Justin Osb… Read Full Bio ↴Susto is an American indie-rock band based in Charleston.
Justin Osborne needed a break. He'd been writing music and making albums since he was 15, and by the age of 26, he felt like he was spinning his wheels. He knew he needed a change, so he ended his old band Sequoyah Prep School and moved to Cuba. He thought he might be done with music for a while, but the songs just kept coming.
"I had this idea in my mind that I was going to try and join some kind of Latin American Leftist movement. I wanted to jump off a cliff," Osborne says. "Once I got there I immediately started hanging out with musicians and going to shows. I started showing them the songs from this project that was kind of just an idea in my head.
"They were like, 'man, don't throw away your passport, go home and continue to make music,'" he says. "I was encouraged by them to try again."
Osborne was already writing the songs for what would be SUSTO's 2014 self-titled debut when his producer Wolfgang Zimmerman introduced him to Johnny Delaware, a guitarist and songwriter who had moved to Charleston, South Carolina to make an album with the producer.
SUSTO is a Spanish word referring to a folk illness in Latin America that Osborne learned as anthropology student, meaning “when your soul is separated from your body,” and also roughly translates to a panic attack. For Osborne, the music of SUSTO was something he had to get out into the world.
SUSTO released their debut album independently and toured relentlessly to get the word out. They were an immediate hit in their hometown, packing venues, getting airplay at all the bars and even making a fan of Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell. "I got an e-mail from him, telling me he loved the record and wanted to meet with me and Johnny," he says. "That was actually the day I wrote my professor, and I said, ‘I'm not coming in.’"
The members of the live band that Osborne and Delaware recruited — Corey Campbell (guitar, keys, backing vocals), Jenna Desmond (bass), and Marshall Hudson (drums, percussion) contributed to SUSTO’s new album & I'm Fine Today, which will be released via Caroline. "We just wanted to go further. We started something with the first record, and we want to keep going in that direction," Osborne says of the album, which finds them taking the spacey country rock of their debut into the stratosphere, piling on layers of sighing keyboards, galloping rhythms and frayed, noisy guitar solos atop wistful melodies and lyrics that examine growing up and growing into yourself. “We put the first record out, and we worked hard, and it just feels like a good place to be,” he says, noting that while the first record focused on his own struggles, & I'm Fine Today is more concerned with looking at the world beyond the struggles in your head.
“I’ve learned to appreciate the fact that I just get to be here. It’s all perspective,” he says. “This album is about coming to terms with yourself and feeling okay with your place in the universe."
Black Jesus
Susto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But when I talk to my brothers they say "man, how you doing?" I sit with my granddad and he says "
Hey J can you light this one up for me?" Then I sit by myself and thats when I start to see it all.
I saw my messiah on a mountain top looking down at the people below.
He said "hey y'all don't you get caught up in the things that come and go." We said "
Come on black Jesus, c'mon!"
I found out on my birthday, my boss he's closing the place down.
I'm gonna be alright you know, I'll find something else.
The opening lines of Susto's song Black Jesus talk about a common theme that many of us may be able to relate to - the idea that we may have changed so much over time that our loved ones no longer recognize the person we have become. The lyrics mention how the singer's parents say they don't think they know him anymore, but his brothers ask him how he is doing, indicating that he still shares a deep bond with his siblings. The singer then goes on to talk about spending time with his grandad and providing him with a lighter for his smoke. However, it is when the singer is by himself that he seems to have profound realizations. He talks of seeing his messiah on a mountain top, who advises people not to get caught up in temporary and fleeting things. The chorus of the song implores Black Jesus to come, creating a sense of hope and a desire for divine intervention. In the final lines, the singer talks about losing his job on his birthday but expresses hope that he will be alright.
The song seems to be a personal and introspective reflection on life, relationships, and faith. The lyrics suggest that the singer is going through a difficult phase and feels a sense of disconnect or disorientation. However, despite the struggles, he is able to find solace in his relationships with his brothers and granddad, as well as in his faith in a higher power. The image of Black Jesus, who appears to offer guidance and reassurance, further emphasizes the idea that even in the darkest of times, there is hope for redemption.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes I talk to my parents and they say they don't think they know me anymore.
At times, my parents express that they no longer understand me whenever I converse with them.
But when I talk to my brothers they say "man, how you doing?"
In contrast, whenever I communicate with my siblings, they ask me how I am doing.
I sit with my granddad and he says "Hey J can you light this one up for me?"
Whenever I sit down beside my grandfather, he requests me to light up whatever he's smoking.
Then I sit by myself and that's when I start to see it all.
Alone, I begin to perceive everything more clearly.
I saw my messiah on a mountain top looking down at the people below.
I witnessed my messiah on a mountaintop, observing the individuals below him.
He said "hey y'all don't you get caught up in the things that come and go."
He warned us to refrain from becoming engrossed in fleeting matters.
We said "Come on black Jesus, c'mon!"
We encouraged black Jesus to join us.
I found out on my birthday, my boss he's closing the place down.
I received information on my birthday that my employer is shutting down the establishment.
I'm gonna be alright you know, I'll find something else.
Despite this, I will emerge unscathed and eventually find another opportunity.
Contributed by Makayla O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.