About the Song

Track: Wasted and Rollin’

Length: 3:52

Album: Down Fell the Doves (2013)

Artist: Amanda Shires

Songwriter: Amanda Shires

Favorite part: 

“Holding onto you holding onto me,

Like the sidewalk was a tightrope

Or highwire”

©℗ 2013 Amanda Shires

Here’s Why I Love It

One of the things I admire most about Shires (in general) is her ability to use cadence and timing really, really well. This song serves as a perfect example. It’s delicate and subtle, yet amplified in all the right ways. Plus, the melody is just so soothing. I guess, in a funny way, it pairs well with the word “rollin’.” It has a very rolling-along-like quality to it. I’ve loved this song since the first time I heard it.

Although it’s impossible to ascribe intent, the lyrics seem to be pretty straightforward. They’re a trippy yet smooth take on fun love. Possibly youthful, although it doesn’t have to be. It’s hard not to recognize the direct references to psychedelics, but I’m fairly certain that whether or not you’ve actually used psychedelics, you can still envision that long walk together. The one I think of each time I listen to this song. You’ll hear it. There you are, stumbling or falling, interlocked arm in arm with someone else and seeing things that aren’t there while life is spinning around you. And when you look at each other, rather than kiss or something cliche, you just laugh and keep on walking along. Maybe your version is different. I guess you’ll have to listen to the song to find out.

There was no lyric video on YouTube, but the link below is to a live performance with Jason Isbell (her husband, who’s already made an appearance on Lyrics I Love.) It’s slightly different from the original, which is the one I fell in love with, but the Isbell harmony and guitar solo are boosted a bit in the linked version. It’s sort of a cool addition. The actual lyrics are linked here.

Listen to song and read the lyrics for full effect.

Don’t forget to listen to the Lyrics I Love playlist on Spotify. A new song is added with each edition!

*This article is part of the ongoing Lyrics I Love series: short interpretations of the meaning and story behind one song with lyrics that move me.