The first time I really noticed "In a Razor Town" was when I saw the DBT documentary Secret to a Happy Ending. I bet you remember the scene. Near the end of the movie, after all the turmoil within the band had come to a head, we see Jason onstage at one of his first 400 Unit shows mournfully singing “Say your last goodbyes, make it short and sweet,” and then the song plays in the background as he walks off through the woods by himself talking about leaving the Truckers and splitting with Shonna. It’s such a glorious bummer of a moment in the movie, but the song - full of sorrow, blues, melancholy and soul - fits it to a T....there ain’t no way to fly, with her hanging on your feet...
Razor Town is on Jason's 2007 solo debut Sirens of the Ditch. It’s a sad story set in a dead end town about a guy and a girl in a dead end relationship. The song seems to be narrated by a third person who's talking to the guy, or it could be the guy talking to himself. He tells us the girl's had it rough and their relationship seems damaged beyond repair. You can feel the emptiness of the town. But the guy and girl cling to each other because neither has anyone else to turn to or anywhere else to go. The guy knows he should split before the girl and the razor town bleed him dry, but smart choices aren't always made and in the end we don’t know what he does.
Musically the song is spare – Jason plays guitar and dobro and sings while Shonna plays bass and sings backup. They are the only two listed in the credits. Imagine what it must’ve been like for the two of them to record it, to sing those last few verses together, with their separation and the band's situation hanging over them. I'd guess that some of the song has to be about their relationship but I don't really know.
Have a listen:
In concert, the 400 Unit fills the song out nicely with a more jangly guitar sound and some keyboards, and Jason adds some guitar flourishes and really sings the shit out if it. Here’s my favorite version of the song, from the 2010 show that was streamed from Third & Lindsley in Nashville:
http://www.threedimesdown.com/music/04% ... 20Town.mp3
(It's a bummer that this song has disappeared from Jason's post-Southeastern setlists).
In 2012 Jason stirred up a controversy when he tweeted (drunkenly) that country singer Dirks Bentley was a "douchebag" for "ripping off" the Razor Town melody on his hit song “Home.” The ensuing Isbell-Bentley twitter war made headlines and Jason reportedly followed through with a legal claim. According to a 2013 profile of Jason in the NY Times Magazine, Bentley was eventually absolved (legally at least) of plagiarizing the song. Legalities aside though, the question remains whether Dirk stole the song. Decide for yourself:
One final thought: Let's suppose Jason decided to write a sequel to "Razor Town" - about the same guy if he stuck it out in the small town but eventually split with the girl. What would it sound like?
She said, "It's none of my business but it breaks my heart." Dropped a dozen cheap roses in my shopping cart.
Here are the full lyrics to "In a Razor Town":
In a razor town
you take whoever you think you can keep around.
There's an echoed sound
that permeates the sidewalk where she shuffles 'round.
It's a big machine.
It used to be the avenue of changing dreams.
She's a lonely thing,
sweeping up the glitter while she pulls the strings.
Take a long last look
before she turns to stone
At what the last man took
and what was long, long gone.
The way it used to be...
I wasn't there to see it working properly.
Now it seems to me
both of you are suffering.
I've heard her say
that you're the only reason she's alive today.
I just turned away
thinking maybe she was right.
So say your last goodbye.
Make it short and sweet
There ain't no way to fly
with her hanging on your feet.
Let her go out if she wants to.
If she don't, go out yourself.
Don't take sorry for an answer
unless you really want what's left.
'Cause in a razor town
the only thing that matters tends to bring you down.
There's no way around,
but maybe you can barrel through
cause a razor ain't no good for you.