Drive-By Truckers Decoration Day

[RicketyCricketz]

@dansquatch the song is based on a true story. I believe it happened near Florence,al. Ive seen the newspaper article about the trial.

[shadetreeslim]

who's Playing Bass?

[jaygray031280]

These boys know the South...know our stories.....God Bless 'Em for Singin' 'em

[mcmakev]

Saw Jason Isbell a couple months ago. I knew he could write songs and sing, but had no idea how strong a guitarist he is. It was a great show.

[mojo437]

Mike Cooley is the Honey Badger of rock.

[sattarasad]

4 people like justin bieber 

[Nimekasirika]

Don't fuck with the Lawsons.

[acedbt]

This was The Truckers in their prime. They've been going slowly down hill from here. They still bring it to the shows but the albums have been lacking.

[Frysian1972]

So, I am dutch. Can someone explain what this song is about (besides the obvious). I gather it is about his dead dad who used to be a hardass and that his family had a beef with another family and they used to kick each others ass,

and all.

But is there a history behind it all? I mean is it based on a true story or something?

[toterola451]

@Frysian1972, Decoration Day is another name for our holiday called Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a holiday to remember the survivors of the war dead. Sort of a complement to Veteran's Day (11th day/11th hour/11th month). Decoration Day in the Southern US is still celebrated as a day to decorate the graves of Confederate War dead. The significance of the song is, as I see it, the protagonist has been dragged into a feud between two families (his own, the Lawsons, and the Hills). My take on it.

[dansquatch]

@Frysian1972 I really don't know if it has a basis in reality. It does bring to mind the Hatfields and Mccoys though. I get that his father waged a feud/war with another family through his sons but never really himself. He pushed his sons through fear and violence ( A chain on my back and my ear to the floor) and got most of his boys and finally himself killed. The last son just lets the feud go and die with his father and leaves it behind him, or tries to since he sees it for what it was.

[Accipiter22]

@dansquatch What part makes you think the other sons killed? I'm just curious, never heard that interpretation before.

[Accipiter22]

@dansquatch Correction: What makes you think the other sons were killed in that feud, because he mentions them being spread out in a bunch of different places

[ektrules]

@haydenwce27 I appreciate it, and so do 153,000 people apparently :) Popular culture is, well not culture at all. It's all just superficial. The U.S. educational system has failed in the most crucial areas: Arts, Maths, Sciences, and History. This is mostly due to the culture not valuing education anymore. Dollars are the only thing our culture values anymore. And like Hendrix said, it's just a castle made of sand.

[scook71]

why classify just enjoy. great band with bad ass songs. nothing like a bonfire DBT and whiskey. sometimes u just get thef-ck down

[emancipateyourself]

sounds like some Neil Young, Tom Petty, n hell even a little bit of The Allman Bros.

[rustytylenda]

Great music. I think I might have missed them in my area.

[mojo437]

Mike Cooley is amazing.

[wwod123]

I've said it before & will continue to say it, this shit just kicks my ass - damn I love this band.

[Frysian1972]

Too bad I just recently found out about DBT.

(Just got into them during their last show in Amsterdam Paradiso).

I love the band as it is now but I would sure like to hear Jasons songs performed live too.

[RockArtss]

Love slide guitar part 2:49-3:50

[widespread27]

FUCK YEAH!!!!!! Gotta get to a show!!!

[sissyjanekjp]

Mike Cooley is a Bad Ass!!

[Frysian1972]

@sissyjanekjp He sure is!

I smoke + play guitar but to combine the two is only for the bad asses among us.

(I smoke better than I play guitar btw)

[rnldvaugh]

This is such a nice song, and i'm only listening to it because the music is good.

[MrChaseD6]

This band...hmm gotta be one of my favs. Its a damn shame these guys on every radio station or on music televison. instead we got cheesy music that is forced on the population because of mtv. i call that bullshit..DBT=great writers and great sound..keep on listening to good music people..

From a local musician who was born and raised in Zip City.

DBT thank you for your music.

MrChaseD6 1 minute ago

[jbrianhorton]

WTF dude?

How in the Hell am I supposed to write a great song when damn Isbell already wrote em all??

[dirtdart319]

Awesome song

[dirtdart319]

Awesome song

[acedbt]

This is and was a great band but creatively I'm afraid they're going down. Patterson has chose to release quanity of songs rather than quality. His new stuff just isn't cutting it for me. He has 2-3 good songs per album lately. Cooley is great but only a couple of songs on the last album. They will never top the era- of the band on this recording.

[fubar50cat]

sorry, guys, but this is a bar band, and a damn good one, but to the last of my knowledge, iggy pop, frank black, lou reed,and many others are still out there entertaining us, hell, even leonard cohen gives it a shot now and then, so all is not lost

[ttraynor1]

@fubar50cat Right on brutha. Neil Young, too. Oh--Ian Hunter.

[akadrummer74]

True emotion!!! True feeling!!! True heart!!! Love it!! 

[degree7]

Why bother listening to this southern rock pastiche when you can just take a spin to any Doobie Brothers album instead?

Puntz.

[digrug]

@degree7 fuck the doobie brothers

[degree7]

@digrug

All right then, the Allman Bros.

[shytownmofo]

@degree7

Because some people want to hear music that's current, by bands that are active entities on the music scene. The Doobie Brothers, Allman Brothers, and Skynyrd are all great bands, and may even be making music currently, but let's be honest, they're just shells of their former selves, and made their best music 30+ years ago. DBT has come up with some consistently awesome music that crosses genres for many years now, and are still doing it.

[degree7]

@shytownmofo

Oh yeah? Which modern band has made a better album than Let it Bleed?

[MrGrunge88]

@degree7 That's really a subjective question, but bands like the Truckers, Black Keys, Wilco, and My Morning Jacket have consistently released music that ranks with even best classic records. The only difference being that they are not nearly as high profile as the Stones were back in their day, and as a result, their songs are generally overlooked by the public at large.

[sleepyheadhead]

this is as real as it gets

[Jeffrywith1e]

Think this has a grunge feel to it.

[TooManySheeple]

This band should be selling records by the milllions. They are more emotional, honest and real than almost any other band in rock or country/rock. Like Steve Earle these guys make music darker than death metal and more relevant and true to life than any of their contemporaries. I love this band, they are a talent that has not gotten nearly the attention they deserve

[brianchylinski]

Dont worry about DBT. They are where they want to be!

"My daddy want afraid"-great stuff

[LtZarm]

@haydenwce27 you are wrong...the music scene is off the fuckin charts these days...indie, alt country, electronica are at an all time high...true talent is for those that can recognize it...if someone thinks DBT suck...well theyre fucking stupid...and if you think music is at an all time low...well your fucking stupid

ps- im fucking in...your fucking out

[ryan06105]

This song is incredible. Anyone know if it's a true story he's describing?

[TheLalalal25]

@ryan06105 yes it is a true story...

[crowezar]

@TheLalalal25 Care to provide more insight? I'm curious about this story also. Brilliant song.

[alisue18]

seriously, I could watch this a dozen times a day every freaking day. SO PERFECT. this version is better than the recorded one. 2:08-2:11 is absolutely amazing. Jason is the shit. period.

[oscarmike85]

They just aint the same without Isbell anymore

[smitty5006]

You know Cooley is a total badass when he doesn't need to put his Marlboro out to play haha

[55nick15]

where the hell is shonna?

[nkalesck]

one of the better bands of recent time, not enough people appreciate real music these days, with all the hip hop crap on the radio these days with no meaning behind their music. you can feel the pain and emotion behind the music.

[patchouliskye]

man i love this band!

[hokiejames]

great song- wow no shonna-- no beard on patterson--old school. I thought Jason and Shonna came in as a package deal.. 

[ethuhmastuh]

@hokiejames nah I think jason joined, their other bassist left so jason was like hey man. kick ass bassist wife right here.

[vVanDeVen]

This song fuckin salvation!

[cgcheyne]

LOVE IT!!!

[ReverieRobinson]

Southern white-boy soul music....

[finneyiss]

It's nice to find some music that still has some soul:)

[bigal5833]

Everybody in the band looks different now, but Cooley was still rocking the Cig lol

[driverain2]

thank god sombody saved southern pure rock in roll n blues...........

[dewittguero]

Damn!! This a pretty deep song!! And they tear-it-down!! DANDY!!!

[TheFrozenLads]

Was this early in his career? His singing in this particular performance seems rather unskilled.

[TheFrozenLads]

@TheFrozenLads Or maybe he just has a cold?

[jdwoods2008]

@TheFrozenLads

that was the whiskey talkin...

[maclennan73]

A great smart rock band making superb records in this difficult time and just released another cracker in 'The Big-To-Do', and on double vinyl too. Heavenly!

[igualteca77011]

this song caught my attention when i heard it on a tv show. i liked how slow and melodic it was. i didnt know who sung it but i am definetly happy i found out who the drive-by trucker band is...

[larsbrian82]

@igualteca77011 criminal minds? at the end of episode 11 in season 3...

[BrandonBangarang]

Whatever happend to the music scene? this is the shit right here. only a handful of good bands around anymore....

[kjac18]

I hate it took me this long to discover DBT, better late than never I guess.

[pudgethefish02]

I wish they'd given something better than country music to the proles.

[pudgethefish02]

Man, does that blow

[freshskweezer]

Fuck Lady GAGA and all those stupid mother fucking pop music hacks. This is MUSIC!!!

[jgodin312]

one of the best slide solos i've ever heard

[elmariachiterry]

dbt is up with the eagles, skynrd and tom petty as far as i'm concerned. i only wish i had known about them 10 years sooner. thats corporate radio. but hey, at least we got lincoln park right?

[luthierjustin1]

@elmariachiterry

Skynyrd

[elmariachiterry]

-1 sp

[CofNoisemakers]

damn Isbell gets it right every damned time........

[auralconcepts]

Saw them when they came through Augusta, Ga. a good while back. Great show! Jason was still with them, and I got to interview him for our radio station. Openers were Stewart and Winfield. Definitely check them out! Not quite as hard as DBT, but awesome nonetheless. The best "Y'allternative" group in Ga.

[upyoumortypants]

This is epic... how does it only have 62k views?

[toponoto27]

Damn, I'm glad that Mike changed his coiffeur since then XD

[mpr815]

Some of the best BDT songs are Isebell's. At the same time, alone and apart, as listeners, we get the best of both worlds!! Saw them both on there last pass thru MKE and..GOTDAMN they were good!

[bhussey00]

great tune fine songwriter

[JamKai]

Who else thinks Jason cut off his nose to spite his face by leaving the Truckers? I love his music and with the Truckers he had it all!

[harmsd]

DBT is my favorite band, but Jason had to go and do his own thing. So my answer to you is no. I don't think he did. I liked his first solo release better than the second. I firmly believe his third will skew back towards his DBT days. His first solo album was all recorded while he was a member of DBT. His second, was him trying to break away from that DBT sound. As I already said, I think his next album will be closer to what we grew to know and love when he was with DBT. JMHO

[JamKai]

You might be right and I have heard plenty of good stuff from Jason solo but I just got back from seeing DBT in Austin. As Im sure you all know they are absolutely amazing live but I missed hearing Jason's songs with them. Maybe it will work for him in the long run but it's a shame for both sides I think.

[6eeyore9]

now I know why son volt likes em

[coltboyd]

what a badass on the slide..

[shoot1988]

Every time I pick up my guitar, the first song I play is Dec. Day

[alisue18]

man i could watch this video a dozen times everyday...I love this song..jason isbell is so amazing on the guitar and man can he sing and write...i would kill to see him in concert! LOVE IT!

[alisue18]

@alisue18

[Kiter5Mom]

Ranger235- I found this from googling the Lyrics at the end of Criminal Minds, too. I have done it with a few others and think I need to start a Criminal Minds Playlist.

[tanlim09]

Same here. I got to know this great song from Criminal Minds.

:)

[bobjones864]

He was still a little green here. He's become a much better live singer since this was filmed. And he certainly has a better haircut!

This is still awesome though.

[mymrmojo]

I think he's shed a few pounds as well!

[bobjones864]

Yeah. He was a pudgy little thing when they first picked him up. Check on the photos on the inside cover of "Decoration Day." He's unrecognizable.

[Brookewf]

jason isbell is amazing!!!

[jtodd82004]

yea i have known about DBT for a long time and i freaked out when i heard it on criminal minds also.

[ranger235]

I'm kinda grossed out that I just found this band by googling the lyrics of a cool tune played in the background at the end of a "Criminal Minds" episode (yuh, I know). No matter tho - stunning lyrics and incredible slide.

[seether69420]

we still have decoration day in alabama....its just different families do them on different days

[korncubus80]

love the slide

[joegodsey]

me too ripromp  momma would say an unkept grave was a discrace .

[RoslynVA]

you're gonna have to catch Jason Isbell solo if you ever wanna hear this song live

[spyder130]

And his live versions are awesome--both the electric one he does with the 400 Unit and the acoustic version he does at solo shows, which feels almost like a completely different song.

[agricolaemontanae]

Epic.

[RutgerWilson]

great song

[Slapdash1]

I love the alliteration on the " till the last Lawson's last living day". Not only is it a great song, but it's also clever on the lingusitic side :)

[jfzepplin]

D B T is the best fuckin shit ever thar and zepplin

[Madigan101st]

youre right

[RipRomp]

Reminds me of going to decoration days in rural Alabama as a kid. Makes me nostalgic

[jgwheeler17]

call me an idiot, but what is decoration day?

[RipRomp]

Country churches had decoration days. Entire families showed up to churches/cemeteries where their kin folks were buried to "decorate" the graves (with flowers). Everybody brought food and it was like a big potluck. Nostalgic cause of all the family history that got brought up and meeting extended family members you didn't even know you had.

[neuromind81]

memorial day

[bigshouldersporter]

In the South, it was originally a day where families would decorate the graves of fallen Confederate soldiers. It eventually grew to include all soldiers and became known as Memorial Day.

[spyder130]

It actually includes all dead loved ones. The people who continue to call it Decoration Day are the ones who still use it to honor everyone. And Decoration Day is generally observed on Sunday rather than Monday.

[dcussery]

spyder130 is correct other than saying that those who call it 'decoration day' are so-n-so. no offense to anyone, but that's a term left to the 'greatest generation' and before. no one (hardly anyone under 55) uses it anymore. kinda like old white women referring to the colored section of town as 'the quarters'. not s'much these days....

[TheEmma86]

i've only heard it called decoration day. I'm 20 and we've been goin to NC since I was little to clean and decorate some of the family graves. I just kinda assumed that most everyone does it but I guess not. Interesting.

[rustedone1976]

ok i want to see the song with the DBT i love this song

[fantombiker]

This music will be heritage and an inheritance, no-one can touch the DBT...

[strychen]

This isn't the Drive-By Truckers... that's just Jason Isbell.... great fuckin' song though.

[swebbth]

Perhaps you missed the Stroker Ace's solo and Patterson with his awesome mustache....this is some vintage Truckers actions

[coner64]

Actually it is the drive-by truckers, jason isbell wrote this song but it was released on decoration day a dbt album.

[luckin11]

flat out, one of the best bands to come out in the last decade...and one of the best live shows i've ever seen. finally, a band with passion for their music and heritage, and who doesn't take themselves too seriously. gonna go see 'em at The Fillmore in 3 weeks; can't freakin' wait! long live the DBTs.

[porkinwitz]

"its decoration day, i have a mind to go and piss on his grave",.......awesome line

[Pmutley]

every time i listening you guys a grab my guitar and jam with´em

[Pmutley]

damn... must love southern rock

[blondiebrunettex3]

i don't like shonna with a beard?

[aggiejunior35]

Drive By Truckers will go down as one of the best 'Southern Rock' bands of all time. They have the heritage and the skill to surpass some great southern bands. I wish Isbell was still with them.

[dyl1991]

i was wary to even listen to DBT because im not a country fan.... i was pleasantly surpised lets just say

[patchouliskye]

DBT is awesome!!!! thank you

[tonyflow89]

Jason Isbell is singing on this one but he does sound like Patterson

[55nick15]

this is old! patterson doesnt have his beard and is playing the SG

[Hskiser]

earl hicks

[harmsd]

Can someone tell me who the Bass player is in this video? The only Bassist I've ever known for DBT is Shonna Tucker. But I only just found out about DBT 3 or 4 years ago.

TIA

[jaygray04]

Drive By's for real. I had a good friend who burned me a copy because he knew I loved southern rock.

One of the best gifts I've ever received.

[krkincaid]

these guys are the REAL THING

[zaaaaazzzzz]

The best band in the world

Patterson Hood is the Man

[llahadnama]

I have to agree with beckett929... I would have never heard of this band if they hadn't played this song at the end of a "Criminal Intents" show.

[beckett929]

by a huge margin the most underappreciated band on the planet...

[screamingpict]

Damn straight.

[seancoppinger]

too right! These guys can write, sing and play the ass off most more popular bands