Sometimes, going along as we do, beguiled and lost in the fog of our stresses and cares, we are afforded a moment of clarity. The scales fall from our eyes, and we see things as they are, clearly: We are OK. Everything—deep breath—is actually OK. And whatever is not OK is survivable. This song is about that, understanding that things could be so much worse. That in fact, we are lucky—only, in our worst moments, flinging around for a cause for our misery, we blame everything but our own minds. But our lonely hearts beat relatively easy.

“Relatively Easy,” written and performed by Jason Isbell, 2013.

This post is part of Music 100, a love letter to songs. 100 words on 100 songs in 100 days, running from Groundhog Day to early June, 2025.

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