The Top 10 Americana Songs of All Time: 7th = Jason Isbell “If We Were Vampires” (2017)

Four songs obtained the same number of points but have been split by the number of writers who voted for it. The same number of people (5) voted for this song as one other, but by virtue of the lower number of higher placings, is voted no 7 in our rundown

The higher placed of Jason Isbell’s two entrants, there was just one point between the two, and although no writer voted it no 1, it had a greater number of votes.  Isbell, by the time of the album, was on a roll with constant praise from critics for his incisive, honest lyrics and overall musical ability – it is sometimes forgotten that Isbell is a world-class guitarist and no slouch as a harmony singer. But with this song, he showed once again his stunning ability to capture the real essence of his meaning in just a phrase or line or two.   Andrew Frolish described it perfectly: “what makes this song so special is the way that Isbell manages to capture the most elusive of themes: our relationship with time. His words blend personal detail with the universal experience perfectly before the hard acknowledgement that, “Maybe time running out is a gift”. The most overwhelming idea in the song is, “It’s knowing that this can’t go on forever”. The words are simple and direct and truthful.

For any couple that has found themselves discussing the nature of their relationship or contemplating the contribution of one to the relationship’s essence, lines like “The fragile heart you protected foir so long / Or the mercy in your sense of right or wrong” or It’s not the way you talk me off the roof / Your questions like directions to the truth” hit home hard, and like the kiss-off line in Elephant, Isbell delivers another uncomfortable truth “But one day I’ll be gone / or one day you’ll be gone“, and ‘hope it isn’t me who’s left behind”