Song Review – Jason Eady’s “French Summer Sun”

Country songs braying on and on about how we should all be supporting the military and veterans are often just as much musical pablum pandering to a constituency as mainstream country songs about beer and trucks, or politically-charged anthems full of pithy statements, signaling, and grandstanding from the left side of the spectrum that renounce any of the nuance that’s at the heart of the best storytelling, or persuasive arguments.

As well-intentioned as this material might be—and as real as the concerns are for soldiers of the past and present, and the tribulations members of the military often face both abroad and upon their return from combat zones—if you’re a songwriter, it’s probably best you avoid this subject matter altogether lest to steer yourself headlong into cliche.

…unless you’re Jason Eady, apparently. If there was a songwriter out there with the acumen and muster to bust through all the bleeding-heart platitudes and overwrought sentimentally that makes so many of these songs immediately disposable, it would be him. And with the help of the equally-talented Drew Kennedy, they turn in a song that leaves you stunned, and blaming allergies for your red eyes.

“French Summer Sun” is not exactly autobiographical, but it is based off of true-to-life inspirations. “My grandfather fought at the Battle of Anzio in Italy in World War II, and a few years ago on tour I went to visit the beach where the battle took place,” says Eady.

In the song, the narrator does not enlist like his forefathers, but Jason Eady actually served in the Air Force for six years, learning Arabic, and then being shipped all over the world as a translator. Much of his work he can’t talk about because it was classified.

It’s one thing to write a great song. It’s another to craft one from such over-covered subject matter, and have it resonate and impact so powerfully. It’s Jason Eady levitating above his own existence to attain a 3D perspective upon life that graces this song with brilliance.

Much more could be said here, but it would constitute spoilers, so you should just find a quiet moment and listen for yourself. Rest assured though, it’s worth your five minutes.

Jason Eady’s new album Passage of Time is out August 27th.

Two guns way up (10/10)