Maryland’s Brothers Osborne had been kicking around Nashville for several years. They worked as studio musicians and songwriters before becoming a household name in country music. Everyone working with John and T.J. Osborne knew how great they were. It just took a little time for the rest of the world to catch up.
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Some talent is so obvious it’s shocking how long it takes for others to see it. But who’s pointing fingers? Indeed, not the narrator in the song we’re here to learn a little more about. Let’s look closer at the meaning behind “It Ain’t My Fault” by Brothers Osborne.
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No, Really, It’s You
The Osborne brothers’ responsibility skirting hit found its groove in The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Co-writer Lee Thomas Miller programmed a drum beat on his phone, then wrote the opening lines about a series of events leading to scandal.
A pile of excuses for the debauchery cascades like a waterfall of bad decisions over hand claps and “whoa ohs,” narrated by T.J. Osborne’s husky baritone. The elder sibling, John, adds a sputtering, gritty guitar between T.J.’s lines.
Blame the whiskey on the beer
Blame the beer on the whiskey
Blame the mornin’ on the night
For who’s lyin’ here with me
Blame the bar for the band
Blame the band for the song
Blame the song for the party that went all night long
The whole state of affairs reaches a chicken-or-the-egg scenario when an ex-lover gets involved in the madness.
Blame the ex for the drinkin’
Blame the drinkin’ for the ex
Blame the two-for-one tequilas for whatever happens next
[RELATED: Top 10 Brothers Osborne Songs]
[Insert Shrug Emoji Here]
Regardless of who or what’s to blame, a lot of wrong got done. But T.J. Osborne swears, It ain’t my fault. He alludes to being born bad, then excuses his behavior on circumstance and public education.
Blame my reason on my name
Blame my name on my reason
Blame my lack of knowing better on public education
Miller told the Tennessean his kids inspired the idea. He said, “I have four kids. I’ve always been amazed when I walk in the house, and all the stuff is broken, but nobody broke the stuff.”
Jay Joyce (The Wallflowers, Little Big Town) produced Pawn Shop, Brothers Osborne’s debut album, and once again, challenges Dave Cobb for Nashville’s best producer title. Joyce mixes the brothers’ Southern rock, outlaw, and modern country while avoiding the traps of pastiche or soulless drivel Nashville’s music machine is sometimes known for.
“It Ain’t My Fault” seems built for the concert stage, and Brothers Osborne are genuinely having fun on the track. You can hear it as they dance with the devil in the dark, but who the hell knows if it’s really the devil because it’s so dark in here?
Point Break
Wes Edwards and Ryan Silver spoof Point Break in the song’s music video, with John and T.J. playing pawn shop owners robbed at gunpoint. The thieves are wearing masks of ex-presidents, and the video follows the frantic police chase.
Politicians blaming others for the country’s problems are as old as politics. A regular feature of U.S. discourse revolves around members of government talking about how “government” is the problem. It’s a funny mind trick for continuously blaming the entity one belongs to win re-election. “It Ain’t My Fault” uses the presidential masked robbers to make a point most citizens have become numb to. But there’s plenty of blame to go around: They all lie is an easy excuse for voters’ apathy—It ain’t my fault!
Sea Change
The fresh air of 2016’s Pawn Shop was a welcome break from the stagnation of mainstream country music. Pop-country records at the time often sounded like music generated from artificial intelligence, as if Nashville producers had early access to the technology.
It’s not a reinvention of country music as much as a better-executed version. Joyce deserves much credit for allowing T.J.’s vulnerability to remain on tracks that too often scrub anything natural or defining from the voice. And T.J., to his credit, sounds like he means it. He stands apart from some of the other boys in country music who sound like someone pulled a string from their backs, activating the singing part of the toy.
John Osborne, the other side of the duo, is a virtuoso whose years of practice didn’t rid him of his soul. His guitar sounds earthy, and it feels like his amp is in the listener’s room.
The brothers co-wrote the album, and the songwriting shines as T.J. and John play with country tropes, using wit and irony, making them welcome outsiders to an insular and too-often small-minded genre.
They may not take responsibility for the boozy behaviors in “It Ain’t My Fault,” but Brothers Osborne are balancing the empty vapidity of modern country music with a beating heart. That’s something they can take credit for.
Photo by Natalie Osborne
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