"Jesus, Etc." by Wilco episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 9, 2022 · 53 MIN

"Jesus, Etc." by Wilco

from Strong Songs · host Kirk Hamilton

Few lyricists have Jeff Tweedy's ability to fluidly shift between plainspoken emotion and abstract imagery. The Wilco frontman has been writing beautiful, beguiling songs for more than three decades, and there is no way to pin down what any of them "means." There's only what they mean to you, right then, in the moment, as you listen to them. That's certainly true of "Jesus, Etc." one of many standout tracks off of Wilco's groundbreaking 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. On this episode, Kirk explores some of the writing and arrangement techniques that help make this song, and all of Tweedy's songs, so special.Lyrics by: Jeff TweedyMusic by: Jeff Tweedy and Jay BennettAlbum: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, 2001Listen/Buy via SongwhipAlso Featured/Discussed:"I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," "War on War," and "The Ashes of American Flags"  from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"She's a Jar" and "A Shot in the Arm" by Wilco from Summerteeth, 1999Audio from Jeff Tweedy's 2021 interview on The Ezra Klein ShowExcerpts from Tweedy's 2020 book How To Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us BackAudio of a pedal steel guitar demonstration by Steve Fishell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrbSL92Kz1YThis episode has been updated to better identify one of the chords in the chorus.OUTRO SOLOIST: Dan NervoThis episode's outro soloist is the fantastic Dan Nervo. Dan plays guitar in the San Francisco Bay Area in bands like Neon Velvet, and also teaches private guitar lessons. Hit him up if you want to get good at guitar: https://www.facebook.com/DanNervoGuitarLessons/--------------------SEPTEMBER 2022 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONSJay Swartz – Miriam Joy – Ronjan – Sean D. Winnie – Rush – Daniel Hannon-Barry – RR – Elliot Rosen – Ashley Hoag – Mark and Michelle – Donald Mackie – Melissa Osborne – Christopher Miller – Jamie White – Christopher McConnell – David Mascetti – Joshua Jarvis – Niko – Joe Laska – Ken Hirsh – Jez – Melanie Andrich – Jenness Gardner – Simon Cammell – Guinevere Boostrom – Narelle Horn – Bill Rosinger – Erin – Aidan Coughlan – Jeanneret Manning Family Four – Dave Sharpe – Sami Samhuri – AccessViolation – Ryan Torvik – Glenn – Jim Chokey – Andre Bremer – Mark Schechter – Dave FloreySEPTEMBER 2022 HALF-NOTE PATRONSJohn Bauman – Dax and Dane Huddleston – Martín Salías – Tim Howes – Steve Martino – Dr. Arthur A. Gray – Carolina – Gary Pierce – Matt Baxter – Giant Predatory Mollusk – Casey Faubion – Luigi Boccia – Rob Albright – E. Margaret Warton – Daniel Mosier – Catherine Clause – Owain Hunt – Renee Downing – Ken Is Wearing a Hat – Tony – Jordan Block – Aaron Wade – Chad Hivner – Travis Pollard – Jeff Ulm – Jamie – Deebs – Portland Eye Care – Adam Ray – Anupama Raghavan – Demetri Detsaridis – Carrie Schneider – Alenka Grealish – Anne Gerry – Richard Sneddon – David Judson – Julian Roleff – Janice Berry – Doreen Carlson – David McDarby – Abigail Duffield – Rapha David – Wendy Gilchrist – Lisa Turner – Paul Wayper – Dennis M. Edwards – Jeffrey Ferris – Bruno Gaeta – Kenneth Jungben – Adam Stofsky – Zak Remer – Rishi Sahay – Jason Reitman – Greg Burgess – Ailie Fraser – Von – Paul McGreal – Karen Arnold – Natalie Mistilis – Josh Singer – Phino DeLeon – Schloss Edward J., MD – Amy Lynn Thornsen – Adam W. – Kelli Brockington – Stephen Rawlings – Ben Machta – Victoria Yu – Kevin Rivers – Brad Clark – Michael J. Cunningham – Mark Boggs – Mino Capossela – Steve Paquin – Sarah – David Joske – Emma Sklar – Bernard Khoo – Robert Heuer – Matthew Golden – David Noah – Geraldine Butler – Richard Cambier – Madeleine Mader – Timothy Dougherty – Jason Pratt – Stewart Oak – Abbie Berg – Sam Norton – Doug Belew – Dermot Crowley – Achint Srivastava – Ryan Rairigh – Michael Berman – Olivia Bishop – John Gisselquist – Elaine Martin – Linda Duffy – Kouroth – Sharon Tree – Belinda McGrath-Steer – Liz Seger – Eoin de Burca – Kevin Potter – M. Shane Borders – Pete Simm – Susan Plein – Dallas Hockley – Jason Gerry – Nathan Gouwens – Will Dwyer – Alethea Lee – Lauren Reay – Eric Prestemon – Cookies250 – Damian Brady – Angela Livingstone – Jeffy Thanadros – David Friedman – Sarah Sulan – Diane Hughes – Kenneth Tiong – Jo Sutherland – Michael Casner – Derek Bender – Jen Small – Lowell Meyer – Etele Illes – Stephen Tsoneff – Lorenz Schwarz – Wen – Jack Sjogren – Geoff Golden – Robyn Fraser – Pascal Rueger – Randy Souza – JC – Clare Holberton – Diane Turner – Tom Coleman – Tijs Soete – Mark Perry – Dhu Wik – Mel – Eric Helm – Jake Roberts – Jonathan Daniels – Steven Maron – Michael Flaherty – Jarrod Schindler – Caro Field – Michael Bochner – Naomi Watson – David Cushman – Alexander – Chris K – Gavin Doig – Sam Fenn – Tanner Morton – AJ Schuster – Jennifer Bush – David Stroud – Amanda Furlotti – Andrew Baker – Matt Gaskell – Jules Bailey – Andrew Fair – Bill Thornton – Brian Amoebas – Brett Douville – Jeffrey Olson – Matt Betzel – Mueller – Nate from Kalamazoo – Melanie Stivers – Richard Toller – Alexander Polson – Earl Lozada – Jon O’Keefe – Justin McElroy – Arjun Sharma – James Johnson – Kevin Morrell – Kevin Pennyfeather – Emily Williams --------------------💃STRONG SONGS LIVE!🕺July 11, 2026 | Portland, ORBuy Tickets Here (Livestream Tix Now Available!)----LINKS-----💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!Patreon | One-Time Donation🏠 HOMEPAGE👚 MERCH💬 DISCORD SERVER📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG:Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music🎨 SHOW ART:Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics

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"Jesus, Etc." by Wilco

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This episode is 53 minutes long.

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This episode was published on September 9, 2022.

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Few lyricists have Jeff Tweedy's ability to fluidly shift between plainspoken emotion and abstract imagery. The Wilco frontman has been writing beautiful, beguiling songs for more than three decades, and there is no way to pin down what any of them...

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