DRIVE BY TRUCKERS - THAT MAN I SHOT

There are few things that get my motor running more than a certain band that hails from Athens, Georgia - namely, THE DRIVE BY TRUCKERS. My not so mild obsession has been in relative hibernation as of late, however, with the arrival of their new record, "Brighter Than Creations Dark", that dropped last Tuesday, all bets are off the table.

That being said, it took me some time to warm up to the new songs. Though well crafted, many of them are not the "barn-burning-I-wanna-fuck-shit-up variety" that I love them for.

On my drive home from work yesterday I was patiently working my way through the album, and thinking, "oh, well, this is nice" or "I see they are on a bit of a country kick here". Then, track 12 rolled around, and WHOA! I fell in love all over again!

This is the track that revved my engine: "That Man I Shot". Perhaps it's an exaggeration, but to me it sounds like gasoline on fire. It's also rather relevant in this time of war...

mp3 codes | Drive-By Truckers MP3s

That man I shot, He was trying to kill me
He was trying to kill me He was trying to kill me
That man I shot I didn’t know him
I was just doing my job, maybe so was he

That man I shot, I was in his homeland
I was there to help him but he didn’t want me there
I did not hate him, I still don’t hate him
He was trying to kill me and I had to take him down

That man I shot, I still can see him
When I should be sleeping, tossing and turning
He’s looking at me, eyes looking through me
Break out in cold sweats when I see him standing there

That man I shot, shot not in anger
There’s no denying it was in self-defense
But when I close my eyes, I still can see him
I feel his last breath in the calm dead of night

That man I shot, He was trying to kill me
He was trying to kill me, He was trying to kill me
Sometimes I wonder if I should be there?
I hold my little ones until he disappears

I hold my little ones until he disappears
I hold my little ones until we disappear
And I’m not crazy or at least I never was
But there’s this big thing that can’t get rid of

That man I shot did he have little ones
That he was so proud of that he won’t see grow up?
Was walking down his street, maybe I was in his yard
Was trying to do good I just don’t understand

Whew! Intense, no? That one line in particular "I hold my little ones until he disappears" is like an uppercut.

PS - I still want to drink Jack Daniels with Patterson Hood and his fellow Truckers before I die. Let's make this happen!