The Top 20 Jeff Tweedy Songs: #2 “Ashes Of American Flags”

American Songwriter participates in affiliate programs with various companies. Links originating on American Songwriter’s website that lead to purchases or reservations on affiliate sites generate revenue for American Songwriter . This means that American Songwriter may earn a commission if/when you click on or make purchases via affiliate links.

Videos by American Songwriter

Wilco

“Ashes of American Flags”
Band: Wilco
Album: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Co-Writer: Jay Bennett

Key lyric: “I wonder why we listen to poets, when nobody gives a fuck/How hot and sorrowful, this machine begs for luck.”

The emotional centerpiece of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot features some of Jeff Tweedy’s all-time finest lyrics. Each  verse is an individual nugget of gold, packed with rich and compelling imagery. “I want a good life, with a nose for things. A fresh wind and bright sky, to enjoy my suffering.” The chorus cries out for reincarnation as a cure-all for the accumulated bad karma of daily living: “I know I would die if I could come back new.”

Wilco broke the mold with this one.

Log In