Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Glen
I too love Isbell, his writing, and the song "Elephant," but am not a fan of the F-bomb as a word in general (or what it means/how it's used). I understand exactly why he chose to use the word in the context of the song, but if I played it live, I wouldn't use the word. So maybe I wouldn't perform the song.
One of the main reasons for not using the word is because the song is about love and intimacy and loss and yet, some drunk idiot in a bar would tune out my performance entirely until hearing the F-bomb and then start screaming like I was playing the opening riff of "Free Bird." No thanks.
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My position is somewhat similar...
If a person is uncomfortable singing Jason's lyric as written, or if the audience would be offended, or behave in a juvenile fashion like you describe (and I've seen some crowds that would definitely do so) then the song shouldn't be performed, especially in a censored manner...I think an artist's intellectual work should be respected, and I've personally never heard anyone who was offended when Jason performed the song as written...
Jason Isbell has a pretty solid repertoire, and I believe a singer can easily find a good piece of his music to comfortably perform in any venue...