Title: “Cigarettes And Kerouac”
Artist: Savannah Haim
Album: “Young Love” (2019)
Release Date: July 24, 2019
Length: 4:57
Format: CD Single, Digital Download, 7” Single
Recorded: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, Tennessee – February 2019
Genre: Country, Americana, Pop
Label: Southbound Records
Writer(s): Savannah Haim
Producer(s): Savannah Haim, Erich Hess, Karoliena Verlinden
“Cigarettes And Kerouac” is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter 'Savannah Haim', the song marks the fourth official single released from the upcoming artist and is taken from her 2019 debut album “Young Love”. It follows on from her previous single “Smoke” which was released back in February and peaked at number one on the singles chart and has remained a top five single ever since it's release back at the beginning of the year. The singer made an unexpected move to leave a bigger gap between single releases following her first number one single, making it five months since her last single when the majority would have expected her to release a new track sooner in order to capitalise on the success, but with the ongoing support for “Smoke” it was decided that it was a perfect time to shift the focus to the record and promo for that record, which saw Savannah take on her first solo tour, a brief run of theatres throughout the USA.
The latest single like previous efforts was written solely by Savannah Haim and see's the singer depict her life before making it big with a record deal as she sings about travelling on the road and to places she hasn't been before just to perform her songs. According to a recent interview, Savannah had this to say about the track, “This is a song I really love to listen to, it's slower and more melodic than a lot of the other tracks from the album, but it still draws me in. I really like the images I feel like I've created with the lyrics to this song and it feels very true to a specific time in my life. I think it's a rumour killer too as I think a lot of people still have an image of me as someone that just had everything come easy to. I've been trying to do this since I was eighteen and I'm now twenty five years old and finally putting out my debut album. Like I've worked hard for around six or seven years to try to get to this point and I think this song captures the initial feelings I had when I headed to California for the very first time.”
The track will be released on July 24, 2019 through Southbound Records.
The song begins with a soft and slow acoustic guitar and the faint sound of a drumming backbeat before Savannah delivers the opening verse in a slower and more sombre tone, “I'm packing up all my things, to sing these songs out on that open road/I'm heading somewhere out west, I've never been before/I'm used to travelin' around on crowded trains/But now I've got a fancy guitar and a famous name/With people that actually want to hear me sing/People are actually listenin'”
Following on from the opening verse, we can hear the pace speed up a little and the addition of an electric guitar can be heard as the chords echo in the forefront before Savannah continues to sing about her life travelling on the road with the songs chorus, “I used to carry my guitar across my back/With cigarettes and Kerouac/Heading out on the road/A different man in every city/I'd keep em' all close to me/So I'd always have a place to crash/With cigarettes and Kerouac/And the same old worn clothes on my back.”
The music continues in a similar pace as we reach a post-chorus breakdown. The music slows back down again as the story demands it with Savannah singing again in a sombre tone about her arrival in California, “I stuck around out west where the big stars stay/Played my beat up guitar under the stars/On the streets of west LA/Tried my best to make a name/But California never felt like home to me/So I travelled for four days and got back home to Tennessee/The place I was always meant to be.” which adds to the story being told by Savannah and indicates the classic idea that not all that glitters is gold.
We're then give the songs pre-chorus and chorus once more before it fades out.
“Cigarettes And Kerouac”“I'm packing up all my things, to sing these songs out on that open road
I'm heading somewhere out west, I've never been before
I'm used to travelin' around on crowded trains
But now I've got a fancy guitar and a famous name
With people that actually want to hear me sing
People are actually listenin'
I used to carry my guitar across my back
With cigarettes and Kerouac
Heading out on the road
A different man in every city
I'd keep em' all close to me
So I'd always have a place to crash
With cigarettes and Kerouac
And the same old worn clothes on my back
I guess that's when I was always searchin'
Well I ain't searchin' anymore
I guess that's where I did most of my learnin'
About all the things worth livin' for
I stuck around out west where the big stars stay
Played my beat up guitar under the stars
On the streets of west LA
Tried my best to make a name
But California never felt like home to me
So I travelled for four days and got back home to Tennessee
The place I was always meant to be
I guess that's when I was always searchin'
Well I ain't searchin' anymore
I guess that's where I did most of my learnin'
About all the things worth livin' for
I used to carry my guitar across my back
With cigarettes and Kerouac
Heading out on the road
A different man in every city
I'd keep em' all close to me
So I'd always have a place to crash
With cigarettes and Kerouac
And the same old worn clothes on my back”
Sound Alike;Dawn Landes - “Traveling”
Personnel;Savannah Haim – vocals, lyrics, composition, production
Avery Wyatt – acoustic guitar, composition
Caleb Rhythm JR – electric guitar, composition
Jared Wyatt – drums, percussion
Erich Hess – production
Karoliena Verlinden – production
Frankie Dallas – engineering
