Album: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
Year: 2016
. . .
On his third album, Sturgill Simpson’s ambition burst into full bloom: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth was nothing less than a song cycle about a father explaining to his newborn how to exist on this crazy plane of existence.
And so it was an album of risks, as he expanded his musical palette to include rock, blues, and tons and tons of horn-inflected soul, throwing his big voice over big soundscapes. That said, one of the biggest risks was the Nirvana cover smack dab in the middle of the record. And not just a Nirvana cover, but a Nirvana cover that redirected, if not redefined the song’s original intent.
On Nevermind, “In Bloom” was the prescient second song, all massive Kurt Cobain power chords and Dave Grohl cymbal crashes, with lyrics making fun of all of the new fans Nirvana garnered through “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which of course was utterly impossible when you think about it, because there was no way he could possibly know, and yet there it all was on the chorus.
He’s the one who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he knows not what it means
Knows not what it means, and I sayHe’s the one who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he knows not what it means
Knows not what it means, and I say, “Yeah”
You know what it sounds like. You’ve heard it a zillion times before. As apparently, had Simpson, who thought “In Bloom,” perfectly summed up being a teenager, which is totally different that what I got from it, and that’s fantastic. So it was “a pure homage to Kurt.” And I theoretically disapprove of starting saod homage so incredibly quiet, it somehow works from the very start, as over a bass, rimshot and a pedal steel, he quietly — and I mean quietly — croons the opening verse:
Sell the kids for food
Weather changes moods
Spring is here again
Reproductive glands
And then he goes directly into the chorus, still calm as all fuck, but savoring every note of the lovely melody:
He’s the one who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he don’t know what it means
Don’t know what it means to love someone
Wait! What? “Don’t know what it means to love someone.” Where in the fuck did that come from? Is it a Bee Gees reference? Probably not, though there are some musical similarities between the later half of Simpson’s cover and the Bee Gees “To Love Somebody.” According to Simpson, it was simply a mistake: he thought “don’t know what it means to love someone” was the actual line, and was so mortified that he wrote a note to Cobain’s estate apologizing for this “mistake.”
And I say: what a happy accident. After all, when you come at the king, you best not miss, and while “In Bloom” isn’t the first (or hopefully) last successful Nirvana cover, when the horns and strings and guitar effects all come in in the middle creating a massive crescendo over which Sturgill Simpson sings that gorgeous melody climaxing with one last “to love someone,” it just might be the best.
Anyways, “In Bloom” was one of the reasons that A Sailor’s Guide to Earth was a certified smash: not only did it get universal critical acclaim, making many year-end best-of lists, it also made it to #1 on Billboard’s Rock, Country and Folk charts, as well as #3 on their overall Album charts, showing that Simpson’s blending of genres was definitely getting him somewhere. Oh, it also won the Grammy for best Country album that year.
“In Bloom” Official Music Video
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