Jeff Tweedy-Penned Mavis Staples Tune “You Are Not Alone” Debuts Online

Jeff Tweedy knows how to write a simple, affecting song, a skill he’s demonstrated from his early days in Uncle Tupelo, up to Wilco (The Album)’s “You And I.” On “You Are Not Alone,” the first track to emerge from soul and gospel legend Mavis Staple’s You Are Not Alone album, which Tweedy produced and helped write, he employs that same skill.

“A broken home, a broken heart/Isolated and afraid/Open up, this is a raid/I wanna get it through to you/You’re not alone” sings Staples in a rich, husky voice (she’s said she actually shed some tears during the recording). It’s the perfect appetizer for what’s bound to be an interesting, and, more-than-likely, excellent record.

You Are Not Alone is out September 14 on Anti-. Listen to the title track here.