John Moreland at Heartwood Soundstage
John Moreland brought his extensive catalog (nine studio albums) to a rapt, sold-out crowd at Gainesville’s Heartwood Soundstage, the perfect listening room for singer/songwriters. The Tulsa-based musician has a devoted following. His songs echo heartbreak, regret, toxic theology, and self-worth. Raised in an evangelical family, he learned the challenges of dealing with guilt at an early age, and many of his songs have religious references, and not all of them are positive. By far, though, his most productive area for song-mining is relationships.
You don’t come to see Moreland to get a lot of stage patter. His interaction with the audience is through his songs, and they have a lot to say. On this night he performed a solid 18 songs in a 90-minute set. Opening with a lost relationship reflected on his childhood (“God’s Medicine”), he moved to “White Flag,” a song about surrendering to a love that he knows is doomed.
Darling, won’t you be my ache to please
Or are you bundled up in bar light
Clinging to a prettier diseaseHere we go again
I’m just your white flag waving in the wind
Like I’ve always been
Several songs from one of his most popular album, 2015’s High on Tulsa Heat, followed, including “Cherokee,” a portrayal of the hopelessness of addiction.
I guess I’ve got a taste for poison
I’ve given up on ever being well
I keep mining the horizon
Digging for lies I’ve yet to tell
I wish you were here to softly say name
Calm down all the chemicals tearing through my brain
I don’t think I’ve missed you this much since I was seventeen
I’d call you in the morning but I think this is a dream
“Cleveland County Blues” is a wistful look at an off-the-rails love that he can’t deny.
My baby is a tornado
In the endless Oklahoma sky
Spinning devastation
And singing me a lullaby
And you’re wrecking all the rooftops
When April turns to May
It wouldn’t make a difference
If I could or couldn’t stay
I fall back into love
And look up and then you’re gone
But I still feel you storming in my bones
“3:59AM” explores his religious background and its impact on his relationships.
I got the guiltiest conscience
Listening for a savior on a Saturday night
I got my ear to the ground
You got Easter Sunday in your eyesAnd I apologize if I seem a little overwhelmed
I’m thirsty, but the holy keep on pissing in my well
I had a purpose and a song that was true
But I ain’t ever had a lick of sense when it comes to youSo try to be patient, try to understand
I’m a child, trying to do the work of a man
My pockets are empty, I don’t own a thing
But I’d take a diamond from the sky and put it in your ring
“Gospel” is another yearning plea for self-actualization.
I wanna be solid as the earth and cool like the night air
I wanna believe even though I know life don’t play fair
I wanna wear my heart on my sleeve but be tough when I have to
I wanna dust off the stars and hang them on the wall for you
“When the Fever Breaks” is a love song to his wife, visual artist Pearl Rachinsky.
The strongest will, the softest touch
I never thought l’d have so much
You call me out and rein me in
Riding through the rain again tonightHold my hand and ease my aches
Wake me up when my fever breaks
I’m laying down my soul, the answers that I can’t know
And the pain I thought I never would let go of
He ended the night with two of his most popular songs. “You Don’t Care For Me Enough to Cry” reflects the crushing pain of indifference, and “Break My Heart Sweetly,” is his signature song to my eyes: a song about longing for love and the despair of knowing it can never happen and hoping when it ends it will be less painful. This song was included in the soundtrack of the series “Yellowstone” in an emotional part of the show and was also what he chose to perform on the Steven Colbert show several years ago.
I swore the days were over
Of courting empty dreams
I worshipped at the altar
Of losing everything
You had a halo made of diamonds
Resting on your head
I should be dealing with my demons
But I’m dodging them instead
There’s a scar on my soul
So let me down easy
Break my heart sweetly
Like you always do
I guess I can’t let go
Til you wreck me completely
Break my heart sweetly
Drape me in blue
Moreland is a compelling storyteller. His husky vocals are perfectly suited to his songs, and his ability to document sorrow as well as yearning and self-reflection are masterful. My only disappointment in my first time seeing him live is that I felt I didn’t get to know much about him. I would have loved to hear him talk about the motivation for some of his songs, but I think in some ways it suits his music. Many years ago I saw Leonard Cohen, and he also just let his songs speak for him. And as different as they are, both can chronicle  the darker areas of their lives with insight and skill.
Set List
God’s Medicine
White Flag
Losing Sleep Tonight
Hang Me in the Tulsa County Stars
Cherokee
Old Wounds
Cleveland County Blues
Dim Little Light
Birds in the Ceiling
Blacklist
3:59 AM
Oh Julia
I Need You to Tell Me Who I Am
Blue Dream Carolina
Visitor
More You Say
Gospel
Sad Baptist Rain
When My Fever Breaks
You Don’t Care for Me Enough to Cry
Break My Heart Sweetly
John Moreland
Website
Tour
Heartwood Soundstage