Jason Isbell’s “If We Were Vampires” is a quiet, resounding ballad off his critically-acclaimed sixth studio album “The Nashville Sound” released in 2017. The song is so affecting as it gives you a healthy dose of bittersweet reality about love that is encapsulated in a finite time and the beauty of this ephemerality. The lyrics were just like a poetic masterpiece painting a vivid image of the story.
Interestingly, Jason Isbell penned the song after his wife, singer-songwriter and fiddler Amanda Shires, told him to go write a song because he was due to come in the studio by Monday. He was watching Hoarders back then, and he turned off the TV, and he was just glad that he did. “If We Were Vampires” became one of the most successful Jason Isbell songs.
Isbell was joined in by his seasoned band 400 Unit and Amanda Shires, who provided harmony vocals. Isbell’s emotional vocal performance blended with Shires’ made the song even more moving. The track bagged them the Best American Roots Song at the 2018 Grammy Awards.
If We Were Vampires by Jason Isbell was accompanied by an animated video that featured cartoon versions of him and his wife. It was directed by Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Isbell shared that the directors did a really great job making the song’s theme flow in a beautiful animation and riding in the fine line between the literal and figurative interpretations.
Jason Isbell’s “If We Were Vampires” tackles love in its most honest form and something that all people who have loved can relate to. You can listen to the song in the video below.
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Jason Isbell