Steve Earle (born Stephen Fain Earle on January 17, 1955 in San Antonio, Te… Read Full Bio ↴Steve Earle (born Stephen Fain Earle on January 17, 1955 in San Antonio, Texas) is a singer-songwriter best known for his country music and rock 'n roll tinged "alt-country." He is also a published writer, a keen political activist (particularly in protesting against the death penalty in the U.S., as in his song "Ellis Unit One" from the movie Dead Man Walking), and has written and directed a play. Earle also had small roles on the HBO television shows "The Wire" and "Treme". His sister Stacey Earle is also an acclaimed singer-songwriter, as is his most recent wife, Allison Moorer, whom he wed in 2005. His first son from an earlier marriage is the singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle, named for Earle's hero Townes Van Zandt.

Earle was born in Fort Monroe, Virginia, and grew up near San Antonio, Texas. His father, Jack Earle, was an air traffic controller. Although he was born in Virginia where his father was stationed, the family returned to Texas before Earle's second birthday. They moved several times but Earle grew up primarily in the San Antonio area.
Earle began learning the guitar at the age of 11 and placed in a talent contest at his school at age 13. He is reported to have run away from home at age 14 to follow his idol, singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt around Texas. Earle was "rebellious" as a youngster and dropped out of school at the age of 16. He moved to Houston with his 19-year-old uncle, who was also a musician, where he married and worked odd jobs. While in Houston Earle finally met Van Zandt, who became his hero and role model.

In 1975, at the age of 20, Earle moved to Nashville and began working as a songwriter. In these early days, he recorded with Guy Clark and Emmylou Harris. He finally scored a country hit in 1981, writing Johnny Lee's top ten cut "When You Fall in Love." Earle's early work as a performer tended towards the rockabilly sound, popular at the time. In 1986, his first proper album Guitar Town was a critical and commercial success. It sold over 300,000 copies and led some to herald him as a saviour of country music.

Earle long struggled with drug abuse. His addiction eventually caused a departure from performing and recording after he was dropped by MCA in 1991. Whilst in jail on drug and firearm charges, he kicked the habit and returned to music after his release in 1994.

Earle's "second, post-jail, musical career" has been more stylistically diverse than his early material, dipping in acoustic, bluegrass, and roots rock sounds. I Feel Alright and Transcendental Blues met with good reviews and decent sales. 2002's somewhat controversial Jerusalem was one of the first albums to directly address the September 11 attacks. It brought Earle's leftist views to media attention, especially the song "John Walker's Blues."

His latest album of original material I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive was released in 2011. Songfacts reports that one of the tracks, This City, got played on HBO’s New Orleans based show Treme several months before the album‘s release. Earle, who plays a recurring street musician, composed the song especially for the drama series.

Earle has also released a tribute album of material written by friend and mentor Townes Van Zandt, entitled Townes.

For more information and photographs of Steve Earle go to his official website, www.SteveEarle.com.

Hometown Blues
Steve Earle Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I wish I'd never come back home
It don't feel right since I've been grown
I can't find any of my old friends hangin' 'round
Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

I spent some time in New Orleans
I had to live on rice and beans
I hitched through Texas when the sun was beatin' down

Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

Home is where the heart is
Ain't that what they always say
My heart lies in broken pieces
Scattered along the way

So don't think about me when I'm gone
I don't mind travelin' alone
You are the sweetest little thing that I ever found
But won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown
Alright Wilson pick it

Yeh home is where the heart is
Ain't that what they always say
My heart lies in broken pieces
Scattered along the way

So don't think about me when I'm gone
I don't mind travelin' alone
Hey you are the sweetest little thing that I ever found

But won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown
Ah sugar, won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

Overall Meaning

In Steve Earle's song "Hometown Blues," the singer reminisces on the struggles of returning home after growing up and experiencing the world outside of their hometown. They express a feeling of not fitting in anymore, unable to find their previous friends, and feeling a general sense of discomfort being back in a place that once was their whole world. The lyrics emphasize how the weight of home can be heavy, with "won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown," encapsulating the feeling of longing for the freedom of traveling and the pain of returning to the familiar that may no longer feel like home.

The chorus, "home is where the heart is, ain't that what they always say," is juxtaposed against the singer's experience of leaving pieces of their heart scattered along the way, indicating they have found a sense of belonging and love in other places outside of their hometown. Despite this, the singer acknowledges the sweet connections they have at home, with "you are the sweetest little thing that I ever found," yet the weight of their hometown still holds them down.

"Hometown Blues" explores the complexity of the relationship between one's hometown and the freedom of traveling, providing insight into the emotional complexities that come with growing up and leaving home.

Line by Line Meaning

I wish I'd never come back home
Returning home doesn't feel right

It don't feel right since I've been grown
The singer has outgrown their hometown

I can't find any of my old friends hangin' 'round
The singer's old friends have moved on from the hometown

Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown
Hometowns can be depressing and discouraging

I spent some time in New Orleans
The artist has lived in other places

I had to live on rice and beans
The singer has struggled financially

I hitched through Texas when the sun was beatin' down
The singer has experienced hardships while traveling

Home is where the heart is
The saying alludes to the emotional attachment one has for their home

Ain't that what they always say
The saying is often overused

My heart lies in broken pieces
The artist has been hurt and brokenhearted

Scattered along the way
Their heartbreak has occurred in different places over time