Nov. 17 would have been Jeff Buckley’s 59th birthday. Born in 1966 in California, Buckley had grown up around music. Although he only met him once, his father, Tim Buckley, was a folk-rock musician who also experimented with psychedelia and funk. Buckley’s mother was a trained pianist, and his stepfather was a rock fan who actually introduced Buckley to many bands—KISS became one of his favorite bands at the time.
After high school, Buckley traveled to both Los Angeles and New York to further pursue a music career. In Los Angeles, he recorded the demo tape “Babylon Dungeon Sessions,” which included two of the songs that were later released in his album “Grace” called, “Eternal Life” and “Last Goodbye.”
In New York, he often performed at clubs in Manhattan–namely Sin-é–where he frequently covered artists like Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. He signed with Columbia Records in 1992 for a three-album deal, the first of which was “Grace.” The producer of the album was Andy Wallace, while Mick Grøndahl was Buckley’s bassist and Matt Johnson was his drummer. The album was released in 1994, and while touring, Buckley’s performances at the Bataclan were released as an EP. He started working on a second album with the musicians, called “My Sweetheart The Drunk.” However, after completing demos, Buckley wanted to continue working on it. In a tragic event, Buckley died by drowning in the Wolf River, and so the demos were released as “Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk.”
“Grace” is a raw and vulnerable album, showcasing not only Buckley’s vocals but also his versatility. The album was originally meant to have 10 tracks, but the 11th was added after Buckley’s death.
Track 1: “Mojo Pin”
Buckley did mention that this song was about a dream of a Black woman, but it’s also commonly perceived as being about addiction, perhaps to this woman’s love. The name itself, “Mojo Pin,” is a term that could be used to mean a heroin needle, which supports the idea of an addiction to love or even literal drugs. This song, like many others, includes lyrics of yearning:
“Don’t want to weep for you
Don’t want to know
I’m blind and tortured, the white horses flow
The memories fire
The rhythms fall slow
Black beauty, I love you so.”
The lyrics themselves show a raw yearning, but Buckley’s range of vocals brings the words to life.
Track 2: “Grace”
Personally, I feel that the song speaks on time, as well as death and life’s unfortunate moments. Buckley actually wrote this song after saying goodbye to his girlfriend at the airport, and spoke on how it is “an elegy; to no one, about… not fearing anything, anyone…any sling or arrow aimed at your heart by other people because there is somebody, finally, who loves you for real, and that you can achieve a real state of grace through somebody else’s love in you.” The lyrics are quite poetic and eloquently express the feeling of not really being scared to die when one has true love:
“Long enough for the clouds to fly me away
Well it’s my time coming, I’m not afraid, afraid to die
My fading voice sings of love.”
The idea of not being scared of death when you have love is rather clear in these lyrics, a theme that continues throughout the entire song. The song starts off quiet and delicate, but the instrumentals get a lot stronger as the song goes on, especially during the bridge.
Track 3: “Last Goodbye”
One of the songs recorded on Babylon Dungeon Sessions, it focuses on saying goodbye to a lover and leaving them, talking about the pain of it all, but realizing that maybe they weren’t really meant to be. This can be seen in the lyrics:
“This is our last embrace
Must I dream and always see your face?
Why can’t we overcome this wall?
Baby, maybe it’s just because I didn’t know you at all.”
Personally, I love how the song is a lot faster than many of his others, but it still brings emotions to life through the instrumentals and vocals, towards the end.
Track 4: “Lilac Wine”
This song was a cover, originally by James Shelton, but based on Nina Simone’s version of the song. Although no one has been able to decipher a clear meaning for the song, I believe it is about love making someone hazy with desire:
“Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, like my love
Listen to me, I cannot see clearly
Isn’t that she coming to me? Nearly here.”
I think this image of being hazy and uncertain yet perhaps in love is really emphasized by Buckley’s soft vocals for much of the song, only really getting stronger towards the end.
Track 5: “So Real”
Quite the opposite of the title, I found the song to be dreamlike with surreal lyrics:
“And I never stepped on the cracks ’cause I thought I’d hurt my mother
And I couldn’t awake from the nightmare, that sucked me in and pulled me under.”
Though taking it in a very literal sense, I find that mentioning the common childhood saying of “step on a crack, break your mama’s back” and putting it with this nightmare gives the song a fever dream feel, with a distorted guitar only adding to the vibe.
Track 6: “Hallelujah”
This song was another cover, originally by Leonard Cohen. However, Buckley based his version more on John Cale‘s rendition. This song attained a lot of fame, though much of it after Buckley’s death. The song itself perhaps talks about a failed love, heavily emphasizing religious allusions, seen in lyrics like:
“Well, your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you.”
This is a reference to King David and Bathsheba, his commander’s wife, who saw her bathing on the rooftop and called her into the palace, where they made love. It only uses electric guitar and vocals, which I feel like contribute to the emotional and intimate feel, without too many instruments in the back. It is extremely impressive how the song seemed so full, with one instrument and just Buckley’s vocals. It allows his vocals to shine and step away from the more rock and metal influences in his other songs, like “Eternal Life.”
Track 7: “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”
This is one of Buckley’s most popular songs, after gaining extreme popularity on TikTok, and for good reason. It starts off with a harmonium passage, which set the tone of the song—something ethereal and full of longing. The music also includes guitar, bass, drums, organ and strings. His vocals really do shine in this song, especially in the last chorus that almost serves as an extended chorus/outro.
It’s one of his songs that showcases the emotional intensity of his vocals and lyrics, as the song is definitely one for yearning and longing for a love that you can never really forget. This song includes some of my favorite lyrics from the entire album, including:
“It’s never over
All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter
It’s never over
She is the tear that hangs inside my soul forever.”
It’s easy to see the sheer longing behind these words, the pain of never really being able to move on and holding somebody in your soul forever. The way his voice grows stronger during this part, yet still being raw and emotional, is genuinely impressive. Despite being over six minutes long, the song does not become boring. It feels like every moment of it is interesting and is enjoyable to listen to.
Track 8: “Corpus Christi Carol”
Corpus christi is Latin for “Body of Christ,” and the song was a rendition of a 15th-century hymn. I think it emphasized Buckley’s vocals and showed off a new side of them, especially because he sang in a rather high, almost opera-like voice for much of the song.
Track 9: “Eternal Life”
This song is a lot angrier and louder than the rest of the album, and has its roots in more punk and alternative rock. It was actually inspired by Buckley’s anger towards the man who killed MLK, the Manson murders as well as World War 2. It has more of a societal commentary take than any of the other songs on the album, especially with lyrics like
“There’s no time for hatred, only questions
What is love?”
The song definitely has more of a social perspective, rather than many of his other songs that focus on feelings of longing or loss. It still holds true today, especially in a country with two very distinct political parties and many differing beliefs. Overall, I like how this song is more aggressive than some of his other songs, since it showcases his versatility.
Track 10: “Dream Brother”
This is one of the most overlooked songs on the album, which is quite unfortunate because I think it is extremely well-written and, again, showcases Buckley’s vocals beautifully. The song is about self-destruction and losing yourself, which can be seen through the poetic lyrics
“With your head in your hands and her kiss on the lips of another
Your eyes to the ground and the world spinning round forever
Asleep in the sand with the ocean washing over;”
I think it can really be seen how the song is about pain and losing yourself in negative feelings, letting that pain take over everything. This song is quieter, but leaning towards moody and edgy, which I think matches the darker-themed lyrics.
Track 11: “Forget Her”
This song was recorded for the album, but Buckley and the band did not want to release it. However, after he passed away, it was added onto the legacy edition of Grace, and shows up on the normal version of Grace on Spotify. I do quite like the song, and I feel like it has more of an angsty feel, rather than being soft.
“Grace” is one of my favorite albums of all time, which makes it even more tragic that Buckley was never able to finish all of the albums he had planned. Still, if “Grace” interests you, he has many song covers available on his Spotify. There are also documentaries to learn more about him.
Earlier this year, the film, “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary follows Buckley’s life and death, even including interviews with his family and friends. It is currently available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime.
