"Jesus, Etc." by Wilco
Strong Songs
Tel Ii Shin, Voices Skip Singing Sad, Sad Songs
The main melody of this chorus is pretty simple. It's staying put while the chord progression moves downward. They sit up on an f tall building shake, which isn't a different part of the male vocal register. And that means there either n have to be a lot lighter or a lot stronger. There's also a middle part that's cond f over on the left, that sits on a c.
Few lyricists have Jeff Tweedy's ability to fluidly shift between plainspoken emotion and abstract imagery. The Wilco frontman has been writing beautiful, beguiling songs for more than three decades, and there is no way to pin down what any of them "means." There's only what they mean to you, right then, in the moment, as you listen to them.
That's certainly true of "Jesus, Etc." one of many standout tracks off of Wilco's groundbreaking 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. On this episode, Kirk explores some of the writing and arrangement techniques that help make this song, and all of Tweedy's songs, so special.
Lyrics by: Jeff Tweedy
Music by: Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett
Album: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, 2001
Listen/Buy via Songwhip
Also Featured/Discussed:
- "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," "War on War," and "The Ashes of American Flags" from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
- "She's a Jar" and "A Shot in the Arm" by Wilco from Summerteeth, 1999
- Audio from Jeff Tweedy's 2021 interview on The Ezra Klein Show
- Excerpts from Tweedy's 2020 book How To Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back
- Audio of a pedal steel guitar demonstration by Steve Fishell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrbSL92Kz1Y
This episode has been updated to better identify one of the chords in the chorus.
OUTRO SOLOIST: Dan Nervo
This episode's outro soloist is the fantastic Dan Nervo. Dan plays guitar in the San Francisco Bay Area in bands like Neon Velvet, and also teaches private guitar lessons. Hit him up if you want to get good at guitar: https://www.facebook.com/DanNervoGuitarLessons/
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