Jim James - Here in Spirit meaning

My Morning Jacket’s Jim James has shared a new song, “Here in Spirit.” James wrote the song after attending a Los Angeles rally the day after the tragic shootings at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. He said in a press release, “It’s a song about speaking out and trying to be there for people in spirit even if you can’t be at every rally and battle.” Listen to “In Spirit” and read James’ full statement below.

The new track will appear on James’ forthcoming album Eternally Even (out November 4 via ATO/Capitol). He recently shared the music video for the record’s “Same Old Lie.” It was released as part of the anti-Donald Trump program 30 Songs, 30 Days. Artists including Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab for Cutie have also taken part in 30 Songs, putting out new tracks explicitly aimed against the Republican presidential candidate. Watch Jim James’ “Same Old Lie” video below.

Jim James on “Here in Spirit”:

I was feeling so utterly gutted that things like this keep happening. It’s a song about speaking out and trying to be there for people in spirit even if you can’t be at every rally and battle. We have such a duty to speak out for equality and for each other. I will always lend my voice to whatever the civil rights issue is of the day, to whomever needs the most help and love.

Watch Jim James perform “State of the Art” for Pitchfork.tv:

The title of this song (“Here in Spirit”), as used in the chorus, fully comes out as “our love is always here in spirit”. And all lyrics considered, what such a statement actually reads like is a call for us members of the human race to conscientiously make an effort to love one another more. 

As lyrically presented what such an ideology consists of, in practice, is all of us being free to pursue fulfillment in life as we see fit. But of course such is not actually the case, as for instance Jim James was inspired to write this song in the aftermath of the infamous Pulse nightclub shooting of 2016.

What he is further celebrating/promoting, once again in relation to loving each other, is that even when such acts of hatred occur, we all team up to ‘rebuild’ the house of love, so to speak. So putting all of this together, it appears that the vocalist is presenting the titular “spirit” as being one which compels people to basically leave others alone, as in a mentality that does not promote hate. But then, since the world we live in is indeed one where sh*t happens, the “spirit” also encourages us to stay resilient in the fight for mutual understanding and empathy.

When did Jim James release “Here in Spirit”?

Jim James is a musician from Kentucky who, besides having a solo career, also fronts a band known as My Morning Jacket. This song is from an album he dropped on 4 November 2016. The album titled “Eternally Even” was supported by courtesy of ATO Records and Capitol Records.

And to note, said project did make it onto the top 10 of 3 Billboard charts:

• Alternative Albums
• Americana/Folk Albums 
• Tastemaker Albums

Credits

Jim James co-wrote and co-produced this song. In the former regard, he collaborated with Eric D. Johnson and in the latter, Blake Mills.

According to James, this is a song that focuses on “speaking out” against the ills of the world and supporting people and good causes “in spirit” if you know you can’t lend your support physically.