“Death Wish”
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
Written by Jason Isbell
Jason Isbell’s singular gift as a songwriter is his ability to make even the broadest of concepts– the idea of “getting above your raising” on “Outfit,” for instance, or the loneliness of dying on “Elephant”– feel intimate through the use of specific details. Because his songs are grounded, above all else, in a deep empathy, that specificity doesn’t work against them: “Cover Me Up” resonates far beyond the floodplain of Percy Priest lake, and “Dress Blues” is still devastating for those who didn’t know Marine Cpl. Matthew Conley.
“Death Wish,” the lead single from the forthcoming Weathervanes, is perhaps the first song of Isbell’s career that seems to lack a point of entry. “Did you ever love a woman with a death wish?” he asks on the opening line, and I’m left wondering what the emotional impact is for listeners whose answer is, “Nope.”
Here, the details he provides don’t make the narrative any more accessible. “Oh, and did you ever catch her climbing on the rooftop / Higher than a kite, dead of winter in a tank top?” he continues on the song’s chorus. It’s a well-crafted couplet and a distinctive image, to be sure, but the impact of the song hinges entirely on how interesting any given listener might find this exact story, rather than on how applicable the story might be to their own experiences. Isbell rarely writes his lyrics in the second-person, and it ultimately works against him to invite “you” into this particular song.
If that criticism seems nit-picky, it’s a direct result of the standards Isbell has set not only for himself but for the whole of his generation of country and country-adjacent songwriters. “Death Wish” is fine. But the artist who has so often set the curve for his contemporaries gets graded on that same curve. To that end, “Death Wish” is at least something of a disappointment from a songwriting perspective.
More encouraging, at least, is the depth of the single’s production. Parting with Dave Cobb for this project, Isbell takes the reins for himself, and he shows sharp instincts for the mixing. The 400 Unit’s lead guitarist, the great Sadler Vaden, gets ample room to show off. Isbell self-identifies as a rock-n-roll act, and “Death Wish” is the first of his studio recordings that truly captures the sound and breakneck energy of just how good he and The 400 Unit are live. That alone is reason to be excited for what Weathervanes has in store, even if “Death Wish” is an underwhelming first impression.
Grade: B
While this song is about dealing with addiction, it perfectly captures the helplessness felt by anyone who has had to deal with a loved one’s mental illness. It is way more accessible than you give it credit for.
Glad to hear that the song resonated for you, CJ. I’ve had a lot of experience dealing with loved ones who have trauma and mental illness, and the song still did not connect for me at all.
It hit me right between the eyes.
As a woman who has had serious periods of suicidal thoughts, I found this song extremely upsetting. It’s just another man romanticizing women’s mental illnesses and making the woman’s painful struggle all about himself. It’s all about his inability to help her – his feelings of guilt and helplessness. WTF. There is nothing of any other substance in this song. The suicidal woman is just a tool to show his own need to be a savior. I can’t stand it. I don’t think I have ever hated a song more.
I’ve been one the other side of this with a man many years ago. The bullet didn’t kill him. This song hits.
Imagine someone giving their perspective on the matter and sharing their pain… Are you actually trying to silence and erase the loved ones who have to go through this? Yikes.
this song is hilarious and so delightfully horrible
What I’m having trouble understanding is why he switches back and forth between singing to “you” the listener and “you” the girl