Alvin M. Keeling 
Few would know now, but John Moreland’s Oklahoma origins began in punk and hardcore bands. He even released a few punk albums with his Black Gold Band, with Things I can’t control being a collaboration with legendary punk producer and guitarist Stephen Egerton (Descendents, All). Since those early days, however, he has proven to be one of Americana’s most heartbreaking writers. His five solo records are filled with moving odes to rural America, love and lost love.
Moreland cemented his reputation as a “musician’s musician” – meaning that even in case you haven’t heard his music yet, your favorite artists probably love Moreland’s work. During his solo career, he shared the stage with artists like Jason Isbell, Lucero and Patti Griffin, and he appeared on numerous festival posters with the best of the genre. Moreland’s music is generally acoustic, but he recruited a full band for his fourth solo album, Big Bad Luv, in 2017. This group included Griffin and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, as well as Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent of Shovels and Rope.
Looking through the entire catalog of Moreland, it can be easy to get lost in many sad songs. It’s what he does best, and he writes a lot of it. But while we’re focusing on his five solo records for this list, there are plenty of upbeat tracks included to get any listener hooked.
here is the bootit’s picks John Moreland’s ten best songs to date:
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ten
“Love is not an answer”
Excerpt from: “Big Bad Luv” (2017)
Moreland has a way of writing heartbreaking songs about loneliness and regret while sounding like something familiar that you can’t quite place. Here, with the inclusion of the organ, that something familiar is Jakob Dylan and The Wallflowers. “Love is Not an Answer” is a track that could have appeared on any of the latter’s albums without issue.
“I used to weigh the distance / I used to miss my bearings / I used to say ‘I love you’ / Then I wonder who I’m talking to”
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9
“American Flags in Black and White”
From: “High on the Tulsa Heat” (2015)
“American Flags in Black and White” is about how idyllic the past becomes as it recedes. The moments in time captured by photos remove a lot of context, and often that stillness feels like something it may never have been.
“And the things that made you feel so safe / Are only on a screen these days / And there’s a loser in every fight”
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8
“You don’t care enough about me to cry”
From: “High on the Tulsa Heat” (2015)
This piece of Raised on the Tulsa heat is to move on, but with hesitation that you have given more of yourself than you ever received. It’s codependency, and it’s reassurance that it wasn’t your fault.
“I dreamed I’d take you with me / And you’d say you forgive me / And we’d live an easy old song / Now where I’m unguarded / In memory of a splendid love / You lost the even mind to hurt me”
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7
“October East”
From: ‘LP5’ (2020)
“East October” was the first track Moreland shared from the 2020s. LP5. The song finds its account narrator with a new found independence and unsure of what life is like in this now unknown reality. “North Carolina in Eastern October” somehow both transformative and reflective, a place and time where the past feels good, but the future is filled with possibility.
“How am I going to get out of this?” / How will I be able to manage on my own? »
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6
“I’m learning to tell myself the truth”
From: ‘LP5’ (2020)
There’s a hollow, haunting piano part to this track unlike most anything Moreland has done. It feels like a call back to the past, but there’s optimism in its three-note progression. Someone important has drifted away and the narrator wants to reconnect. It’s not about rekindling something that’s gone, it’s about remembering the things that made that relationship important and finding hope in memory alone.
“And tell me when you look me in the eyes / Do you still see a soul you recognize? / These golden gods keep telling me their lies / But I just wanna be true / I just wanna love you”
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5
“Break My Heart Gently”
Excerpt from: “In the throes” (2013)
The narrator fought a crush because he can’t imagine anyone reciprocating. But he gives in now and asks for help. He chased the feeling before and it never worked. Yet he feels what he feels and pleads for compassion.
“There’s a scar on my soul / So let me down gently / Break my heart gently / Like you always do / Guess I can’t let go / Until you completely destroy me / Break my heart gently / Drape me in blue”
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4
“Sallisaw Blue”
Excerpt from: “Big Bad Luv” (2017)
The harmonica “Sallisaw Blue”, one of Moreland’s few catchy, catchy tunes, is reminiscent of Todd Snider, and the lyrics are the closest Moreland has ever come to a John Prine song. It’s a listless literal and figurative trek through America’s heartland.
“Sipping on cold medicine / Ruining our lives / Slummin’ I-40 with American songs / They can bury our bodies in American wrongs / It’s no use / God bless these blues / Let’s get destroyed, bruised and beaten .”
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3
“Gospel”
Excerpt from: “In the throes” (2013)
Visualizing the life you want can be liberating and hopeful. Getting there can often seem daunting, but seeing that other side allows for even fleeting optimism. “Gospel” sounds as hopeful as its lyrics, and even if only for a moment, Moreland allows listeners to catch their breath.
“I wanna set the fear on fire and give the dream a chance / And never give up whether anyone cares or not.”
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2
“No one cares about songs anymore”
Excerpt from: “In the throes” (2013)
Music is a volatile business, and often the path to success depends as much on the people you know as it does on talent. Surely there are plenty of incredibly talented songwriters around the world who thought “three chords and the truth” was the way to success, but Moreland wrote those lyrics far from Nashville in his home state of Oklahoma. Often the path to success looks very different miles away.
In 2016, Sadler Vaden of Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit covered this one for his self-titled second album. Vaden’s version reinvented the original with a little more glam rock angst, something that fits perfectly with his own album.
“One for the money / Four on the floor / You, we were born last week with your foot in the door / I heard the truth is what songs are for / Nobody cares about songs anymore. “
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1
“The heart is too heavy”
From: “High on the Tulsa Heat” (2015)
“Heart’s Too Heavy” is Moreland’s song that sounds like it would have felt most natural for mainstream country radio – the chord progressions, lyrical structure and pedal steel were perfect for a hit, if only someone cared more about the songs.
“And I pull demons from the long dark past / And the pain starts to pile up too fast / I can identify the minute I lost my buzz / I thought I was someone no one could love. “
