Drive-By Truckers “Little Bonnie”
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Drive-By Truckers‘ “Little Bonnie” (mp3) shares much in the way of thematics with The Decemberists’ marvelous “Leslie Anne Levine”, in that both songs relate mythic tales of girls who left too soon. Where Colin Meloy related a first-person narrative of innocence lost, told from beyond the grave with a typically Dickensian air, this song, which stands as the best representative of the forthcoming album’s title, moves the oft-told tale to the American South, and ties it to a quintesentially Southern notion of family by relating the story through the older brother of the deceased. It’s a stunning song, actually—the strained vocals and stately arrangements perfectly evoking a mood more than melancholy and a story elevated, like the best DBT songs (”Days of Graduation” from Southern Rock Opera immediately comes to mind) to the realm of legend.
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I’ve never been a big southern rock fan (maybe ’cause one of my roommates my freshman year kept Skynyrd on the turntable all the time — it was 1977, after all), so I was a hard sell on DBT. But after enough people I trust kept recommending them, I snagged “Alabama Ass-Whuppin’ ” on emusic.com.
I tried to listen and still didn’t get it. Then, I finally got to “The Living Bubba,” and it just blew me away. Truly an amazing song. Since then, I get it. Thanks for the taste.
Yeah, that’s what I love about DBT, is that they actively try to transcend a lot of the stereotypes ass’d with Southern Rock (which I grew up with), while boldly presenting them as legend.
nothing like the DBT’s… they have always been a staple especially when living in Florida and Texas.. southern rock ‘n roll will live forever!