Now Playing on the iPod: That's Where I'm From

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Thanks to his new album, Upland Stories, I'm on a major Robbie Fulks kick right now. That happens every time a favorite releases a new album. Last year, for instance, when Still was released, it was all Richard Thompson, all the time, for a couple of weeks. The same thing happened when Dale Watson's most recent album, Call Me Insane, came out. Earlier this year I was blasting Loretta Lynn in celebration of her superb new album Full Circle. After a few listens to the new album I put Robbie on "artist" play, so all 300-plus songs (that includes a number of concerts) play. And, just as I sat down to check on the latest discussions, the masterful "That's Where I'm From" played. I had to stop and listen and cry. This song always makes me cry. For a good dozen years I've told everyone that my favorite Robbie Fulks song is "Night Accident," from his 1998 album Let's Kill Saturday Night. Then, in 2013, Gone Away Backward was released, and "That's Where I'm From" kicked "Night Accident" out of the top spot. (I still think "Night Accident" is a better song, in terms of a story and composition, and my "holy grail" is to get Robbie to sing it one day live...even if it's only in a sound check.) Vacillating between autobiography and empathy, "That's Where I'm From" juxtaposes the life of an innocent, carefree childhood in the country to a successful life in the suburbs. It's heartbreaking and beautiful simultaneously. When I saw Robbie last week he didn't sing "That's Where I'm From," settling for only two songs from the previous album ("I'll Trade You Money for Wine" and "Long I Ride"). I hope it works its way back into the set list. It's a masterpiece, and I love to hear it live...even if I do cry during the entire song. That's Where I'm From Written by Robbie Fulks Recorded by Robbie Fulks From Gone Away Backward, 2013