I'm Gone
Seasick Steve Lyrics
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Thats all im sayin
Aint nothin but that
Its just like it is
Like a light wind on the lake
Leave my rainbow
And then im gone without a trace
Like a shadow on the wall
Try and catch me oh
But you can't chase any long
And im gone
Mm
Hmmm
Gone
Like some money you had in your hand
Ill be gone before you came to even understand
Like your luck one day here then not
I'm the man
One thing sure that you aint got
Mmm
Im gonnne gone
Mmm
Hhmmm
Like your luck
One day here then im not
The song 'I'm Gone' by Seasick Steve is a reflection on transience and fleeting moments in life. The simple repetition of the phrase "it's just like it is" in the opening lines sets the tone for the song: acceptance of things as they are without trying to hold onto them. The comparison to a light wind on the lake and a shadow on the wall illustrates how easily and quietly Steve believes he can slip away. He likens himself to "some money you had in your hand" that disappears before you can comprehend what just happened. It's not a declaration of running away, but more of an admission that things and people inevitably go their separate ways. The phrase "mm, hmmm, gone" serves not only as a catchy hook, but also a representation of the sound of things fading away in the distance.
Line by Line Meaning
It's just like it is
Everything is exactly as I say it is, and there's no changing it.
Thats all im sayin
I'm not going to say anymore about it than what has already been said.
Aint nothin but that
There's nothing else to it beyond what has already been stated.
Its just like it is
To reiterate, the situation is exactly as I say it is and there's no need to question it.
Like a light wind on the lake
I move through life just as a gentle wind might move through a calm lake.
Leave my rainbow
I will leave you with the memory of my colorful and unique presence in your life.
And then im gone without a trace
Once I'm finished with something or someone, I disappear without leaving behind any evidence of my departure.
Like a shadow on the wall
I'm elusive and transitory, like a shadow cast by a passing figure.
Try and catch me oh
You might try to hold onto me, but I'll always slip away from your grasp.
But you can't chase any long
You'll never be able to catch me if you keep chasing after me and trying to hold onto me.
And im gone
I'm always moving on to the next thing, leaving the past behind me.
Mm
A sound of affirmation or agreement.
Hmmm
A sound of thoughtfulness or contemplation.
Gone
I'm finished with this situation and I'm moving on to the next one.
Like some money you had in your hand
I'm elusive like a sum of money that you held briefly in your hand before losing it.
Ill be gone before you came to even understand
I'll have moved on before you even realize that I'm gone, leaving you to figure out the situation on your own.
Like your luck one day here then not
I'm like your luck - here one day, but gone the next without any warning or explanation.
I'm the man
I'm the only one who can truly understand and master my own destiny.
One thing sure that you aint got
I possess something that you don't - the ability to move on and take control of my life without hesitation.
Mmm
A sound of affirmation or agreement.
Im gonnne gone
I'm leaving this situation behind and moving on to the next one.
Mmm
A sound of affirmation or agreement.
Hhmmm
A sound of thoughtfulness or contemplation.
Like your luck
I'm like your luck - here one day, but gone the next without any warning or explanation.
One day here then im not
Just as I can appear in your life one day, I can also disappear without any notice or explanation.
Contributed by Ruby P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Wold was born in Oakland, California. When he was four years old, his parents split up. His father played boogie-woogie piano and Wold tried to learn when he was five or six, but could not. At the age of eight, he learned to play the guitar from K. Read Full BioSteve Leach, aka Steven Gene Wold (born 1951), commonly known as Seasick Steve, is an American blues musician. He plays mostly personalized guitars, and sings, usually about his early life doing casual work.
Wold was born in Oakland, California. When he was four years old, his parents split up. His father played boogie-woogie piano and Wold tried to learn when he was five or six, but could not. At the age of eight, he learned to play the guitar from K. C. Douglas, who worked at his grandfather's garage, later realizing that he had been taught the blues. Douglas wrote the song "Mercury Blues" and had played with Tommy Johnson in the early 1940s. Wold left home at 13 to avoid abuse at the hands of his stepfather, and lived rough and on the road in Tennessee, Mississippi and elsewhere, until 1973. He would travel long distances by hopping freight trains, looking for work as a farm labourer or in other seasonal jobs, often living as a hobo. At various times, Wold worked as a carnie, a cowboy and a migrant worker. Paraphrasing H. L. Mencken, Wold described this time of his life by saying "Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don't look for work, and bums are people who don't move and don't work. I've been all three."
When asked about his nickname, Wold has said: "because it's just true: I always get seasick". When he was ill on a ferry from Norway to Copenhagen, later in his life, a friend began playfully using the name and, despite Wold not rising to it for a while, it stuck. When asked about his name on British Sunday morning television show, Something for the Weekend, he replied, "I just get sick on boats". On Top Gear, when asked about his name, Wold replied "Well, I guess I just don't like boats!"
Wold made his first UK television appearance on Jools Holland's annual Hootenanny BBC TV show on New Year's Eve 2006. He performed a live rendition of "Dog House Boogie" on the "Three String Trance Wonder" and the "Mississippi Drum Machine". After that show his popularity exploded in Britain, as he explained in an interview:
"I can't believe it, all of the sudden I'm like the cat's meow!"
He was well received in the UK, winning the 2007 MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act and going on to appear at major UK festivals such as Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury. In 2007 he played more UK festivals than any other artist.
Wold toured early in 2008, playing in various venues and festivals in the UK. He was joined on stage by drummer Dan Magnusson. KT Tunstall also dueted with Wold at the London Astoria in January 2008.[20] Wold also played many other festivals throughout the world in 2008, including Fuji Rock in Japan, East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Australia, also in April 2008,[21] and Roskilde in Denmark.
Wold's major-label debut, I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left was recorded with Dan Magnusson on drums, was released by Warner Music on September 29, 2008, and features Ruby Turner and Nick Cave's Grinderman.
He has toured the UK extensively since 2007 being supported by Duke Garwood, Gemma Ray, The Sugars, Billie the Vision and the Dancers in January 2008, Amy LaVere in October 2008, Melody Nelson at the Brighton Dome on 7 October, and Joe Gideon & The Shark in January 2009. His tours in October 2008 and January 2009 were all sold out and included performances at the Royal Albert Hall, the Edinburgh Queen's Hall, the Grand Opera House in Belfast, the Apollo in Manchester, the City Hall in Newcastle and the London Hammersmith Apollo.
In 2009, Wold was nominated for a Brit Award in the category of International Solo Male Artist, That same year, BBC Four broadcast a documentary of Wold visiting the southern USA entitled Seasick Steve: Bringing It All Back Home. On January 21, Wold hosted "Folk America: Hollerers, Stompers and Old Time Ramblers" at the Barbican in London, a show that was also televised and shown with the documentary on BBC Four as part of a series tracing American roots music.
In an interview with an Australian magazine, Wold attributes much of his unlikely success to his cheap and weather-beaten guitar, "The Trance Wonder" and reveals the guitar's mojo might come from supernatural sources. "I got it from Sherman, who is a friend of mine down in Mississippi, who had bought it down at a Goodwill store. When we were down there last time he says to me, 'I didn't tell you when you bought it off me, but that guitar used to be haunted'. I say, 'What are you talking about, Sherman?'. He says, 'There’s 50 solid citizens here in Como who'll tell you this guitar is haunted. It's the darnedest thing – we’d leave it over in the potato barn and we'd come back in and it would be moved. You'd put it down somewhere and the next morning you’d come back and it would have moved. When you took that guitar the ghost in the barn left'. He told me this not very long ago and I said to him, 'Sherman! Why didn't you tell me this before?' and he said, 'Well the ghost was gone – I didn't want it around here no more!'"
On January 3, 2010, Wold appeared on the popular BBC motoring show Top Gear as the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car. He was the last star to drive in the blue Chevrolet Lacetti.
In February 2010, Wold was nominated for a Brit Award in the category of International Solo Male Artist for the second consecutive year.
In 2010, Wold made numerous festival appearances throughout the summer, including the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, the main stage at V Festival, the main stage at the Hop Farm Festival and many more.
In February 2011, Wold signed to Play It Again Sam to release his new album with the exception of the US, where it will be released on Third Man Records. Subsequently his new album You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks was released on his new labels and it was announced that former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones had played on the new album, and performed alongside Wold to promote it.
On 16 August 2014 he was the headline act at Beautiful Days in Exeter, UK, and on the 24th August he headlined at 'Victorious Festival' in Southsea, Portsmouth, UK.