Chords for Austin City Limits Interview with Sturgill Simpson

_ _ _ _ _ Sturgill, how was it for you out there tonight?
Your first time out on the ACL stage?
It went a lot quicker than I anticipated.
It did, it went quick for [Eb] us too.
We kind of looked down and was like, we got 20 minutes left, I couldn't believe it.
Just moving, cooking, it's a good time, it's a good [A] feeling.
_ _ _ What was it about your life [Db] and the way [D] you grew up and where you grew up
that made you want to do [Eb] this for a living? _ _ _ _ _
[Eb] _ _ _ _ I never _ [E] anticipated doing it for the rest of my life, honestly, until about five years ago.
_ _ _ I'd always done more as a hobbyist.
I had a lot of [F] friends, gave me grief, especially in my 20s,
[E] about playing out more [Eb] and things like that.
[F] _ _ _
_ [Em] I kind of got a big push [G] from my wife about five years [N] ago.
_ _ [E] Then we moved to Nashville and everything else just [Eb] sort of _ _ _ _ _ _ one thing [E] at a time.
_ I feel like I've clawed my way to the beginning. _ _
_ So was there a turning point though where you [Eb] suddenly started thinking,
_ wow, maybe I could actually do something with this?
_ [Ab] It's a night.
_ _ [E] _ _ _ Every [Gb] night for the last five or [F] six months, really. _
_ You walk out and [Eb] there's that reminder that this is _ [D] _ happening.
[E] _ _ _
_ _ It's good when you can go do anything you love for a living,
but [F] if you're playing [E] music, and then _ [F] I spent years in [Ab] clubs and bars,
like the thankless [F] side of it, so when you come and play and [E] there's actually people showing up,
_ _ they show up, they know all the words, [D] and they're really happy to see you.
_ [B] You can see that it's making them happy,
it [F] makes it a little easier to be [Eb] away from family _ for months at [N] a time. _ _
_ I can't really pinpoint _ [E] the direct transition,
but I think at some point around our tour last fall,
[F] we saw a huge [E] difference in _ what was waiting for us when we got _ [Eb] _ _ _ [E] _
_ home.
_ That's great. _
_ So you read a lot, don't you?
Oh, I can.
_ _ Maybe not so much time anymore.
I have to write a lot right now, so I don't get to read much.
That's been an important part of [E] your life.
[Eb] _ _ _
_ So what sorts of things have you read, and how has [Ab] that influenced your _ _ [D] _ _
writing?
That's [Db] a loaded question, I know. _ _ _
_ [F] _ I read all kinds of stuff. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Social, political, fun.
_ _ _ _ [E] I don't know.
[Eb] Metaphysical.
Everything from, yeah, _ metaphysical, sure.
Carl Sagan, Whitman.
[E] _ _ _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [E] Mostly just when I pick up a guitar and write a [F] song.
That's [E] just the only thing that comes out, is country.
_ As [Eb] far as what you write about, that's kind of up to_
_ _ [E] _ _
[F] _ Well, you know, to me the album wasn't really all that profound.
I was very surprised at the reaction.
We [F] just wrote a bunch of country songs.
Really, I was just trying to pay tribute in the title.
_ Sort of Ray Charles, and also just to kind of [Em] say,
you know, we weren't [Eb] taking this very _ seriously.
Because it has to be fun.
_ But it's such a serious thing.
But the record's kind of heavy.
I was kind [E] of surprised that all the critics _ responded the way they did.
But it's a good problem to have, and we're certainly _ _
[Eb] happy to have it.
_ _ Well, you say that, but unless this quote is not accurate,
I think you [F] described it as
a social [Eb] consciousness concept album disguised as a country record.
_ That makes it sound like it.
My wife calls it my last great _ existentialistic dilemma. _ _
_ But yeah, I'm ready for the next one.
So what was the process of making this record like?
Very fast.
Very fast.
We came off the road _ after like a five week [E] tour.
And _ _ [F] played _ a show in Nashville.
It was the last show.
And went into the studio the next day for about four days.
_ _ _ Just didn't really second guess anything.
_ We couldn't afford to, so there wasn't a lot of [E] indecision.
_ [B] _ Speaking of the guys, there's something about this band.
[Eb] _ _ _
_ There's a few things about this band.
Yeah, talk about these guys.
I'm just really lucky.
That drives a lot of what's going on on stage.
Absolutely. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ I'm just very fortunate.
They're all young, _ [E] extremely talented guys. _
_ [A] _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
[E] I don't know, at this point, there's a lot of cohesiveness.
It _ [F] _ [E] can go a lot of places. _
There's a certain element of danger.
Makes it fun for me every night. _
_ _ _ Today [Eb] we were nervous [F] about this.
And tomorrow we've got to go play at Stubbs.
We're nervous about that.
I look at the schedule more than two [E] weeks out,
I start to get anxiety about it.
_ All these things coming up.
Like, oh my God.
_ How are you going to go out and face whatever is waiting?
You [N] know. _ _ _ _ _
Well, it's been quite a ride so [G] far.
I think you've got a long ride ahead of [Gb] you.
So you might as well make the most of it and take one day at a time.
Yes, sir.
_ [E] _ _ It's worked so far.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _