You guys ever listened to Shakey Graves?

He's a folk singer/songwriter from texas. To me, his voice and guitar skillz are the main event, but his writing is very good in an unassuming kind of way. I think my favorite lyrics of his are from his song "The Daily All", I'll give you a snippet: 

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Hello Molly, how goes the daily all?

Let's do some math right now
The momеnt is addition
A problem for the ages
Lеt's bomb the bridge downtown
So that I can earn a wedding
From your Alabama mamma

[Chorus]
I hope this letter don't reach your home
Yeah, I think I'm a perfect liar
My car is stolen and I'm on fire

---

I have this completely baseless theory that in the section of the chorus where he sings "car", he is avoiding using "heart". 

Another song I really enjoy is "If not for you", specifically the audiotree recording. This was one of the first songs that hooked me on his music. My favorite verses are: 

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Well, if all the lights said stop

And the oceans, they did drop

Well then I'd always feel so on top

If not for you

But as time went by

And the oceans they did rise

And I always felt so hypnotized

But not by you

---

I really like how this song feels hypnotic by the pace of the drums and how it connects to the image of being mesmerized by a person. 

The way I interpret the lyrics is that, in the first verse, he's talking about the past, when he was together with this person. The first line refers to traffic red lights, saying "if life told me to stop here (with you)", then I would take it as a sign. It could also be interpreted as a sign of something forbidden, meaning that he would derive pleasure from the idea that he should not be with this person. Then the image of the ocean dropping refers to a "safe moment", where life is giving him a pass, making it easy to have something with this person. Then the last two lines confirm this, he used to feel happy that multiple signs in his life where telling him to go for it, because "if not for you, then for who?". 

Then, in the second verse, we arrive at the present, after he has realized that what he felt wasn't for the person, but for other things sorrounding their relationship. First line is self-explanatory: "As time went by". Then he counters the image of the ocean level droping, by saying that now "the oceans did rise", meaning that things became difficult over time. Then the last two lines clarify that he realized it was never about this person, but other things that led him to be with her/him. He felt hypnotized, but thats not the same as consciously in love. He then goes deeper, saying that this hypnosis was not by the person, but by other, unnamed thing: "Not by you". Could be talking about a sense of responsibility, fear of loneliness, a superficial fascination with his partner, or the red light theory that what he truly liked was the dangerous allure of the forbidden. 

Anyway, enough rambling. If you ever wanna give it a listen, here's a list of other bangers by Shakey Graves: 

- House of Winston (album version)

- Business Lunch (Roll the Bones X album)

- Bully's Lament and Roll the Bones (Highly recommended as a start, audiotree version on yt)

- The Perfect Parts (also audiotree)

- Big Bad Wolf, Kids these Days and O' death (Deadstock album)

Aaaand that's it. Let me know if you like any of the songs.