It is not entirely clear when Songs: Ohia became Magnolia Electric Co. In interviews, Jason Molina has claimed that he considered the tenure of Songs: Ohia over after Didn't It Rain, which would make Magnolia Electric Co. the eponymous debut album of the new band. In fact the name Songs: Ohia appears nowhere on the artwork of the album and only a promotional sticker on the cellophane wrapping connects it with the prior band name. Nevertheless, Secretly Canadian still promotes the album under the Songs: Ohia moniker. On the other hand, the Magnolia Electric Co. live album Trials and Errors was recorded on April 16, 2003 at the Ancienne Belgique club in Brussels, at a time when the band was still touring under the Songs: Ohia name. Pitchfork Media later reported that name change would be made official after the Spain tour in October 2003, although by now it seems the label espouses a name change around July 2003.
On January 13, 2006, Molina told a Chicago newspaper that he had recorded three records which were to be released within a few months. A solo record, titled Let Me Go, was recorded February 2005 in Indiana and features a return to the voice/piano/guitar style that Pyramid Electric Co. was recorded in. A Magnolia Electric Co. album, Nashville Moon, was recorded during July 2005 with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago. Molina stated that there was a heavy atmosphere in the studio, due to the fact that three of Albini's close friends had died in a car crash. The third record to be released is a full length collaboration with Camper Van Beethoven front man David Lowery, tentatively named The Black Ram. During the sessions for the album, Molina's mother suffered a stroke, went into a coma and has been on life support since then.
In the article, Molina also commented on his determined work ethic: "Every New Year I throw out songs. I just threw out probably 20 tapes full of demos and I didn't even listen to them... Getting rid of all that old stuff really forces you to write new material."
Though officially Songs: Ohia no longer records or performs, and projects have been either marketed as Magnolia Electric Co. or Jason Molina's solo work, most fans still use the name Songs: Ohia to refer to all projects collectively.
Jason Molina stopped touring and recording in 2009 in order to enter rehab and fight his alcoholism. An EP called Autumn Bird Songs was released in 2012 under Molina's own name, although it consisted of songs recorded before Molina had entered rehab. He died on March 16th, 2013 of organ failure.
Song For Willie
Magnolia Electric Co. Lyrics
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In the hopeless times what hope have I hung to?
For one the western skies and for the rest-
Your baby blue.
Till your tears just mirrored my rambler’s heart
And it was good-bye ‘tried and true’, goodbye baby blue
I need a home for any road to guide me home
And a rambler carries always all his sins
That the lord’s quit asking
But as long as there are sundowns there will always be the west.
There will always be the west.
The lyrics of Magnolia Electric Co.'s song "Song For Willie" are a contemplation of hope and despair, inspired by the image of the western sky during sundown. The singer reflects on the sense of loss and displacement he feels, wondering what hope he can cling to in such hopeless times, except for the beauty of the sunset and his love for someone referred to as "baby blue". The reference to the "rambler's heart" and his sins suggest that the singer is a wanderer, a man constantly on the move, carrying his past mistakes and struggles with him wherever he goes. He acknowledges that he is burdened by questions he can't answer, perhaps referring to the big existential questions of life or his personal demons, and that he has stopped trying to seek answers from a higher power ("the lord's quit asking"). Despite all this, the singer finds some solace in the fact that as long as there are sundowns, there will always be the west, a symbol of constancy and endurance that he can hold on to.
Line by Line Meaning
As long as there are sundowns there will always be the west
The west will always exist as long as the sun sets.
In the hopeless times what hope have I hung to?
During times of despair, what hope can I hold onto?
For one the western skies and for the rest- Your baby blue.
The western skies are meaningful to some, but to me it's your baby blues that matter.
Till your tears just mirrored my rambler’s heart
Your tears reflected the emotions of my wandering heart.
And it was good-bye ‘tried and true’, goodbye baby blue
I had to say goodbye to what was familiar and comforting, including your blue eyes.
I need a home for any road to guide me home
I require a home to ground me no matter where my journey takes me.
And a rambler carries always all his sins
A wanderer always bears the weight of their mistakes.
But what ways him down are all the questions now that the lord’s quit asking
What weighs me down are the unanswered questions that I no longer expect God to answer.
But as long as there are sundowns there will always be the west.
The existence of the west is perpetual as long as the sun continues to set.
There will always be the west.
The west will always exist, no matter what.
Contributed by Mackenzie M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.