• Track: Southside of Heaven
• Artist: Ryan Bingham
• Album: Mescalito
• Year: 2007

Lyrics:

When I die, Lord, won’t you put my soul up on a train
Won’t you send it southbound
Give it a cool blues-man name?
I’ve been lost on them back roads
So many times, I’ve gone blind
Losing faith in my family
Had driven me out of my damn mind

But on the south side of heaven
Won’t you take me home?
Cause I’ve been broke down for so long
And Lord, it’s getting cold

I’ve been a desperado in West Texas
For so long Lord, I need a change
For ten long years, this old place ain’t seen a drop of rain
And that wind blows every day, Lord, all like a desert snow
Like a lost bound train running on cocaine and outta control

But on the south side of heaven won’t you take me home?
‘Cause I’ve been broke down for so long, and Lord, it’s getting cold

And can’t you see that a breeze 
Nothin’ but a change in pace
Money can’t buy my soul,
‘Cause it comes from a hard earned place

Long down the Louisiana byways
Lonesome highways roll on
Won’t you take me where the poor man lives
It’s where I call my home
And can’t you see that a breeze, Nothin’ but a change in pace
Money can’t buy my soul, ’cause it comes from a hard earned place

But on the south side of heaven won’t you take me home
Cause I’ve been broke down for so long and Lord, it’s getting cold

West Texas-raised musician Ryan Bingham is a regular here at the Dances with Bass home offices. His music is gritty, road-weary, and powerful. On Southside of Heaven, Bingham’s emotion is so pure, you can taste the West Texas dirt blowing from your speakers, and the local Dances with Bass —er, research assistants—often chase tumbleweeds around the office when we’re grooving to Bingham’s.

At just 36, Bingham’s vocals sound as though they’re coming from an older, beaten down cowboy, and perhaps they are. Sadly, Bingham’s mother drank herself to death, and his father committed suicide, so he’s no stranger to heatbreak—and you can hear it in every lyric and in every chord.

Bingham has released five studio albums and one live album, and he earned a Grammy in 2009 for his song, The Weary Kind, from the movie, Crazy Heart. One of his tracks, Until I’m One With You, was the title track to FX’s The Bridge television series, which ran from 2013 to 2014.

Every track on Mescalito is pure gold, as are the remainder of his albums. For more upbeat tracks, check out Hard Times, Country Roads, and Bread and Water—the latter being a song that cries out for a long country road and a fast car.

Video:

Here is the official video for Southside of Heaven:

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