“I was always a writer," says the man formerly known as Aaron Livingston. "Before I really learned music, I was serious about writing. Didn’t matter what it was. Just playing with words.”
Considering how long he's been making music, that's saying something. Born in Los Angeles to a preacher and a teacher, as a kid he absorbed songs from dusty family records and learned saxophone and piano, though he felt more at home inventing his own language on those instruments rather than following the lesson plan. Adapt or die, as they say.
Cycling through jazz, rock and R&B history, the hungry young son was beginning his true education. A few years later, the Livingstons moved to Queens, introducing Aaron to the active arts of hip-hop, basketball and city life. High school in suburban Jersey left him wanting more, so he headed to Manhattan and Columbia University, where he discovered art, recreational substances, and girls, girls, girls. He dropped out, got a job, got sad, kept journals. He moved to Philly, enrolled at Temple University, met the legendary Roots crew, even played music with them; they put his voice on an album, undun. He had a daughter, then a son. He was happy, still writing all the while.
Then, slowly, the music stalled. Faded. He got another dead end job. He checked out of days. He got sad again. He forgot how to adapt.
But, as it has the ability to do, the songwriting saved him. It was in his blood, he remembered. Coltrane. Hendrix. Santana. Tribe. And this time he vowed to never let it go. That's not to say he's always happy; he's human, after all. But making music helps keep things in perspective.
"I feel the weight of life as I always did, as everyone does," he says. "But I feel the weight lifted, because I love doing this. And the more I do it, the more I love it."
Son Little writes everywhere, every day, finding inspiration on the train, in a car, on the street, in the supermarket, with his children. Sometimes the ideas are fresh. Sometimes a tune comes from his past, a single spark. Nothing is off limits.
"It could be just a thought, and everything else comes from that," he says. "In one of my books could be a phrase that later is a song, and then the song becomes a whole catalog. It’s gotta germinate from somewhere."
Inspiration firmly struck, the song begins to bloom. There are many channels to Son Little's broadcast, varied stops on the dial, from blues to soul to funk to folk, and jook-joint jazz and chamber pop and back again. His voice—raw, weary yet alert, grave and gravelly, Marvin and Otis and Stevie all at once—soars and creeps, cracks and moans. His songs haunt, thrill, yearn and stomp like all the best work of his heroes.
And the learning never stops. Little has collaborated with highly respected artists like The Roots and the producer/DJ RJD2, mentoring under the former and creating a duo with the latter called Icebird, which allowed him to flex his considerable vocal chops and song arrangement skills.
"I've always loved the studio, but RJ helped me see how I can use it more effectively and find ways to challenge myself, and be inventive with sound. And The Roots, it’s hard to quantify what I’ve learned from them. Everything from how to rehearse to how to occupy the stage and command it…two things that are very fundamental in this business, and they are masters."
This fall sees the release of the first recorded output from Son Little for Anti- Records, an EP called, wouldn't you know it, Things I Forgot. Six songs: three babies (released first as videos), two twins, and an RJD2 remix. It's all there, all those misremembered things: Triumph and trophies, hardship and heartache, soft sentences, loud chapters, facts and birthdays, faces and places and scrapes and scales, nights and weeks and years all lost, gone into the ether, slipped away, out-sizing our normal human bandwidth.
"The singles, 'Cross My Heart' and 'Your Love Will Blow Me Away When My Heart Aches' and 'The River,' were more or less written consecutively," he says. "And so I think they were sort of internal responses to one other, complements. It's harder to place but I’ve been tinkering with the other two, 'Joy' and 'Alice,' for a long time. They’re sort of akin to one another in terms of mood. This is a small collection and maybe it's not as much a singular vision...it's more of a handful.”
A grip of memories; Things He Forgot. Son Little writes to remember, matching the disparate vibes of his full, full life with a patchwork blanket of sound, experience and inspiration. Inventing, observing, adapting. And still, it grows.
"I don’t see any end to the learning," he says. "And to understanding more of something that you immerse yourself in. Could be anything, again. Right now I’m immersed in this music and I feel that my understanding appreciates and changes scope and perspective. It's really rewarding in its own way."
I'm Gone
Son Little Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You get what you get so don't expect shit.
I'm gone, so what you want in?
I'm gone, what you want I know it ain't this.
You get what you get so don't expect a thing.
You get what you get so don't expect shit.
I'm gone.
I'm gone, what you want I know it ain't help.
In Son Little's song "I'm Gone," the lyrics paint a picture of someone who has reached a point of resignation and acceptance. The lines "You get what you get and don't expect a thing" and "You get what you get so don't expect shit" both suggest that the singer has a sense of hopelessness and cynicism towards life. They have come to realize that the world is not always fair and that they cannot expect anything to fall into their lap without putting in the effort to attain it. This message is further emphasized by the repetition of the line "I'm gone," which could be interpreted as the singer saying that they have given up on trying to change their circumstances.
The second half of the chorus, "what you want I know it ain't this" and "what you want I know it ain't help," suggests that the singer is aware of the expectations others may have of them, but feels powerless to meet them. The use of profanity in the lyrics adds to the sense of frustration and anger that the singer feels towards their situation. Overall, the lyrics of "I'm Gone" convey a sense of defeatism and the idea that sometimes no matter how hard you try, things may not work out.
Line by Line Meaning
You get what you get and don't expect a thing.
You will receive what you are given without any expectation of something different.
You get what you get so don't expect shit.
The outcome will be what it is, so there is no use in expecting anything different.
I'm gone, so what you want in?
I have left, and now you are left with the decision of what to do next.
I'm gone, what you want I know it ain't this.
I have departed, and I am aware that what you desire is not my absence.
You get what you get so don't expect a thing.
The situation will unfold as it will, and it is pointless to expect something different.
You get what you get so don't expect shit.
The circumstances will be what they are, and there is no point in having any expectations.
I'm gone.
I have left.
I'm gone, what you want I know it ain't help.
I have left, and I understand that what you require is not my assistance.
Contributed by Adrian C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jessica Dalton
I can't believe I am just discovering this artist. Thank you for the smile on my face!
fenz1
+Jessica Dalton Look up Icebird - The Abandoned Lullaby. Legendary producer RJD2 collaborated with Aaron Livingston for an album before he became Son Little.
Jessica Dalton
+fenz1 Thanks! I love sharing music and artists. Music is what makes the world go round even if it just the song in our hearts.
Noah Ahles
fenz1 thank you very much!
H Macy
hes incredible. I first heard him about 5 years ago and was like, where have you been mister?? just unreal amounts of soul seeping out of his music.
Jackson DeMarre
You’re welcome.
K4K Shenanigans
Great lyrics, I dig this simple yet revealing song.
fuzzplay
goddamm was listening to this earlier and am turning into a bigger SL fan by the day.
Slavko Cosic
" I'm Gone"... S+S+S+S...Light & Love...
Raffy Rillo
nice!