Labor Day weekend affords many workers an extra day off. Labor Day means all kids are off school. It's like an eight day week. Labor Day weekend means Kirk Herbstreet's voice will echo in the living rooms of college football fans everywhere as the season kicks off. The first Swap of the fall is a tribute to the game of football and music that we can't do without (nod to an epic opening drive - I mean opening bonus track - by Jason Dees).
Hold me, love me, hold me, love me
Ain't got nothing but love, babe
Eight days a week.
—The Beatles
Southern Star | Brent Cobb (Ben)
Love me some Brent Cobb. This guy has the full array of lyrics and twang, old and new sounds, simple and complex rhythms. His new album has a few pre-release songs, the opener (and title track) made my pick of the week. Southern Star is a hopeful song. The album is a tribute to his home state, Georgia, which is why I opted for Cobb this week. The Dawgs are still the team to beat. Cheers to a new football season, a new Cobb album, and a new fall playlist.
Also available on Apple Music.
In the Air Tonight | Phil Collins (Jonathan)
Besides being a great song, this pick takes me back to being under the lights on Friday night in Mississippi. I only played football my senior year of high school, and really didn’t see the field much except for special teams; but there was nothing else that got me more pumped up than hearing this song while stretching and warming up before those games that fall. When those drums hit about two-thirds of the way through the song, we were all ready to run through a wall. Hope this track pumps you up for the weekend.
Also available on Apple Music.
Your Hand in Mine | Explosions in the Sky (Kody)
This instrumental song will make you feel the emptiness of a Texas Panhandle road and somehow the energy of a West Texas high school football stadium, without uttering a single word. I love the movie Friday Night Lights and the score composed by the band Explosions in the Sky perfectly captures the life and culture of small town football.
“It’s a boy’s last dream and a man's first loss” as Jason Isbell so brilliantly describes it in his song “Speedtrap Town.”
Also available on Apple Music.
Bonus Track: What Would Football Be Without Music by Jason Dees
Do you know a sound I can’t wait to hear?
This!!!
When I hear this sound, it means its Saturday afternoon at 3:30 pm, it means I have just finished coaching one of my own son's baseball or football games, and it means that I am about to settle into the sectional couch in my living room and join Gary Danielson and Brad Nessler to watch a bigtime matchup between two elite SEC programs. Even now as I listen to it on my laptop speakers I have chills running through my body and a sparkle in my eye hoping that my own Auburn Tigers will have several thrilling appearances on the SEC game of the week.
Do you know another sound I love?
This!!!
This means it is Sunday night after a long day of ministry and I am settling down on the same sectional to watch two elite NFL Teams battle it out. There is nothing more satisfying than lazily watching athletic greatness after a good day’s work. While there is no greater NFL watching experience for me than Sunday night football, it should be noted that my favorite NFL intro song comes from Fox. It’s so straightforward and in your face just like a fullback smashing a linebacker in the B gap.
What would football be without music?
Of course, TV Intro songs are just the beginning. One of my time-honored traditions before every college football season is to watch the movie, Rudy. Jerry Goldsmith might have written the greatest football theme song ever with Rudy’s Title track. It combines the steadiness, excitement, grit, and emotion of football all into one song. Sean Aston, Ned Beatty, and Vince Vaughn are all great in the movie, but it’s Goldsmith’s soundtrack that brings me to tears every time I watch it.
Speaking of composers, we could spend all night talking about the wonder of the NFL Films background music. From Ramblin’ Man From Gramblin’ to March to the Trenches to Magnificent Eleven, composer Sam Spence takes the grit and gravel of football and turns it into a ballet. Here’s a great party trick, throw a party on a cool fall evening, serve a fancy drink, and have Sam Spence’s music from NFL Films as the soundtrack. Your guests will love it.
What would football be without music?
Of course, I haven’t even mentioned the greatest form of all football music, the fight song. A Saturday night in Knoxville would totally lose its wonder without the power and excitement that Rocky Top brings to Neyland's 100,000 fans. If you’ve ever been to the Swamp on a muggy Saturday afternoon, it’s intimidating enough before the band starts playing, but it sure gets a lot worse when you hear this. And if Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge weren’t weird enough already on a Saturday night just wait until your team goes three and out and the “Chinese Bandits” come out. Beyond these moments of awe from my personal experience as a fan, you have songs like “Boomer Sooner,” “(Hail to) The Victors,” and “Cheer, Cheer! For Ole Notre Dame” without which it’s hard to for me to imagine college football and the season of fall. My favorite non-SEC fight song is USC’s. It has this pageantry and grandeur about it that says something really great is about to happen, and that is so befitting of college football. And the song that is in the background of some of my favorite memories and truly some of the greatest moments of my life is the greatest football song of all, “War Eagle.”
What would football be without music?
Football, Football, we love your song
When it's first and short or fourth and long,
It plays loud and clear every fall
And brings joy to one and joy to all
When the chorus comes, we sing along
What would football be without music?
Jason Dees is a pastor in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s the best at bringing people together and getting the most out of life. He is currently listening to a lot of REM, the Gin Blossoms, and Kacey Musgraves. He danced to the song “Isn’t She Lovely” by Lionel Richie with his wife Paige at their wedding.
It’s good to be back, y’all!!! We missed you. We want to hear from you. How was your summer? What are you listening to? What songs make you think of football? Don’t leave us hanging.
And don’t forget to share the Swap with a friend.
What a bonus track from Dees! In High School it was mandatory to learn the alma mater and I still know it to this day and ALWAYS happy to quote it. I love music associated with teams and loyalty. Fight songs in general are amazing. I grew up singing "War Eagle" and now I sing the fight song with the simple title of "South!" #GoJags