"Jesus, Etc." by Wilco
Strong Songs
How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy
Jeff tweedy is constantly moving between two poles of meaning. He assembles turns of phrase and word parings that don't make specific, direct sense but still manage to make a sort of emotional sense. When he sings, "you can combine anything you want" It's not totally clear what he means by that, but it still sort of makes a kind of sense. And as we continue to work through the lyrics of this song, i want to talk a little bit about jeff tweedy's process,. since i think it helps understand how he manages to float so effortlessly between those two kinds of meaning.
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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