All That You Need

Album: Streets of Sin (2003)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Joe Ely tends to write direct, honest songs with a strong sense of narrative. "All That You Need" adds a light political element to his usual formula. Ely explained to Barnes and Noble that "the whole song is something I've been wanting to write for a long time, because I've seen it happen in my immediate family."

    It describes the loss of a generational family farm, as narrated by the youngest son in the family. The story was based on an actual farm owned by Ely's uncle that was taken over by corporate agriculture.
  • Streets of Sin was Ely's first new material in six years when it released. Flavored with his usual brand of country-twang, he described it as "I don't have any idea if it's gonna get any airplay, but I feel I've done my job. I hope I caught a little of what's going on out there in the world from an everyday-man point of view."
  • Ely performed the song for Willie Nelson's "Farm Aid," an annual benefit concert held since 1985 to assist family-owned farms.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.