Something More Than Free

There are echoes of the Isbell-penned 2003 Drive by Truckers track "Outfit" in this song, particularly the line about loading boxes for someone else. Uncut magazine asked Isbell to what extent his songs about ordinary hardship is a gesture of thanks that he escaped that kind of work? He replied: "These songs are inspired by conversations with my father. He's worked very hard his whole life, as did his father and mother. I worked very hard myself, but there are obvious rewards to what I'm doing." "Dad's only reward is a family that is well taken care of, and that seems to be enough for him. Those stories are the ones that interest me the most: work as a service, as a labor of love in the truest sense."

Asked about the meaning of the song title by The Sun, Isbell replied: "Freedom is a means to the end. It can be the path to happiness, but it can also be enough rope by which to hang yourself. Once you've been granted the ability to make your own decisions, what then?"

The track tells the story of a blue-collar worker trying to ensure his family is well-supported. "It's a country song," Isbell told Rolling Stone Country. "Not in the way that country songs sound like modern rock songs or hip-hop right now, but it's got a country-sounding melody, and the images are about work and family."