1
Here we sit
Across the table from each other
A thousand miles from both our mothers,
Barely old enough to rust
Here we sit
Pretending both our hearts are anchors
Taking candy from these strangers
Amidst the diesel and the dust
And here we sit
Singing words nobody taught us
Drinking fire, and spitting sawdust,
Trying to teach ourselves to breathe
We haven't yet,
But every chorus brings us closer
Every flyer and every poster
Gives a piece of what we need
And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back
Morning's rough
It don't give a damn about the mission
Has no aesthetic or tradition,
Only lessons never learned
And I'd had enough
About a month ago tomorrow
Parting holds no trace of sorrow
For the bitter and the burned
And the piss they call tequila even Waylon wouldn't drink
Well I'd rather sip this Listerine I packed
But I swear, we've never seen a better place to sit and think
God bless the busted ship that brings us back
And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back
Across the table from each other
A thousand miles from both our mothers,
Barely old enough to rust
Here we sit
Pretending both our hearts are anchors
Taking candy from these strangers
Amidst the diesel and the dust
And here we sit
Singing words nobody taught us
Drinking fire, and spitting sawdust,
Trying to teach ourselves to breathe
We haven't yet,
But every chorus brings us closer
Every flyer and every poster
Gives a piece of what we need
And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back
Morning's rough
It don't give a damn about the mission
Has no aesthetic or tradition,
Only lessons never learned
And I'd had enough
About a month ago tomorrow
Parting holds no trace of sorrow
For the bitter and the burned
And the piss they call tequila even Waylon wouldn't drink
Well I'd rather sip this Listerine I packed
But I swear, we've never seen a better place to sit and think
God bless the busted ship that brings us back
And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by emergingsynergy
New South Wales Lyrics as written by Jason Isbell
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Yea so I'm on my lunch break, been listening to this snuck a google search for "New South Break" when my employers weren't looking.
I think he's referring to the colonization of New South Wales but it's weird because he mentions listerine (not sure if it was around then). Also don't know if the indigenous drank tequila but maybe they drank shitty liquor or maybe that's what was imported.
But the listerine who knows he could have a meaning maybe so maybe not.
@bkabbott Uh, hell-o. The song is most certainly NOT about the colonization of Australia! It IS about a tour of Australia that he did with the late great Justin Townes Earle. It was back in the days of JIs booze and dope addiction (and JTE was if anything worse) and in the song he mentions that the coke was crap and way overpriced and the tequila was so bad that even legendary hell raiser Waylon Jennings wouldn't drink it. It is really a touring dialogue, and of wanting to get back home. But all the shit he and JTE went thru on the tour is redeemed by the last verse "but I swear the land it listened to the stories that we told/God bless the busted boat that brings us back." C'mon man, why in Gods green earth would Jason write a song about colonization of a country 10,000 miles from his Alabama Pines?"