Blackberry Smoke has put out some bangers and twangers over the past 20 years, and there’s no denying that.
The Atlanta, Georgia based southern rock band is still as good as ever, and they proved with their You Hear Georgia album last year, they’re one of the premiere southern rock bands in the world.
With that being said, one specific song from the album comes to mind every single time…
And that song is “Lonesome for a Livin’.”
Yes, the fact the song has a feature from the great Jamey Johnson on it is a major plus, but that gorgeous steel, along with the soothing vocals of lead singer Charlie Starr, bind together for the ideal honky-tonkin’ good ol’ sad country song.
It’s about a man who reflects on the sad moments of his life, and how he’s gotten so good at heartbreak over the years, he might as well make it his full-time job.
The chorus speaks for itself:
Yeah, the blues have been my old boss man
And lovesick, it knows me by name
You could say I was lonesome for a livin’
And heartache is my claim to fame
And now, we have a music video to go along with it.
The band weighed in on the video, while also reflecting on how Charlie decided to write the song as inspiration after meeting George Jones:
“A few years ago we went in the studio with Jamey Johnson and George Jones and recorded a version of ‘Yesterday’s Wine.’ Shortly after that, Charlie was so moved meeting George he wrote a somewhat autobiographical song for him called ‘Lonesome For A Livin’.’
As much as George loved the song and although he wanted to, he never got the chance to record it as he passed away.
Fast forward a few years, we were with Jamey at a show together and Charlie played him this song, we decided that night we should cut it together, for George.
Dave Cobb loved the story, so we included it on our last album, You Hear Georgia. We miss ya possum! This one is for George!”
Check it out: