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.
News from Colorado
Steve Earle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drive me from my dreamin' and I woke up on the ground
The phone's ringin' by my head just like I knew it would
News from Colorado's never good
My brother stole another car, they're holdin' him downtown
Sister's tellin' everyone he's in the army now
Mama only says the things that daddy say she should
How'd it get so far away, it seemed like only yesterday
I took my first few steps out on my own
Look at me in the mirror now I see a thousand miles
And somehow Colorado doesn't feel like home
There ain't no way to go back even if I wanted to
It only be a waste of time and there's nothing I can do
Breaks my heart but somehow I have always understood
News from Colorado's never good
News from Colorado
News from Colorado
News from Colorado
The song "News from Colorado" by Steve Earle and The Dukes tells the story of a person who has left Colorado and started a new life somewhere else but still receives news from their family back at home. The first verse describes the discomfort of being woken up by the phone's ringing and the fear that comes with the news from Colorado which is always bad. In the second verse, the singer's brother has gotten into trouble with the law and is being held in jail while their sister tells everyone he's in the army to save face. The singer's mother only repeats what their father says, showing the patriarchal control in the family.
In the chorus, the singer reflects on how far they've come from home and how Colorado doesn't feel like home anymore. They acknowledge that there's no way to go back and trying to do so would be a waste of time. The singer has always understood that news from Colorado is never good and it breaks their heart, but they continue to receive updates from their family back home.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunlight slips right through the blinds that's carefully pulled down
The sunlight penetrates through the shades that I have drawn with attention
Drive me from my dreamin' and I woke up on the ground
It wakes me up from my dream and I find myself lying on the floor
The phone's ringin' by my head just like I knew it would
I anticipated that the phone would ring beside me with a loud sound
News from Colorado's never good
Whenever I receive news from Colorado, it is never good
My brother stole another car, they're holdin' him downtown
My brother stole another car and is currently held in custody
Sister's tellin' everyone he's in the army now
My sister is spreading the false news that my brother is now in the army
Mama only says the things that daddy say she should
My mother simply repeats what my father tells her to say
How'd it get so far away, it seemed like only yesterday
How did my life get so far away from home? It feels like it was just yesterday when I left.
I took my first few steps out on my own
I took the initial steps to start living on my own
Look at me in the mirror now I see a thousand miles
I look at myself in the mirror and realize how far I am from home
And somehow Colorado doesn't feel like home
For some reason, Colorado doesn't feel like my home anymore
There ain't no way to go back even if I wanted to
Even if I wanted to go back home, it is impossible
It only be a waste of time and there's nothing I can do
It would only be a waste of effort and time, and I can do nothing about it
Breaks my heart but somehow I have always understood
Although it hurts me, I have always had the understanding that bad news would come from Colorado
News from Colorado
This line is a repetition and implies that this song is titled 'News from Colorado'
News from Colorado
This line is a repetition and implies that this song is titled 'News from Colorado'
News from Colorado
This line is a repetition and implies that this song is titled 'News from Colorado'
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Stephen Earle
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind