Jason Isbell Quotes

The good thing about songwriting is you don't have to delineate between what's true and what's fiction; records aren't put on the shelf that way. Books are, movies are, but records aren't.

As my life changes, it gives me new things to write about.

About Author

Michael Jason Isbell ( IZ-bəl; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. One of the most celebrated contemporary songwriters in his genre, his lyrics are defined by their raw emotional honesty. Isbell began his career as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. His first album with his backing band, The 400 Unit, was released in 2009.
In 2013, Isbell released his solo commercial breakthrough, Southeastern, which debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and appeared on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album also featured his signature song, "Cover Me Up", which won Song of the Year at the Americana Music Honors & Awards. He would later win the same award for songs such as "If We Were Vampires" and "24 Frames". Isbell has won six Grammy Awards out of seven nominations.
As an actor, Isbell has appeared in roles in the television series Squidbillies and Billions, as well as the films Deadwood: The Movie and Killers of the Flower Moon.
His most recent album with The 400 Unit, Weathervanes, was released in June 2023. His most recent solo album, Foxes in the Snow, was released in March 2025.

The world changes fast, and a lot of the old country folks have a hard time keeping up with it, and it makes them sad.

My wife is so very important to me that it's made my mom more important to me. It's made every woman I know more important to me.

Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to be able to really balance the parenting. It was very humbling, and it was also, um - terrifying. Be...

The idea of growing up in the South and being a man is an interesting thing; there's a lot masculinity involved, with hunting, fishing, and playing sports that rural people take pride in, but at the s...

If I could write rock & roll songs on purpose, I'd do it all the time. But most of what I write comes out slow and sad because that's most of what I listen to.

When I hear somebody like Hayes Carll write a song that's touching and poignant and sad and funny all at the same time, it motivates me to step my game up and try to figure out a way to get more diffe...

I've spent a lot of time in a rock n' roll band trying to fight off the fact that I was old enough to rent a car. And it's all sort of rushed in at once now. And I like it.

People love to be listened to and represented, and they love it when they feel like you have some of the same problems that they do. Everybody deals with things like romantic difficulties in relations...

I don't think I'd be happy if I were satisfied. I enjoy challenge, and I wouldn't say that I'm an ambitious person career-wise or financially, really. I would like to travel more comfortably, but that...

I didn't know what to expect when we first started touring behind 'Southeastern' because you don't want to lull anybody to sleep or lose their attention. But it's really been incredible how the crowds...

My wife and I both grew up with parents who were very young. Her mom was, I think, 17 or 18 when she was born; my mom was 15 when I was born. So, as we got older, we started thinking a lot about that...