He had emerged in New York City's avant-garde club scene in the 1990s as one of the most remarkable musical artists of his generation, acclaimed by audiences, critics, and fellow musicians alike. His first commercial recording, the four-song EP Live At Sin-Γ©, was released in December 1993 on Columbia Records. The EP captured Buckley, accompanying himself on electric guitar, in a tiny coffeehouse in New York's East Village, the neighbourhood he'd made his home.
Buckley made his public singing dΓ©but at a tribute concert for his father called "Greetings from Tim Buckley". The event, produced by show business veteran Hal Willner, was held at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn on 26 April 1991.
By the time of the EP's release during the fall of 1993, Buckley had already entered the studio with Mick Grondahl (bass), Matt Johnson (drummer), and producer Andy Wallace and recorded seven original songs (including "Grace" and "Last Goodbye") and three covers (among them Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", Benjamin Britten's "Corpus Christi Carol") that comprised his debut album Grace. Guitarist Michael Tighe became a permanent member of Jeff Buckley's ensemble and went on to co-write and perform on Grace's "So Real" just prior to the release of the album.
In early 1994, not long after Live At Sin-Γ© appeared in stores, Jeff Buckley toured clubs, lounges, and coffeehouses in North America as a solo artist from January 15th to March 5th as well as in Europe from March 11th to 22th. Following extensive rehearsals in April to May of 1994, Buckley's "Peyote Radio Theatre Tour" found him on the road with his band from June 2nd to August 16th. His full-length full-band album, Grace, was released in the United States on August 23rd, 1994, the same day Buckley and band kicked off a European tour in Dublin, Ireland; the 1994 European Tour ran through September 22nd, with Buckley and band performing at the CMJ convention at New York's Supper Club on September 24. The group headed back into America's clublands for a Fall Tour lasting from October 19th until December 18th.
On New Year's Eve 1994-95, Buckley returned to Sin-Γ© to perform a solo set; on New Year's Day, he read an original poem at the annual St. Mark's Church Marathon Poetry Reading. Two weeks later, he and his band were back in Europe for gigs in Dublin, Bristol, and London before launching an extensive tour of Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and the United Kingdom which lasted from January 29th to March 5th. On April 13th 1995, it was announced that Jeff Buckley's Grace had earned him France's prestigious "Gran Prix International Du Disque -- Academie Charles CROS -- 1995"; an award given by a jury of producers, journalists, the president of France Culture, and music industry professionals, it had previously been given to Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Yves Montand, Georges Brassens, Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell, among other musical luminaries. France also awarded Buckley a gold record certification for Grace.
From March 5th through April 20th, Buckley and his band rehearsed for an American spring tour with gigs running from April 22th until June 2nd. From June through August, Jeff and company toured the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Switzerland. The band took off for Down Under to play six Australian shows between August 28th and September 6th, 1995. In November 1995, Buckley played two unannounced solo shows at Sin-Γ©. He performed songs including the new "Woke Up In A Strange Place" on Vin Scelsa's "Idiot's Delight" show on WXRK-FM on December 17 and celebrated New Year's Eve 1995-96 with performances at New York's Mercury Lounge and Sin-Γ©.
Jeff Buckley and his touring ensemble went back to Australia, where Grace had earned a gold record certification, for the "Hard Luck Tour," which ran from February 9th to March 1st of 1996. Drummer Matt Johnson left the group after the final Australian show. The posthumous album Mystery White Boy brings together some of the high points from Jeff's 1995-1996 live performances. The DVD/home video release Live In Chicago documents, in its entirety, Jeff's concert at The Cabaret Metro in Chicago on May 13th, 1995.
In May of '96, Jeff played four gigs as a bass player with Mind Science of the Mind, a side-project of Buckley's friend, Nathan Larson of Shudder To Think. In September Buckley played another unannounced solo gig at his old favorite haunt Sin-Γ©. December of 1996 found Jeff Buckley embarking on his "phantom solo tour"; designed to experiment with new songs in a live setting (as in his Sin-Γ© days), these unannounced solo gigs throughout the Northeast U.S. were played under a succession of aliases: the Crackrobats, Possessed By Elves, Father Demo, Smackrobiotic, the Halfspeeds, Crit Club, Topless America, Martha & the Nicotines, and A Puppet Show Named Julio.
At midnight on February 9th, 1997, Jeff Buckley debuted his new drummer, Parker Kindred, in a show at Arlene Grocery on New York's Lower East Side. He also played a couple of solo gigs in New York during the first months of 1997: a gig at the Daydream Cafe (featuring band members Mick Grondahl and Michael Tighe as "special guests") and a solo performance February 4th as part of the Knitting Factory's 10-Year Birthday Party.
Buckley and his band had recorded intermittently β with Tom Verlaine as producer β during Summer/Fall 1996 and early winter 1997 in New York and in February 1997 in Memphis. After the conclusion of those sessions, Jeff sent the band back to New York while, during March and April 1997, he remained in Memphis and continued to craft his work-in-progress, making various four-track home recordings of songs to present to his bandmates. Some of these were revisions of the songs recorded with Verlaine, some were brand new compositions, and some were surprising cover versions. The new lineup debuted Buckley's new songs at Barrister's in Memphis on February 12th and 13th. Beginning March 31st, Jeff began a series of regularly scheduled Monday night solo performances at Barrister's. His last show there was on Monday, May 26th, 1997.
Buckley passed away in a drowning accident in the Wolf River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, on May 29th, 1997. The night Buckley died, he was on his way to meet his band to begin three weeks of rehearsals for My Sweetheart, the Drunk; producer Andy Wallace, who'd helmed the boards on Grace, was to join them in Memphis in late June to record his new album.
In addition to his Columbia Records releases, Live At Sin-Γ© and Grace, Jeff Buckley has appeared as a guest artist on several other recordings. He can be heard singing "Jolly Street," a track on the Jazz Passengers 1994 album In Love. He contributed tenor vocals to "Taipan" and "D. Popylepis," two recordings on John Zorn's Cobra Live At The Knitting Factory (1995). On Rebecca Moore's Admiral Charcoal's Song, Buckley plays electric six-string bass on "If You Please Me," "Outdoor Elevator," and "Needle Men" (on which he also plays drums). He both plays guitar and sings backup vocals on Brenda Kahn's "Faith Salons," a key track on her Destination Anywhere album (released 1996). Patti Smith's critically acclaimed Gone Again album features Buckley adding "voice" to the song "Beneath the Southern Cross" and "essrage" (a small fretless Indian stringed instrument) to "Fireflies." On Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness, a various artists' spoken word tribute to beat poet Jack Kerouac, Jeff Buckley performed on "Angel Mine"; Jeff plays guitar, sitar, and mouth sax (adding words at the poem's conclusion) on the track. Buckley can be heard reading Edgar Allan Poe's "Ulallume - A Ballad," on Closed on Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (disc 2: The Devil's Brew) (Poems & Tales by Edgar Allan Poe) on Mouth Almighty/Mercury Records. He sang "I Want Someone Badly" (Epic) for Shudder To Think's soundtrack to First Love, Last Rites. Sandy Bell, a friend of Buckley's during his L.A. days, released the resurrected track "Hollywould" in 2000, which she co-wrote and recorded with Buckley.
An ardent enthusiast for a myriad of musical forms, Jeff Buckley was an early champion among young American musicians for the work of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the world's foremost Qawwali (the music of the Sufis) singer. Buckley conducted an extensive interview with Nusrat in Interview magazine (January 1996) and wrote the liner notes Nusrat's The Supreme Collection album, released on Mercator/Caroline records in August 1997. On May 9th, 2000, Columbia Records released Mystery White Boy, an album of live performances, and Live In Chicago, a full-length concert (available on DVD or VHS) recorded live at The Cabaret Metro in Chicago on May 13, 1995, in the middle of Jeff's "Mystery White Boy" tour.
Following the release of Grace on August 23rd, 1994, Jeff and his group spent much of 1994-1996 performing around the world on the Unknown, Mystery White Boy, and Hard Luck tours. Mystery White Boy brings together, for the first time, some of the high points of those shows. Produced by Michael Tighe (guitarist for Jeff's band throughout their international touring and the recording of Grace) and Mary Guibert (Jeff's mother) and Mystery White Boy provides an evocative cross-section of Jeff's repertoire: previously-unreleased Buckley compositions, electrifying live interpretations of songs from Grace, and obscure and marvelous cover choices. The recordings heard on Mystery White Boy have been hand-picked from scores of concert tapes by Mary Guibert and the members of Jeff's band who played such a large role in helping Jeff realize his musical vision.
According to Mary, the tracks on Mystery White Boy are "the individual performances that represented transcendent moments from each of the concerts we'd identified as being in the 'overall outstanding' category."
"It was obvious which performances were contenders for the record," concurs Michael Tighe, "and in some cases a performance would be so supreme and unpredictable that I knew it had to be brought to the public."
The posthumous album Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk was released in 1998 and included songs Buckley was working on while in Memphis for his upcoming release.
Tribute songs:
PJ Harvey - Memphis
Rufus Wainwright- Memphis Skyline
Mark Eitzel - To the Sea
Zita Swoon - Song for a Dead Singer
Amy Correia - Blind River Boy
Duncan Sheik - A Body Goes Down
Chris Cornell - Wave Goodbye
Katatonia - Nightmares by the Sea
Willie Nile - On the Road to Calvary
Rachael Sage - Grace
Aimee Mann - Just Like Anyone
Cocteau Twins - Rilkean Heart
Jim Major - Angels Fall (Song for Jeff Buckley)
A film about Buckley's life, a biopic called "Mystery White Boy", is currently in pre-production. Actors have not yet been cast, according to IMDB.
Mood Swing Whiskey
Jeff Buckley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drank it all in the morning
Waiting for the dark to move in
Sitting in my step-sister's kitchen
Horseflies on the window sill
Eyes trained on the lemon king
And wishing it were a gun
Trapped inside the heater
Spring water on the floor of this
Sex starved room
The nightmare's fires burn
The waves of bliss
I tried to stop it with my hand
I was lost in the kiss
With you
Mood swing whiskey
Your bliss, the actress,
Bliss, the assassin
Bliss, the abyss
Did a crazy shot of whiskey
In about zero to sixty
All I could see was the beer
I face the future with a drink in my right
Eyes to the sparkling gloom
Body naked, afraid, and amazed
Say boost me up to your junkyard paradise
Boost me up to your junkyard paradise
With a sweet-ass photo of you
She cheated, and she lied, and you stole her
Stung my tongue just like
Sweat from her shoulder
Ooh, mood swing whiskey
Your love, the destroyer
Love, the destroyer
Love, love...
Yes mood swing whiskey has my brain
Only you can break this chain
Are you here in my bed again
Can you hear my love again (x4)
Run down the subway station babe
I'm packing my rod
All and present histories erased
I am a punishing god
Mood swing whiskey
Yeah the leaves are made of
Messy things again
And I said this is all the headless acrobats
Faces crushed in the circus dust
All for the law of gravity
And the price of admission
Beautiful loser warm hearts have let you down
Beautiful loser warm hearts have left you
Oh no, you...
I think of mankind in quotation marks
Ever since I took a drink from you
This is for all the headless acrobats
Faces crushed in the circus dust
All in the name of gravity
And the price of admission
Beautiful loser while eyes have let you now
Beautiful loser while eyes have let you now
Cause you're beautiful
I think of mankind in quotation marks
Ever since I took a drink of you
In "Mood Swing Whiskey," Jeff Buckley sings about the intense emotions that come with a tumultuous relationship. The singer drinks heavily, and the alcohol seems to fuel his anger and confusion about the woman he loves. He describes feeling trapped by their wedding rings and the heat in the room, as well as the pain of being cheated on. The chorus repeats the phrase "mood swing whiskey," which serves as a metaphor for the ups and downs of the relationship. The song ends with the singer proclaiming himself a "punishing god," feeling powerful but also alone and disconnected from other people.
Throughout the song, Buckley's lyrics contain vivid and often surreal imagery that intensify the emotional landscape of the song. For instance, he describes "the lemon king" and its metamorphosis into a gun, which implies feelings of aggression and danger. He also refers to a "sex starved room," which suggests sexual longing and frustration. Additionally, the repeated image of headless acrobats crushed in circus dust adds a sense of poetic fatalism to the song.
Overall, "Mood Swing Whiskey" is a complex and enigmatic song that explores the dark side of desire and the ways in which intense emotions can be both exhilarating and destructive.
Line by Line Meaning
Mood swing whiskey
The catalyst behind the emotional turbulence being experienced
Drank it all in the morning
Consumed the aforementioned whiskey early in the day
Waiting for the dark to move in
Anticipating the arrival of nightfall
Sitting in my step-sister's kitchen
Positioned in his familial acquaintance's culinary space
Horseflies on the window sill
The presence of the unpleasant insects on the windowsill
Eyes trained on the lemon king
Gaze intently fixed onto a citrus fruit
And wishing it were a gun
Desiring for the fruit to transform into a firearm
I'm thinking of our wedding rings
Recollections of matrimonial bands previously exchanged
Trapped inside the heater
Restricted in the heating apparatus
Spring water on the floor of this
Limbs of liquid present on the flooring in this space
Sex starved room
The locale of prolonged abstinence from sexual acts
The nightmare's fires burn
The inferno of the unpleasant dream rages on
The waves of bliss
The undulating sensation of pleasure
I tried to stop it with my hand
Attempted to impede it manually
I was lost in the kiss
The embrace had entranced the singer
Your bliss, the actress,
The euphoria, now compared to a performer
Bliss, the assassin
The elation, now likened to a killer
Bliss, the abyss
The ecstasy, now identified as a chasm
Did a crazy shot of whiskey
Consumed an unusually potent measure of the spirit
In about zero to sixty
Almost immediately
All I could see was the beer
The only sight available is the malt beverage
I face the future with a drink in my right
Front the impending moments with an alcoholic beverage in the correspondent hand
Eyes to the sparkling gloom
Stare towards the glistening obscurity
Body naked, afraid, and amazed
Physique unclothed, fearful and astounded
Say boost me up to your junkyard paradise
Express desire to be elevated to a disheveled Eden
With a sweet-ass photo of you
Possessing a captivating image of you
She cheated, and she lied, and you stole her
She was unfaithful and deceptive, and you deprived her of something
Stung my tongue just like
Caused the same discomfort as a bite from
Sweat from her shoulder
The perspiration from her bodily joint
Your love, the destroyer
Your affection, the annihilation
Are you here in my bed again
Are you present beside me once more?
Can you hear my love again (x4)
Can you detect my adoration once more?
Run down the subway station babe
Hastily proceed toward the train terminal
I'm packing my rod
Preparing a personal firearm
All and present histories erased
Abliterated all notable and current records
I am a punishing god
Claiming responsibility for retribution
Yeah the leaves are made of
Affirming the components of the leaves
Messy things again
Chaotic components have once more arisen
And I said this is all the headless acrobats
Addressing the absent aerial performers
Faces crushed in the circus dust
Visage impacted and battered by the dirt of the circus floor
All for the law of gravity
All due to the principles dictated by gravity
And the price of admission
In addition to the cost of entrance
Beautiful loser warm hearts have let you down
Commiserating over being deceived by once-compassionate individuals
Beautiful loser warm hearts have left you
Acknowledging another previously-being deserted
I think of mankind in quotation marks
Regarding humanity with cynicism
Ever since I took a drink from you
Since the consumption of your liquid offering
Lyrics Β© Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: MICHAEL TIGHE, JEFF BUCKLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@LostSoulAscension
This version's Lyrics(interpreted by me):
Moodswing whiskey
Drink it all in the trailer
Waiting for the dark to move in
Sitting in my step sisters kitchen
Horse flies on the window sill
Eyes trained on the lemon peel
And wishing it were a gun
I'm thinking of my wedding ring
Trapped inside the heater
Spring water on the floor of this sex starved room.
Your nightmare falls around me
In waves of bliss
Tried to stop it with my hand, I was lost in a kiss with you,
Moodswing whiskey
Your bliss, the actress, bliss the assassin, bliss the abyss.
Took a sleezy shot of whiskey from zero to sixty,
All I could see was the bill.
I'm singin to a melody, with a drink in my right hand
Eyes sparkling flame and (can't hear)
Said buzz me up to your junkyard paradise.(2x)
Baby I need a sweet ass photo of you.
I cheated and I lied,
And you stole her;
Stung my tongue just like the sweat from her shoulder.
Ooh moodswing whiskey
You love the destroyer(3x)
Yes moodswing whiskey fuck my brain.
Only you could break this chain.
Lend me her in my bed again.
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah oh yeah.(4x)
Go down to the subway station packin a ride.
All unnecessary histories erased.
I am a punishing God,
Moodswing whiskey,
Your prodigal son has returned.
This is for all the headless acrobats,
Faces crushed in the circus dust.
All in the name of gravity and the price of admission.
Beautiful loser, while eyes have let'ch you know.(2x)
Cause youre beautiful,
I think of mankind in quotation marks.
Ever since I took a drink of you.
@LostSoulAscension
This version's Lyrics(interpreted by me):
Moodswing whiskey
Drink it all in the trailer
Waiting for the dark to move in
Sitting in my step sisters kitchen
Horse flies on the window sill
Eyes trained on the lemon peel
And wishing it were a gun
I'm thinking of my wedding ring
Trapped inside the heater
Spring water on the floor of this sex starved room.
Your nightmare falls around me
In waves of bliss
Tried to stop it with my hand, I was lost in a kiss with you,
Moodswing whiskey
Your bliss, the actress, bliss the assassin, bliss the abyss.
Took a sleezy shot of whiskey from zero to sixty,
All I could see was the bill.
I'm singin to a melody, with a drink in my right hand
Eyes sparkling flame and (can't hear)
Said buzz me up to your junkyard paradise.(2x)
Baby I need a sweet ass photo of you.
I cheated and I lied,
And you stole her;
Stung my tongue just like the sweat from her shoulder.
Ooh moodswing whiskey
You love the destroyer(3x)
Yes moodswing whiskey fuck my brain.
Only you could break this chain.
Lend me her in my bed again.
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah oh yeah.(4x)
Go down to the subway station packin a ride.
All unnecessary histories erased.
I am a punishing God,
Moodswing whiskey,
Your prodigal son has returned.
This is for all the headless acrobats,
Faces crushed in the circus dust.
All in the name of gravity and the price of admission.
Beautiful loser, while eyes have let'ch you know.(2x)
Cause youre beautiful,
I think of mankind in quotation marks.
Ever since I took a drink of you.
@WolfAtTheDoor28
The last line always gets me, "I think of mankind in quotation marks, ever since I took a drink of you." Utterly beautiful, I really love this song. He died a year after I was born,yet a feel really connected to him. Rest in peace, Jeff.
@jemmace2586
One of my favourite Jeff Buckley tunes, it's poetic and raw in angry and disgruntled way, very unique.
Your monicker... One of my favourite Radiohead song's, the best rap I've ever heard, and the drumming. Wow.
@DemonJohn97
This is an absolute masterpiece of a song. It's angry, poetic, mysterious, damn what a poet and artistic juggernaught Jeff was. I wonder if he would have wanted this on that second album. It's probably the Jeff track that has grown on me the most since I first heard it.
@finzband3767
Totally agree - this song both unnerves me and excites me
@Kyle-91
The Memphis demo version that was left off Sketches is incredible. The closest thing there is to a studio recording.
@snoozieboi
One of my top favs, might even be top 3 of his. So good it makes me not worry about dying, but worry about not hearing this song anymore and at the same time try to stay away from it as if I'd wear out the bliss one day.
@malikaaebischer2039
what a song ! what an artist ! can t stop listenning this piece of art...
@charlesscott7782
I cant stop singing it sometimes. tryin. :) Like most of his. :/
@malikaaebischer2039
+charles scott i can relate to what u said :D he was a poet and incredible guitatist with an angel's voice. oh and yes little bonus he was funny smart and handsome as hell. this guy win at the lotery for our biggest pleasure!
@sofianoiti
A masterpiece! We lost a genius. This song could have changed rock music forever. Big loss for the music world.