is describing a boozy, tortured relationship with a girl. What I like about it is the "dual meaning" of "belly up": both "belly up [to the bar]" and as a metaphor for death (a fish goes "belly up" when it dies; used metaphorically with people: "gone tits up" is a euphemism for death).

So, the protagonist is clearly drinking hardcore: somewhat less serious than death ("ain't really drowning") but worse than going to sleep ("ain't really falling asleep.")

Also, the bit about "belly up and arch your back": I took it to mean a bar girl, bellied up to the bar, and "arching her back" to make her tits look bigger and draw attention.

Basically, a song about alkies in love and/or lust.

This song is about being on the road and spiraling out of control and the effects that spiraling has. Jason was drinking heavy at this time, and this song shows his clarity of his lifestyle.

I got green and I got blues

• He’s got weed and depression. But this line can have multiple meanings And everyday there's a little less difference between the two
• Getting messed up to forget his depression his such a habit that they’re basically the same feeling I belly-up and disappear
• Drinking and drugs make him ill and black out Well I ain't really drowning 'cause I see the beach from here
• He’s not drowning in his addiction (or even vomit) because he can see the beach

And I could take a Greyhound home but when I got there it'd be gone Along with everything a home is made up of

• He’s too far gone to go back to his previous ways or home So I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of what you got
• So F it, give me whatever booze or drugs you have to kill this depression To kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love

Sister, listen to what your daddy says Don't be ashamed of things that hide behind your dress

• This is the trickiest line for me. I bet this one has personal meaning to Jason and maybe similar advice his dad gave to his sibling on confronting and not running away from your fears. Jason is running away from his fears in this song. Belly-up and arch your back Well I ain't really falling asleep; I'm fading to black
  • He’s blacking our and I would guess arching his back in wretching

And you could come to me by plane, but that wouldn't be the same As that old motel room in Texarkana was

• Like going home didn’t work, neither would his lover visiting him. His too far gone. He’s likely spiraling after this relationship ended and he knows it’s over. A fling wouldn’t be the same as the love they shared in their past So I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of what you got To kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love

Stop me if you've heard this one before: A man walks into a bar and leaves before his ashes hit the floor

• Some people are too depressed to even drink in public or be around people. They just wants to drown in booze alone. Stop me if I ever get that far
• He’s not that far. Yet. The sun's a desperate star that burns like every single one before
• This reads as a “nothing really matters” line. Time passes without remorse.

And I could find another dream, One that keeps me warm and clean

• He can’t go back to his home or last, he can’t live in the present so maybe he could start a new future outside of touring and hard living on the road. One where he is sober. But I ain't dreamin' anymore, girl, I'm waking up
• Nope. This is his reality. He knows this is his life so give him two more rounds. Hell, just give him everything.

I really wish that more people listened to DBT and posted on here, because I know I'm really bad at figuring this kind of stuff out.

I know there has to be some profound meaning behind this song and I can just hear it in Jason's voice, but I'm not sure what it is...