The Meaning Behind Sturgill Simpson’s “Scooter Blues”

Besides his melodic guitar riffs, empathic voice, and raw-to-the-bone persona—Sturgill Simpson is a writer and a great one at that. Often known for being one of the last “true” country musicians, Simpson bolsters this label by writing unorthodox lyrics that seemingly have never been present in any country tune. Whether Simpson is singing about hallucinogenics or Mercury, the writer uses unconventional vehicles to convey conventional truths.

This notion applies to his new song “Scooter Blues.” Recently released on his new album, Passage Du Desir, Simpson reverts to familiar lyrical tendencies by utilizing the same tactic stated previously. That being so, let’s dive into the alleged meaning behind this Johnny Blue Skies’ song.

A Testament to the Transition

As of now, it’s common knowledge Sturgill Simpson changed his musical name to Johnny Blue Skies. Simpson stated, “I’d hear [my] name and it was like it didn’t belong to me. It was just a commodity or a brand,” per his GQ interview. Taking this into consideration, “Scooter Blues” is the song on the album acknowledging this internal conundrum, as it delivers insight as to why Simpson rid himself of the persona.

Spend my mornings making chocolate milk and Eggos/ My days at the beach, my nights stepping on Legos/ Wave to the world, screaming, “Hasta luego”/ Everybody back home will say, “Where the hell did he go?”

Kick off my flip-flops and go for a run/ Gonna hop on my scooter, go down to the store/ When people say, “Are you him?” I’ll say, “Not anymore”/ With the wind in my hair, I’m gonna scooter my blues away.

Nothing to over-analyze in these sets of lines. Given that Simpson is merely declaring what he’s been up to, and who he no longer is. Simple as that. However, what refreshes listeners is that honesty, the casualty, and the fact that he’s not trying to make you dig deep for this message. A relatable vulnerability of an artist who isn’t taking himself too seriously.

Simpson reminds us that “less is more,” and he exemplifies that by being fairly overt towards his listeners. Much different than a heavily subtextual song by folks like Townes Van Zandt or Leonard Cohen(Even though those are great too).

Time in Thailand

In hopes of rekindling his creative spark, Simpson lived in Paris and Thailand for quite some time. Focusing on the latter of the two locations, “Scooter Blues” seemingly illustrates what exactly Simpson did while in Asia.

Buy me a bar in Nakhon Si Thammarat/ Learn how to kickbox so I don’t get fat/ And suck on some coconuts and play me some checkers/ Lay on the beach ’til all my freckles connected.

Again, Simpson is not trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes with this one. What he is offering is a very specific account of what allegedly occurred in Thailand. Although, he could just be pulling our leg and making all of it up for a good laugh. Who knows? Regardless, by both testifying to his transition and his time in Thailand, Simpson reminds us that not everything beautiful needs to be hard. Thus, this simple yet oddly profound account of his time overseas proves that despite his musical hiatus he still has knack for poeticism.

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