The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound

I’ve got a tune for everyone tonight from the New Jersey indie/alternative-rock band The Gaslight Anthem.  The tune is the title track from the group’s 2008 sophomore release The ’59 Sound.  The album would garner much critical acclaim and was featured on a number of “Best Album of 2008″ lists.  Much of the album’s success can be attributed to this particular track, which was ranked by Rolling Stone magazine at #62 on their 100 Best Songs of 2008.  Unfortunately this achievement is significantly diluted by the fact that Beyoncé holds the #1 position on this increasingly questionable list.

Well, I wonder which song they’re gonna play when we go.
I hope it’s something quiet and minor and peaceful and slow.
When we float out into the ether, into the Everlasting Arms,
I hope we don’t hear Marley’s chains we forged in life.
‘Cause the chains I been hearing now for most of my life.

Did you hear the ’59 Sound coming through on Grandmama’s radio?
Did you hear the rattling chains in the hospital walls?
Did you hear the old gospel choir when they came to carry you over?
Did you hear your favorite song one last time?

And I wonder were you scared when the metal hit the glass?
See, I was playing a show down the road
When your spirit left your body.
And they told me on the front lawn.
I’m sorry I couldn’t go,
But I still know the song and the words and her name and the reasons.
And I know ’cause we were kids and we used to hang.

[Chorus]

Young boys, young girls, ain’t supposed to die on a Saturday night.

[Chorus]