CURRENT SINGLE: “Saltwater Gospel (Fins Up version)” feat. Jimmy Buffett
Eli Young Band’s latest single is actually a re-issue of their song “Saltwater Gospel,” featuring Jimmy Buffett, in what’s being called the ‘Fins Up version.’ When the band first heard the song, it was a rare instance where all four guys were instantly unanimous in wanting to record it. As bassist Jon Jones explains, “The song picking process for us can be pretty interesting sometimes. We find that we’re really lucky if we can hear a song and after that first time through, all four of us are just raising our arms going, ‘This is the one. This sounds like us. This is something we can identify with and something we want to put our own stamp on.’ That’s how ‘Saltwater Gospel’ was from the very beginning.”
The message of “Saltwater Gospel” resonated with all four members of Eli Young Band and later with Jimmy Buffett. “It just talks about that spiritual side of being out in nature, of being in the ocean that we can all identify with,” Jon explains. “Looking out and just feeling so small against that backdrop, but also, everything just feels a little bit more clear when you’re out there.”
Being from Texas, Jon says you can almost guarantee that when they’ve been on the road for a long time and they finally get some time off, at least one of them, if not all of them, is grabbing their family and heading south to the beach to soak up a little bit of that “Saltwater Gospel.”
Eli Young Band – what Saltwater means to them :33
Jon Jones – “You know, the song picking process for us can be pretty interesting sometimes. We find that we’re really lucky if we can hear a song and after that first time through, all four of us are just raising our arms going, ‘This is the one. This sounds like us. This is something we can identify with and something we want to put our own stamp on.’ That’s how ‘Saltwater Gospel’ was from the very beginning. And it just talks about that spiritual side of being out in nature, of being in the ocean that we can all identify with. Looking out and just feeling so small against that backdrop, but also, everything just feels a little bit more clear when you’re out there.”