Born Milton Sims Newbury, Jr. in Houston, Texas. As a teenager, Mickey Newbury sang tenor in a moderately successful vocal group called The Embers. The group opened for several famous performers, such as Sam Cooke and Johnny Cash. Although Mickey tried to make a living off of his music by singing in clubs, he put his musical career on hold at age 19 when he joined the Air Force. After four years in the military, Mickey again set his sights on making a living as a songwriter. Before long, he moved to Nashville and signed to the prestigious publishing company Acuff-Rose Music.
For a time, he was one of the most influential creative minds in Nashville and it's arguable that he was the first real "outlaw" of the outlaw country movement of the 1970s. Ralph Emery referred to him as the first "hippie-cowboy" and along with Johnny Cash and Roger Miller, he was one of the first to rebel against the conventions of the Nashville music society. After being disappointed by the production methods used by Felton Jarvis on his debut album, Mickey got himself released from his contract with RCA and signed the first offer he received to comply with his condition that he could either produce his own albums or hire a producer of his choice.
He went on to record three musically revolutionary albums in Wayne Moss's garage-turned-studio just outside of Nashville. The influence of the production methods can be heard in the albums Waylon Jennings went on to record in the 1970s (with instrumentation highly unconventional for country music) and his poetically sophisticated style of songwriting was highly influential on Kris Kristofferson.[citation needed] It was Newbury who convinced Roger Miller to record Kristofferson's "Me & Bobby McGee", which went on to launch Kristofferson as country music's top songwriter. Newbury is also responsible for getting Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark to move to Nashville and pursue careers as songwriters. However, he had no desire to cash-in on the Outlaw movement.[citation needed]
In 1974, he moved to a house on the McKenzie River in Oregon with his wife, Susan, and new born son, Chris, where they welcomed three more children over the years. He recorded several albums throughout the 1970s for Elektra and ABC/Hickory, all of them critically praised, but financially unsuccessful. In 1980, he was given the distinction of being the youngest songwriter ever inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Although he spent much of the 1980s retired from performing and recording music, he returned both to recording and touring in the late 1980s before he died following a prolonged battle with pulmonary fibrosis on September 29, 2002, aged 62.
Just Dropped In
Mickey Newbury Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sundown shinin' in.
I found my broken mind,
In a brown paper bag of Zen.
Tripped on a cloud,
I fell eight miles high.
Tore my mind upon a jagged sky.
I just dropped in to see what condition,
Ah, ah.
Pushed my soul in a
Deep dark hole, followed it in.
Met myself crawlin' out,
As I was crawlin' in.
I woke up so tight I said,
"I never will unwind."
Saw too much I broke my mind.
I just dropped in to see what condition,
My condition was in.
Woh, Lord, Lord,
What condition my condition was in.
[Whistling chorus.]
Ah, ah, ah-ha.
Somebody painted "April Fool,"
In big black letters on a Dead End sign.
I had my foot in the gas,
As I left the road and blew out my mind.
Eight miles outta Memphis,
Lord, I got no spare.
Eight miles straight up,
Downtown somewhere.
I just dropped in to see what condition,
My condition was in.
Oh, Lord, Lord, Lawd,
What condition my condition was in.
The lyrics to Mickey Newbury's song "Just Dropped In" describe a wild and chaotic experience that leaves the singer questioning their own mental state. The song begins with the singer waking up to the "sundown shinin' in" and realizing that their mind is "broken." They then describe a surreal experience of tripping on a cloud and falling "eight miles high," tearing their mind upon a "jagged sky." Despite this, the singer remains curious about their condition and drops in to see "what condition [their] condition was in."
The second verse continues the theme of self-discovery, with the singer describing pushing their soul "in a deep dark hole" before metaphorically meeting themselves "crawlin' out." They feel tightly wound and unable to unwind, having seen too much and broken their mind. The final verse introduces a new element, with the singer driving and seeing a Dead End sign with "April Fool" painted on it. They continue driving with their foot on the gas and end up eight miles out of Memphis with no spare, going straight up downtown somewhere. The song ends with the repetition of the refrain about checking their own condition.
Line by Line Meaning
Woke up this mornin',
The sundown shinin' in.
I woke up in the morning and realized that the sun was setting.
I found my broken mind,
In a brown paper bag of Zen.
I discovered my injured state of mind in a package of Zen philosophy.
Tripped on a cloud,
I fell eight miles high.
Tore my mind upon a jagged sky.
I metaphorically stumbled onto an unfamiliar, ecstatic path and it mentally hurt me.
I just dropped in to see what condition,
My condition was in.
Ah, ah.
I stopped by to assess my mental and emotional status.
Pushed my soul in a
Deep dark hole, followed it in.
Met myself crawlin' out,
As I was crawlin' in.
I delved deep into my psyche, saw how bad it was but continued to explore it.
I woke up so tight I said,
"I never will unwind."
Saw too much I broke my mind.
I woke up with a lot of tension, and the realization of what I saw in my mind broke me.
Woh, Lord, Lord,
What condition my condition was in.
I was wondering about the state of my mental facility.
[Whistling chorus.]
A musical interlude.
Somebody painted "April Fool,"
In big black letters on a Dead End sign.
I had my foot in the gas,
As I left the road and blew out my mind.
Someone pranked me with a joke on a dead end street and I went crazy in my fast-moving car.
Eight miles outta Memphis,
Lord, I got no spare.
Eight miles straight up,
Downtown somewhere.
I was heading out of Memphis, and I was out of options as I found myself lost downtown.
I just dropped in to see what condition,
My condition was in.
Oh, Lord, Lord, Lawd,
What condition my condition was in.
Again, I stopped by to check on my mental status.
Contributed by Lauren L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@upforjoy
Love this original version. Love the whistling. Had never heard of this talented man. . I want to hear more of his songs now. Great images, too. Thank you.
@eulessgirl1
I also love this version better than any I've heard.
@gamoonbat
Not the only psychedelic country song, by any means. An early trip, for sure.
@Nalinho
I just dropped into youtube to say this is fucking superb.
@BeckaRogers
Heavenly.... Thank you, Doug
@neilaptc
Carl Barat me trouxe ate aqui.E eu gostei.