For some of the truly talented, music is a powerful magnet, an elemental fo… Read Full Bio ↴For some of the truly talented, music is a powerful magnet, an elemental force of nature that cannot be denied. Or as country singer-songwriter Jacob Lyda puts it, “Music chose me. I didn’t choose it.”
He has created an album of truth, poetry and drama. Jacob Lyda sings country music like a modern master of the genre, and his songs command your attention in the same way that country classics do.
These instant classics have two things in common. First, Jacob wrote all of them. Second, they are sung by his world-class voice. Jacob Lyda’s richly textured honky-tonk vocal style stems directly from his background. This is an artist who was born to sing country music.
Merle Haggard, George Jones, Randy Travis, Keith Whitley and other hardcore country stylists formed the soundtrack of his youth. Jacob was raised in Jackson County in the northeast corner of Alabama. Glenn, his father, was a pipe fitter for the TVA. Annette, his mother, was a bank teller.
“I never did start out going, ‘Yeah, I want to play music.’ Nothing like that. I just did it. I was hoping somebody would discover me. I remember going to the record companies. I couldn’t even get past their secretaries. But I’d leave music with them.
“I was doing everything I could, but at times it still didn’t seem like I was getting anywhere. I felt like I was trapped. One thing that kept me going was being backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Whenever I was ready to pack it up and leave, I’d stand back there, and, man, that would charge my batteries up. It was like my healing. I’d think, ‘Man, I’m going to play on this stage one day.’ I still love the Opry. It means more to me than anything.”
Jacob Lyda had to make this music. Because it is a force that’s bigger than anything else in his life. Listen and believe.

Back in the Swing of Things
Jacob Lyda Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well I was really feeling down
I'd really been uptight
About to lose my mind
When I came in here tonight
Things have turned around
Since they turned the jukebox on
I laid my money down
And somebody played my song

And I'm back in the swing of things
An amazing change takes place
When I hear them twin fiddles play
Oh there's a difference of daylight
And dark in my heart over music
Chases my blues away
When those playboys are playing
I'm feeling no pain
I'm back in the swing of things
I'm back in the swing of things

Say would you like to dance
And join me in the fun
Here's your one big chance
'Cause the night is almost done
Girl can you believe
How good it makes you feel
I have to pinch myself sometimes
To find out if it's real

And I'm back in the swing of things
An amazing change takes place
When I hear them twin fiddles play
Oh there's a difference of daylight
And dark in my heart over music
Chases my blues away
When those playboys are playing
I'm feeling no pain
I'm back in the swing of things
I'm back in the swing of things

I'm back in the swing
I'm back in the swing of things

Overall Meaning

In "Back in the Swing of Things," Jacob Lyda sings of his experience coming out of a period of feeling down and out of sorts. He describes how he had been feeling uptight and about to lose his mind, but then something happened that turned things around for him. That something was the jukebox being turned on and his hearing the music that he loves. For Lyda, hearing the twin fiddles play is a transformative experience that chases away his blues and puts him back in the swing of things. He describes the feeling as an amazing change taking place, as if there is a difference of daylight and dark in his heart over music.

Lyda's lyrics also invite a partner to join him in his newfound sense of joy and lightness. He asks if the girl he's addressing would like to dance and join him in the fun, noting that the night is almost done. He marvels at the way that the music makes him feel and says that he has to pinch himself sometimes to see if it's real. Overall, "Back in the Swing of Things" paints a picture of the way that music can lift our spirits and transform our moods, bringing us out of dark moments and reminding us of life's joy and beauty.

Line by Line Meaning

Well I was really feeling down
I was feeling very sad and discouraged

I'd really been uptight
I had been very stressed and anxious

About to lose my mind
I felt like I was going crazy

When I came in here tonight
When I arrived at this place tonight

Things have turned around
Things have improved

Since they turned the jukebox on
Since the jukebox started playing music

I laid my money down
I inserted money into the jukebox to play a song

And somebody played my song
Someone played the song I wanted to hear

And I'm back in the swing of things
I feel happy and normal again

An amazing change takes place
A remarkable transformation occurs

When I hear them twin fiddles play
When I listen to the sound of twin fiddles playing