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There is something profound in simple things. Something sweet and at the same time sad. Like the blues.
The moment comes when you find it tattooed on your skin. It's the blues that chooses you. And you realize you can't do without it.
It's when we don't build expectations that we leave our weak points exposed. And simple things have the ability and ease to get inside you and be pumped throughout your body, in the blink of an eye.
Warren Haynes has the blues in his blood. In his hoarse and passionate voice soaked in bourbon. But above all, in his six-string universe founded on sweat and dedication. His guitar talent is not a gift of providence, but the result of the sacrifice of years spent cultivating the harsh confederate lands.
And with his Gov't Mule, he delights us for some decades with a visceral rock that sets itself south of no north, mixing rock'n'roll with blues, country with soul, in the manner of the timeless Allman Brothers, of which he was a member for a long time.
His is a music with a good soul, straightforward like good wine, offering itself without compromises or interests. Warm and saturated sounds inlaid in mahogany, which paint the sensitive reality, where color comes before shape.
"Life Before Insanity" might not be their best album. It's simply one of the various honest and commendable works that this band has given us. From the gibsonian distortions of "Wandering Child" and "Bad Little Doggie," which seem to bleed out of the stereo, to the penetrating fills of the title track, everything flows naturally like an improvisation and without a real moment of faltering.
But Haynes and company mostly gift us some of the best ballads of their career, "Fallen Down" and "Tastes Like Wine" above all, songs born to thrill in the open air, and for which the four walls of a recording studio might feel a little tight. The live dimension remains the ideal stage for these rockers from another time.
In the end, the Mules allow a few too many minutes, in this as in other works. Almost a professional deformation for them. But as we know, these are people who don't hold back and always throw their hearts over the obstacle.
And this is the blues.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Wandering Child (06:07)
In a lonely dream a boy goes walking
Drowned in shame, drunken with emotion
He says his world is just an ocean
Says his poor heart too many times been broken
The bones in your closet
Once bore the skin of your fathers
Guess that means it's out of your hands
Or you're too tired, too tired to bother
Help me now, save the wandering child
Now that you're broken, who'll clean up this mess
Now that your vision is blinded, I guess
You say where do I fall, now that my strength is gone
And who do I tell, I've done nothing wrong
Float upon the river till the water runs still
Dive to the bottom-got to drink from the well
Till I find out who I am, till I find out who I am
Now that there's no one to show me
Help me now, save the wandering child
Help me now, save the wandering child
In a lonely dream a boy keeps walking
Drowned in shame, drunken with emotion
He says his kill-it is his crown
Says his angels are no longer looking down
A horse and a monkey, no kids and no wife
A hell of a way for a hero to spend his life
Time to unearth the worm
Let this bridge fall down and burn
Help me now, save the wandering child
Help me now, save the wandering child
Help me now, save the wandering child
Help me now, save the wandering child
03 Bad Little Doggie (03:50)
Come in with the sunrise, who knows where you go
Smellin' like something, I don't want to know
Your sister can't save you, she don't know what to do
Your bad behavior has finally caught up to you
Bad little doggie
Soul all tweeked out, life line thin
Loose little school girl, what a shape you're in
Blue violence, red rosaries
Roots of evil growing into trees
I'm through messin', time to learn your lesson
Bad little doggie
I'm through messin', time to learn your lesson
Bad little doggie
Come in with the sunrise, gone with the wind
Devil in your eyes, pocket full of sin
Fire can't melt you when your mind's made up
Ice can't cool you, naughty little pup
Bad little doggie
Bad little doggie
Bad little doggie
05 Fallen Down (07:00)
Bigelow the gigolo had no where else to go
His sad eyes had seen it all
Scarred and lonely, tough as nails
Open your heart when all else fails
Wear the veil and the trojan horse smile
Looking back on yesteryear
Seems like, maybe, you missed your calling
But hindsight is very clear when loneliness is falling
And you have fallen down, down from the heavens
Stuck out in the desert
Amazing grace - such a lonely place
For heroes like you and me
Fallen down, just like a shooting star
With no fallen angel standing by
To carry you away
Target practice with other people's lives
Hit a few right between the eyes
But, most of the time, you were wounded by the ricochet
You say “play to win, boys, never play to lose
Long as your playing, boy, you're bullet-proof”
But think about it - you're bleeding to death anyway
And you have fallen down, down from the heavens
Stuck out in the desert
Amazing grace - such a lonely place
For heroes like you and me
Fallen down, just like a shooting star
With no fallen angel standing by
Angel of mercy, take pity on a fool
That spent a lifetime wondering
What Napoleon would do
If he were in your shoes
Rich, without pleasure - respected without love
Drinking poison from a golden cup
While anger, brother of fear, creeps like a knife into your heart
Looking back on yesteryear
Seems like, maybe, you missed your calling
But hindsight is very clear when loneliness is falling
And destiny's through calling
And you have fallen down - fallen down
Amazing grace - it's such a lonely place
Oh yes it is
Fallen down
Fallen down
Fallen down
Fallen down
Fallen down
Fallen down
08 I Think You Know What I Mean (04:56)
He was a cowboy in an Indian bar
Not a real cowboy - but I think you know what I mean
She wasn't no movie star, but then again
She wasn't exactly green
He said -like it hot
She said -I like it on fire
He said -ready or not
She said -I'm ready, baby
Come on, I'm ready, baby, make me out a liar
And the walls exploded into a white smoke-screen
Well, not exactly - but I think you know what I mean
She was a country girl - never been no where
Straight from the woods - I think you know what I mean
Told her sister she was out of there
Next stop Hollywood - barely seventeen
And a voice said -Need a job
She cried -desperately
It whispered -bow your head
She said -Oh Lord,
I never thought that this could happen to me
And her spirit kind of floated away in a muddy slip stream
Well, not exactly - but, I think you know what I mean
He was a movie star turned president, not like Eisenhower or DeNiro
But, I think you know what I mean
Tried to convince us he was heaven sent
With that carny smile and a missile in his sleeve
He says -feed the poor- yeah, feed 'em to the lions
We're screaming -even up the score
He's screaming back, now, -we're number one, and we ain't even trying
And, now, ain't you proud to be part of the American dream
Well, not exactly - I think you know what I mean
I think you know what I mean
I think you know what I mean
10 No Need to Suffer (08:22)
Woman - suspended in time
Heal yourself - no need to stay blind
Spiral dreams - too much to bear
Spiraling who knows where
Let me take you down
No need to suffer anymore
Wrap yourself in the warmth of my arms
And we'll lie awake till sleep overtakes us
Can't you see
There's no need to suffer anymore
Defenseless, trapped in a cage
Blissfulness devoured by the rage
Fate's been cruel, though the years have been kind
You've go to heal yourself - no need to stay blind
Let me take you down
No need to suffer anymore
Wrap yourself in the warmth of my arms
And we'll laugh out loud while the earth dies screaming
Can't you see
There's no need to suffer anymore
And we'll fly away
And look down at the earth below
Fly away and we'll never look back
No, we'll never look back
Woman suspended in time
Heal yourself - no need to stay blind
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