I've wanted to write about this song for a long time, but I never know what to say. I mean, it's Lucero, so I guess I should talk about heartache and whiskey by the pint, but that's a very tired approach. I was going to mention how I love to drive down these long, deserted Atlanta roads at night and listen to this, with my windows open just enough to let in the fall air without thoroughly chilling me, but that looks lame in print. Frankly, I've started writing about this song so many times I'm not likely to find an approach that I haven't already rejected.

But I can't pass this song by. It's one of those bare bones, last-call alt-country anthems that should pour out of the jukebox at some windowless dive. It's the product of purposeful drinking and destructive emotional investment, the kind of stuff that bleeds romance when put into story and song. It's beautiful and just a little bit sad. How can you go wrong?

Lucero - "When You've Gone