Dress Blues

Album: Jekyll + Hyde (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This woeful, poignant tune was written by Jason Isbell as a tribute to a former schoolmate who was killed in the line of duty during the Iraq War. "I was coming off a tour with the [Drive By] Truckers, and I called my mom, and she told me about his funeral, which she'd attended that day," Isbell recalled. "When I got home, I wrote 'Dress Blues' in [the] time it takes to write it down on a piece of paper. I already had the chord progression from a song [I'd] been working on about Mickey Rooney, of all things. The song just fit that tune."

    Isbell's original version can be found on his 2007 Sirens of the Ditch album.
  • Zac Brown Band covered the song for their Jekyll + Hyde album. Their version received its TV premiere on March 30, 2015, during the band's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
  • Zac Brown explained to Country Countdown USA's Lon Helton why they covered the tune. "Every record we do, we do one song we didn't write," he said. "This is that song. It was written by Jason Isbell, it was on a record he did 10 years ago, and it floored me. I just wanted to show the world this song, do it our way, and I arranged a version of 'Taps' in the middle of the song. I've been to military funerals, and when they played 'Taps,' it just killed me."

    "This song is about a young soldier who got blown up by an IED, and he's going home in his dress blues," Brown continued. "Just the way this song is written, how American it is, is incredible."
  • Alaska-born singer-songwriter Jewel contributed harmony vocals to the song.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Randy Houser

Randy HouserSongwriter Interviews

The "How Country Feels" singer talks Skynyrd and songwriting.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Krishna Das

Krishna DasSongwriter Interviews

The top chant artist in the Western world, Krishna Das talks about how these Hindu mantras compare to Christian worship songs.

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?

What Musicians Are Related to Other Musicians?Song Writing

A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.