The Top 20 Jeff Tweedy Songs: #12 “Sunken Treasure”

“Sunken Treasure”
Band: Wilco
Album: Being There (1996)
Key lyric: “Music is my savior. I was maimed by rock and roll.”

Tweedy lays his soul bare in this dirge-like centerpiece to Being There. The kickoff to disc two also functions as Tweedy’ condensed autobiography. It’s partly an expression of existential despair, but it’s also a loving tribute to the all-consuming influence of music; the singer feels out of tune with everything else. The lyrics are a call back of sorts to a verse from the album’s opening track, “Misunderstood.” There, he sings of having a fortune inside his head. Here, he admits that “there is no sunken treasure, rumored to be, wrapped inside my ribs…”

Tweedy’s solo acoustic renditions of this song are riveting — check out the Sunken Treasure DVD for proof.

Listen:

20.“The Long Cut”
19. “That’s Not the Issue”
18. “Promising”
17. “She’s A Jar”
16. “I Can’t Keep From Talking”
15. “Impossible Germany”
14. “Wilco (The Song)”
13. “Gun”