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.
Truth
Jimmy LaFave Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Made Oklahoma in the driving rain
Midnight hour, Tulsa county line
J. J. Cale music in my mind
Ooo ooo weee
Come on listen to me
The truth will set you free
You stand there waiting in the red dirt night
I say, baby, won't you take me home
You say my type is always quick to roam
Wooo ooo weee
Come on listen to me
The truth will set you free
Spin the bottle, baby, lick your lips
Spin the bottle, baby, move your hips
Please excuse me while I help myself
It's up to me cause there ain't no one else
Oooo ooo weee
Come on listen to me
The truth will set you free
The lyrics of Jimmy LaFave's "Truth" are about a man who is travelling and happens to meet a woman in Oklahoma. The song begins with the singer recounting his journey to Oklahoma from Memphis on a blue night train, through the driving rain. As he approaches the Tulsa County line, he listens to J.J. Cale music, which serves as a backdrop to his encounter with someone he's attracted to. The lyrics then describe the singer's interaction with a woman he meets at a corner near where he first saw her. He wants her to take him home, but she expresses her reluctance. She tells him that he is not the type of man to settle down - he is always quick to roam.
The next part of the song talks about spinning a bottle and the woman licking her lips as she's encouraged to spin the bottle and move her hips. The singer of the song is interested in the woman and is trying to get her to go home with him. However, he is aware that ultimately, the decision is hers alone, and he's trying to convince her by speaking the truth. His final words in the song are "the truth will set you free," as he urges her to listen to his words. The overall theme of the song seems to center around the idea of telling the truth, no matter how hard it may be, and being true to oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
Went down to Memphis on a blue night train
I traveled to Memphis on a train during the night
Made Oklahoma in the driving rain
Despite the rain, I was able to reach Oklahoma
Midnight hour, Tulsa county line
It was midnight when I reached the county line of Tulsa
J. J. Cale music in my mind
I was listening to J.J. Cale's music in my head
Ooo ooo weee
Expressing excitement or enthusiasm
Come on listen to me
Asking someone to pay attention to what I'm saying
The truth will set you free
Honesty is important for personal freedom
You stand there waiting in the red dirt night
You're waiting in the dark red soil of the night
Just round the corner and a little to the right
My destination is close by, slightly to the right
I say, baby, won't you take me home
I asked my companion to take me home
You say my type is always quick to roam
My companion thinks I'm always eager to leave
Spin the bottle, baby, lick your lips
We played a game of spin the bottle, and my companion licked their lips
Spin the bottle, baby, move your hips
In the game, my companion was asked to move their hips
Please excuse me while I help myself
I ask for permission to do something on my own
It's up to me cause there ain't no one else
I'm responsible for myself because no one else is here
Contributed by Tyler I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.