LaFave began school down the road from Wills Point in Mesquite and by Junior High was making music perched behind his Sears & Roebuck drum kit. It was in this landscape that he began to define his sound and soak up a combination of his experiences among authentic songwriters from the tradition of Woody Guthrie. Before leaving Oklahoma for Austin, Jimmy did some independent recording and toured the southwest with the first version of his band Night Tribe.
In an article published in The Austin Chronicle in April 2017, LaFave announced publicly that he was battling myxofibrosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that had been diagnosed one year earlier. After various treatments failed, doctors advised LaFave that there was nothing else the medical profession could provide. During the course of his illness leading up to this announcement, LaFave continued to perform – not cancelling even one show. In addition, he continued to record new songs that he hoped would add to his legacy.
At the time of the public announcement, The Austin Statesman announced that a concert to honor LaFave would be held at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on May 18, 2017. LaFave helped in the selection of friends and musicians who would perform that night. LaFave also selected charities that would benefit from a crowdfunding effort set up in his honor. A crowdfunding effort "Celebrating Jimmy LaFave" was set up via GoFundMe and received about $55,000 in donations.
LaFave died of cancer at his home in Austin, Texas, at the age of 61. His death came just three days after making an appearance at the Paramount Theater tribute show in Austin. According to The Austin Statesman: "A sold-out audience heard artists ranging from Austin artists including Eliza Gilkyson, Slaid Cleaves and Ruthie Foster, plus some from out-of-state including Nashville’s Gretchen Peters, Boston’s Ellis Paul and Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter Sarah Lee Guthrie, primarily playing songs that LaFave wrote or were part of his repertoire."
Within 24 hours, LaFave's death was reported in numerous newspapers throughout Texas and Oklahoma, in The New York Times and as far away as England, where he often performed
He moved to Austin in 1986, where he continued to write songs and to develop his musical ideas. Shortly after arriving he was asked to help launch the songwriter nights at the new performance venue Chicago House. In 1988 he recorded his self–produced tape, Highway Angels...Full Moon Rain, which won the Austin Chronicle Reader’s Poll Tape of the Year Award. This led to a recording contract with a small independent label and allowed LaFave the opportunity to work with Bob Johnston, producer of several of LaFave’s favorite albums including Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Nashville Skyline.
His second album, Highway Trance was released in 1994 followed by his third CD, Buffalo Return to the Plains, in 1995.
The grass roots demand and critical acclaim for LaFave’s music, which led to extensive touring in the United States and Europe, was recognized in 1996 when he was asked to tape a performance for the PBS musical series Austin City Limits, and was invited by Nora Guthrie to appear in Cleveland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to Woody Guthrie. That same year LaFave won his second consecutive Austin Music Award for Best Singer–Songwriter. His fourth CD, Road Novel, which was released in early 1997, received many glowing reviews. That year he was asked by Nora Guthrie to speak and perform at the induction of Woody Guthrie into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
In 2001, LaFave released Texoma, a celebration of the Americana spirit with a heartfelt valentine to the heartland. KGSR Program Director, Jody Denberg called it a “phenomenon.” Denberg said, “the phones lit up immediately after it was added to the playlist, and they stayed lit.” Since the release of Texoma, Jimmy combined his solo dates with the Woody Guthrie tribute tour titled “The Ribbon of Highway – Endless Skyway,” featuring a rotating cast of Americana musicians that has included such notables as Eliza Gilkyson, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Tom Russell and Slaid Cleaves. The two–disc live album Ribbon of Highway Endless Skyway is a collection of the tour’s live performances that features some of Jimmy’s interpretations of Woody Guthrie classics.
Encouraged by his friend, fellow Austin artist Eliza Gilkyson, LaFave signed with indie label Red House records, and in 2005 released Blue Nightfall. This stunningly soulful album was LaFave’s first in 4 years and won him much critical attention. LaFave’s album Cimarron Manifesto finds LaFave taking a more country road, with sweet and mournful songs about life and loss and special guest appearances by Carrie Rodriguez, Ruthie Foster and Kacy Crowley. Following the release of this album, LaFave toured across North America.
Don't Ask Me
Jimmy LaFave Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The universe called out my name
I woke up on a lonesome highway
That turned into a shady lane
Just what happened here
Don′t ask me
And now I wake up every morning
And tears of joy run down my face
Never feeling out of place
Just what happened here
Don't ask me
It′s not easy to understand
When your soul is on the line
And though I know it's long from over
Hey, I don't mind
I studied all the great religions
Found just one thing to be true
Between the words and grand illusion
Only love can pull you through
Just what happened here
Don′t ask me
I saw the light shine through my window
Ten times brighter than the sun
I heard a hundred billion life forms
Singing out as one
Just what happened here
Don′t ask me
In Jimmy LaFave's "Don't Ask Me," the singer describes his mysterious awakening to a new understanding of the universe and his place in it. The song begins with the singer waking up on a mysterious, "shady lane" after seeing a "light shine through my window" and the universe "calling out my name." The singer seems to have undergone a profound spiritual experience, as evidenced by the lines "tears of joy run down my face" and "never feeling out of place." The meaning of his experience eludes easy explanation, however, as he cautions his listener several times not to ask him what happened: "Just what happened here/Don't ask me."
The singer's perspective appears to have shifted dramatically, as he now understands that only "love can pull you through." He credits his newfound understanding to studying "all the great religions," as well as experiencing some sort of mystical vision, hearing "a hundred billion life forms/Singing out as one." The overall message of the song seems to be one of awe and wonder at the vastness and complexity of the universe, and the transformative power of love.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw a light shine through my window
I had a profound experience where I saw a bright light shining through my window, which I interpreted as a spiritual awakening or a call from the universe.
The universe called out my name
I felt a strong connection to the universe as if it recognized me personally and was trying to communicate something to me.
I woke up on a lonesome highway
That turned into a shady lane
After my spiritual experience, I found myself lost and alone but also surrounded by uncertainty and darkness.
Just what happened here
Don′t ask me
I can't explain or fully understand what I went through or how it changed me, but I know it was powerful and transformative.
And now I wake up every morning
And tears of joy run down my face
And now I wake up every morning
Never feeling out of place
Since my awakening, I have felt overwhelmed with happiness and acceptance, no longer feeling like an outsider or out of place.
It's not easy to understand
When your soul is on the line
Going through a spiritual transformation can be incredibly difficult and challenging as it can feel like your very soul is at stake.
And though I know it's long from over
Hey, I don't mind
I recognize that my spiritual journey is ongoing and may never truly end, but I am content with the progress I have made so far.
I studied all the great religions
Found just one thing to be true
Between the words and grand illusion
Only love can pull you through
After exploring various religions and philosophies, I have come to the conclusion that love is the only true guiding force and that all other belief systems are ultimately illusions or distractions.
I saw the light shine through my window
Ten times brighter than the sun
I heard a hundred billion life forms
Singing out as one
I had another profound spiritual experience where I felt connected to all life in the universe and sensed a collective harmony in existence.
Just what happened here
Don′t ask me
Again, I cannot fully explain or articulate what I went through, but I know that it was meaningful and had a profound impact on me.
Writer(s): Jimmy D La Fave
Contributed by Michael L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.