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Jul 26, 2019 By Christopher Roberts My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket are releasing a 20th anniversary reissue of their 1999-released debut album, The Tennessee Fire, on August 2 via Darla and it includes “16 previously unreleased and unheard, lost songs, demo outtakes, alternate versions, and more.” Now the band has shared one of those rarities, “John Dyes Her Hair Red,” a previously unreleased song from the era. Listen below, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates.

Frontman Jim James had this to say about the song in a press release: “This is one of the first song poems I ever wrote. I always liked the idea of a song being this little picture or puzzle, and not necessarily having to ‘mean’ something or be about some big story or have tons of linear lyrics, but more just painting a weird little scene. I have always tried to make my music gender neutral when it comes to love or romance for the most part, so that a person of any gender could experience a song and not feel excluded if I was using ‘he’s’ or ‘she’s’ or whatever and this is an early experiment with that, of a person named john, which is traditionally a ‘male’ name, who is dying her hair red and sitting in the shower til it all turns back brown - and maybe one would think - ‘well why did she ever even dye her hair red in the first place?’”

James had this to say about the reissue in a previous press release: “Wow. I cannot believe it has now been over 20 years since we recorded The Tennessee Fire on my cousin John’s grandparents farm out in Shelbyville, KY in a little studio called ‘Above the Cadillac.’ What a life changing time that was for me—a cosmic door opening to a new universe, thanks to the generosity of family and the spirits of music and connection, I have been so lucky to encounter. We tried to do as many fucked up things as we could that we loved and hoped folks would enjoy. We laughed a lot and we cried some too, ha. We are so grateful and humble that people are still enjoying it so many years later, and we also really love playing these songs live still after all these years, ha ha ha. We offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has listened since the beginning/jumped on along the way, and all the new folks just hearing the music and getting into it. Much has changed and shifted over the years in the world of My Morning Jacket both on earth and in other realms, and I am so grateful to everyone who has ever been involved with the band on any level that helped it grow. I am grateful for the joy and thankful to have learned some things from the pain/disappointments that I hope will help in the future. Love is music, music is god, god is love, and I feel so blessed to be able to share this thing called music with so many wonderful souls both as a musician and as a listener myself. There is so much wonderful music out there. Peace and love.”

One dollar from every ticket purchased from their upcoming shows will benefit My Morning Jacket’s Waterfall Project, which is “dedicated to supporting and promoting actions, big and small, for positive change in the world.” Proceeds will benefit Access Reproductive Care-Southeast (ARC), GreenWave, and The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

My Morning Jacket Tour Dates:

2 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
3 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
9 - Port Chester, NY - Capitol Theatre
10 - Queens, NY - Forest Hills Stadium

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