Lyrics for Life By The Drop as interpreted by UseYourIllusion

Life By The Drop Lyrics
Hello there, my old friend
Not so long ago it was 'til the end
We played outside in the pouring rain
On our way up the road we started over again

You're livin' a dream....Wo you on top
My mind is achin'....Lord it won't stop
Thats how it happens....Livin' life by the drop

Up and down that road in our worn out shoes
Talkin' 'bout good things and signin' the blues
You went your way....I stayed behind
We both knew it was just a matter of time

You're livin a dream....Wo you on top
My mind is achin'....Lord it won't stop
That's how it happens....Livin' life by the drop

No wasted time....We're alive today
Churnin' up the past....There's no easier way
Time's been between us....A means to an end
God it's good to be here walkin' together my friend

You're livin a dream....Wo you on top
My mind is achin'....Lord it won't stop
That's how it happens....Livin' life by the drop
That's how it happens....Livin' life by the drop
That's how it happens....Livin' life by the drop

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BleedAmerican
07-03-2002

Rated 0 
cool song... why isn't anyone making comments??

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BleedAmerican
07-03-2002

Rated 0 
perfect blues coffee house song ... haha

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skitzochick420
07-25-2002

Rated 0 
A song about his drinking...i think....

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Hooby
04-15-2003

Rated 0 
'Tis about drinking partially, but I "Life by the Drop" I believe also acts as a metaphor for living life to it's fullest.

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mikaz
01-17-2005

Rated 0 
no no no in "life to the drop" he's talking about his heroin addiction. living life on heroin, drop by drop.

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Emberly
01-22-2005

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stevie ray is the KING of texas blues.

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skaboochy
02-11-2005

Rated 0 
This was Stevie's homage so to speak to being able to kick drinking and drugs and finally coming to realize how much there is to live for and how easily addiction can bring you down, or on the other hand how you can take control and live life strong. Great song. Strangely as talented as he was he was nervous about playing acoustic because he never thought he had a great voice for acoustic. As awesome a guitar player as was ever born, Stevie also had to have had one of the best voices ever for blues rock, totally underated as a singer

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mav1986
03-07-2005

Rated 0 
I'm a HUGE SRV fan and I love this song....

This reminds me of a fantasy I have where I would be in some coffe place or something in that nature, singing this song to one of my good friends who is stationed in the Air Force. I actually have a thing for her and I wish she didn't leave, but I have always wanted to sing this to her.

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The Empty Page
06-02-2005

Rated 0 
i heard this song was about a friend of his who had an alcohol addiction..

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Likwuid_Ice
09-19-2005

Rated 0 
I've heard this was wrote ABOUT Stevie, by a friend and Stevie covered it. It was released on The Sky Is Crying in 91 if I'm not mistaken, so I believe it was recorded after SRV got off the booze & coke. Definately a heart-felt song, but I don't see alcohol being it's main point.

Save for the line "Livin life by the drop" there isn't much about booze in it. It's a story of two friends growing up, one leaving (Stevie, becoming famous) and the other staying and watching his friend.

Definately a beautifully simple song. The guitar is sad on it's bass notes and bright up high. An awesome song to listen to, and a personal favorite to play and sing with some friends after a few drinks.

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Likwuid_Ice
09-19-2005

Rated 0 
I just checked the song's composer, and it's listed as Doyle Bramhall (Another amazing texas guitarist, as is his son Doyle Bramhall II) and Barbara Logan, who I'm not familiar with. I would assume "Talkin' bout good things and singin the blues" would indicate Bramhall was the writer of the song, as he played blues & rock much like Stevie.

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Likwuid_Ice
09-19-2005

Rated 0 
thinking about this sent me on a search. Here's a quote straight from Doyle Bramhall's site about the song:

And there is also included a special song written by Bramhall and wife Barbara Logan originally for Stevie Ray Vaughan. "In September 1990, soon after Stevie died, I realized that 'Life By The Drop' needed to be recorded and I thought someone like Bonnie Raitt might be interested in doing it, so I asked Tom Reynolds, a friend of mine and a fine guitar player, if he would record a demo with me. So we went in to a funky home studio and cut the track. I gave the demo to someone who could get it to Bonnie, but never heard back. About 1991-92, I was visiting my son Doyle II in Austin and we were listening to tapes. He said, 'Dad, you've heard Stevie's version of "Life By The Drop," right?' And I said, 'No, I never knew he recorded it.' I couldn't listen to the whole thing; it was just too emotional for me.

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BlueSeven
02-21-2006

Rated 0 
My brother and I used to party in high school all the time and now he's in the Navy stationed halfway across world. I think this song is about Vaughan singing to his old drinking buddies about the times they had when they were all partiers.

Wo you on top to me is when you're wasted and you think nothing can phase you...living on top.

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yasedogg469
02-26-2007

Rated 0 
The song speaks to me of the separation of the drinking self from the sober self, the songs seems to reference either an actual or imagined (perhaps dreamed) relapse. 'God, it's good to be here, walkin' together my friend'. It is beautiful and poignant, if not dangerous in "romancing" the perceived camaraderie of King Alcohol.

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none,nonemoreblack
06-24-2007

Rated 0 
This song, to me, makes me think of my best friend.
It just, feels like it, because I've been away from all my friends for the past month, and listening to this song, escpecially the last verse, makes me think of me and him hangin' out. And how much I miss by buds.

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eyeta2
09-08-2007

Rated 0 
Doyal Bramhall Sr. wrote this song as stated above. He also is the one who originally encouraged and taught Stevie how to sing. Stevie at first just played guitar and was reluctant to sing until Doyal pushed him into it.

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nachoz
02-16-2008

Rated 0 
i cant stop listening to this song since i heard it on a tribute video for srv. he's not only an amazing guitar player but a gr8 singer too

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MrNatural
02-25-2008

Rated 0 
SRV was not a herion addict.
Doyle Bramhall did write the song but not FOR SRV. As someone quoted Doyle didn't even know SRV recorded it.
The song is very metaphorical so not everything is going to make perfect sense.
"My old friend" in the first line is alcohol. "
Not so long ago it was until the end." Prior to "recovery" it looked as thoe they would be together until death.
"No wasted time. We're alive today" No regrets about the time lost while in the alcoholic haze because the bottom line is I'm alive. THis is a KEY ingredient in recover, NO REGRETS because they will eat you up.

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HiggyBaby
08-30-2008

Rated 0 
OK... now you all have me thinking more about this. Here's my take:
I think this is about reuniting with oneself after being an alcoholic. It's a conversation between one's id and super id, or ego, or whatever (not a psychologist)... but you know what I mean. Your internal voice and external you. His internal voice was robbed from his external presence, and no internal dialog was happening during periods of addiction. It's about being lonely, and then being reunited. His happiness in the last line is an expression of being complete again. Not two separate people anymore.

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quietlyseeking
11-12-2008

Rated 0 
My take on this song:

Life by the drop is a song about alcohol, recovery and falling off the wagon... That's how it happens...

Starts out with revisiting an old friend... Sitting there with a drink...
Was till the end, meaning when he started, couldn't see a reason to stop...
Pouring rain... free flowing care free drinking... and down the road we went...
Up and down the road in worn out shoes... gets old after a while...
you went your way and I stayed behind... got off it - realized he had to.
No wasted time, we're alive today... No regrets, but live in the moment.
Churning up the past there is no easier way... to romanticize the drinking and have a reason for it- positive or negative...
God it's good to be here walking together my friend...


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Halcyon1
11-19-2008

Rated +1 
Lots of good thoughts on this song. When I first listened to it I was a heavy drinker. I have been sober for awhile now, I still dig the Blues and SRV (funny I didn't think I could unless I had a drink in my hand). My thoughts on this song have evolved over time and I am glad to have the chance to bounce them off of other SRV fans.
I think it's addiction thats talking to the person. Of course the person is the writer, SRV and the listener. Keep in mind that addiction is like being two people and if you take this song line by line and look at it as though SRV is listening to, feeling and being that "old friend" you may see what i'm trying to get across. For me, I can see the path one takes fighting addictions, it's always there waiting to welcome you back. Facing this process with courage and hope allows you and I to live life by the drop.
I could go on, but I fear I will only clutter the thoughts I am trying to provoke in you.
Peace,
Halcyon1

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garofaloa
11-21-2008

Rated 0 
The song was actually written for SRV by Doyle.

To me this song is more than just about a drug and alcohol addiction. Its also about the regret of not living life to the fullest. When you suffer from a drug addiction, you can't really go anywhere in life because everything has to work around the addiction. So I also think this song is about how he didn't get to live his life exactly the way he wanted to. So it's not only about his drug and alcohol addiction but also how he felt that his life was unfulfilled.

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jreisfaria
04-17-2009

Rated 0 
Well, it was great to read your comments and the quotations, but this song brings to me a lot of memories of when I lived in a small town and I started to play guitar with my best friend. We discovered SRV with a blues band from our town and when I came back to this town some months after leaving it I met this friend and we have both agreed that "Life by the drop" was the most representative song of our youth. Everytime I listen to it, it reminds of me the days and the nights we have passed in our street corners playing some blues classics like "Hoochie Coochie Man", "The thrill is gone" and of course "Life by the drop".

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lindageraghty
06-12-2009

Rated 0 
with all due respect..I don't know if anyone got it right.... I think that it is very likely that he is speaking to his addiction in this song.. however .. i most definitely think that "life by the drop" is a play on "one day at a time" which is an "AA" motto. Perhaps it was easier to live life by the drop rather than by the day.... very difficult for an alcoholic to get through the day .. in particularly in that industry.. may have been easier to think of it by the drop .. rather than by the day.... Who knows.. at the end of the day it was evidently between Stevie and God .. and perhaps a few others who have remained anonymous. No matter what the meaning... the song is simple, yet timeless... the recipe for a classic!

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lindageraghty
06-12-2009

Rated 0 
with all due respect..I don't know if anyone got it right.... I think that it is very likely that he is speaking to his addiction in this song.. however .. i most definitely think that "life by the drop" is a play on "one day at a time" which is an "AA" motto. Perhaps it was easier to live life by the drop rather than by the day.... very difficult for an alcoholic to get through the day .. in particularly in that industry.. may have been easier to think of it by the drop .. rather than by the day.... Who knows.. at the end of the day it was evidently between Stevie and God .. and perhaps a few others who have remained anonymous. No matter what the meaning... the song is simple, yet timeless... the recipe for a classic!

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