Miss September – Greensky Bluegrass

“Miss September” by Greensky Bluegrass, from the album Shouted Written Down & Quoted, is one of my favorite tunes of all time. It has a laid-back vibe with killer instrumentation.

I believe I initially heard this song after being intrigued by the album cover. I love photography, and I really have no context for the picture, who took it, who the man is, but it grabbed my attention enough for me to check out the album. “Miss September” is the first track on the album, and after listening to it a few times, it quickly became one of my favorite bluegrass songs. After listening to it a lot of times, it became one of my favorite songs, period. Lyrically, I think this one could take on a couple of different meanings. For me, I take the lyrics as dealing with depression, due to various factors, with the final line of the last verse standing out a bit more to me: “Even in your dreams, you know your limits were real.” Wow. However, I don’t think this is really meant to be a dark or depressing song; I think it’s meant to be relatable. Everyone goes through stuff for varying lengths of time, and in the case of this song, the month of September.

Bluegrass players are generally outstanding musicians, and Greensky is no exception. Certainly more relaxed than Trampled By Turtles’ “Wait So Long”, however, the playing is still killer. I love how the one guy plays the dobro like a pedal steel, but still standing up.

Link to song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Yl5hvQgIs

Link to live performance – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cHIkckhFsU