Why Is Mowing The Lawn While Listening To Sturgill Simpson Such A Spiritual Experience?

It’s about time someone did a deep dive on this topic.

I’m happy to openly discuss – and potentially spark conversation around – why listening to Sturgill Simpson (or Johnny Blue Skies) while mowing evokes such a spiritual feeling. I don’t know about you, but I personally love to have a big ol’ yard to mow… as long as I’ve got a playlist chock full of grass-cutting anthems. And no one has arguably perfected the lawn mowing genre better than the artist formerly known as (and to be honest, still known as) Sturgill Simpson.

Surely you’ve heard of Simpson’s Cuttin’ Grass volumes, right?

Basically, back in 2020, Sturgill released two different bluegrass albums. Vol. 1 is referred to as “The Butcher Shoppe Sessions” and Vol. 2 is called “The Cowboy Arms Sessions,” and both consist of covers of his already existing songs – just in the style of bluegrass. And with the name Cuttin’ Grass, and the album art being Sturgill sitting on a riding mower, it’s almost like it’s a musical instructional manual for lawn care.

“All the Pretty Colors” from Cuttin’ Grass Vol 1.

“Call To Arms” from Cuttin’ Grass Vol 2.

Obviously, either of those albums are magical to listen to while pushing a mower or riding a mower (zero-turn preferred). But the overwhelming zen that’s felt while slashing blades of grass and listening to Simpson isn’t exclusive to those two albums. Really any Sturgill album does the trick, and I’ve got some personal favorite songs that I like to cue up when I hop aboard my mechanical grass-cutting steed.

Shall we?

“Long White Line”

This track only makes sense. There’s not a long white line in your yard, but there is a cut line that guides you from row to row. And boy oh boy… does life make a lot of sense when this song is rocking in your headphones and you’re making stripes in your front, back, or side yard.

Don’t come checking on me when I shout the lyrics to this song just loud enough to where you can hear me above the lawnmower. I’m doing just fine.

“In Bloom”

Can’t leave Simpson’s cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom” off the list. Plants, flowers and trees being in bloom means that it’s time to get out in the yard and get to work. And Sturg’s countryfied version of this iconic grunge track is the perfect compliment. Though the song itself isn’t about cutting the grass, it might as well be.

Just as the grass is in full bloom, it’s time to cut it back down to a manageable, manicured length. Like the blooming process, it’s a beautiful, ever-repeating cycle.

“Living the Dream”

Now this one only works if you are sitting atop a grass-mowing chariot. The larger the deck on the thing, the better. I can’t attest to this song working if you are using a push mower. If it’s self-propelled, I could see it still working. But Simpson’s “Living The Dream” really reaches its mowing potential if you’ve got it on while you are on a straightaway in your yard, allowing for a sip of an ice cold beer that was sitting in the mower’s cup holder.

Doesn’t get any better than that, am I right?

“One For The Road”

Gotta include one from the Johnny Blue Skie catalogue. I’ve gone back to a number of the tracks from Passage Du Desir, like “Scooter Blues” and “Swamp of Sadness.” Johnny Blue Skies’ debut album wasn’t exactly a country album, but it doesn’t exactly fall under the category of rock either. It was once again a cosmic take on music from Sturgill, and the spaced-out song (in every sense of the phrase) that I love to turn all the way up while mowing is “One for the Road.”

Again, an adult beverage perfectly assists the enjoyment of this one into the stratosphere. Sometimes this is the song to go to after you’ve completed the yard word. If you’ve got a fridge in the garage, going right to that beautiful ice box right after putting the mower in park is preferred. The garage-ier the beer, the better.

But getting back to the question at hand… why is it such a spiritual experience to tune to Sturgill Simpson or Johnny Blue Skies while spinning your mower blades?

My answer to that, after much thought, is this. Maybe like religion itself, there’s simply something about it all that’s bigger than ourselves. That mysterious feeling that comes with cueing up Stu and taking care of the grass maybe isn’t meant to be understood. Could we possibly be destined to just trust that Simpson’s music perfectly aligns with mowing?

I’m certainly not opposed to letting go and letting the country stylings of Sturgill steer the mower where it needs to be. Maybe it all feels spiritual because… it is.The post Why Is Mowing The Lawn While Listening To Sturgill Simpson Such A Spiritual Experience? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.