“Texas Sun” is the title track off of a collaborative EP released in February 2020 by R&B artist Leon Bridges and funk-rock trio Khruangbin. Both artists hail from the Lone Star State; Bridges, while born in Atlanta, grew up in Fort Worth, and Khruangbin – comprised of bassist Laura Lee, guitarist Mark Speer, and dummer Donald Ray “DJ” Johnson Jr. – is based out of Houston. The musicians penned the EP as a tribute to their beloved state after touring together in 2018 and expressing a mutual desire to work with and record music with each other. While some of the preliminary musical ideas were explored inside of a barn in Burton, Texas, the EP was ultimately recorded in Khuranbin’s home base in Houston, at a studio workspace owned by a friend.
Although Bridges was born in Atlanta in 1989, his family moved to New Orleans when he was one year old, and ultimately landed in Fort Worth, Texas, a year after that. There, he became seriously interested in dance, even attending college studying dance before leaving to help financially support his family. At 21 he started learning to play the guitar and began performing at open mics and with a local band. At one of these performances he connected with the Texas rock band White Denim, who helped produce Bridges’ debut record “Coming Home,” released in June 2015 under Columbia Records.
Speer and Johnson of Khurangbin met in the mid 2000s while playing with downtown Houston’s St. John’s United Methodist Church gospel band. Speer and Lee met through mutual friends, and quickly bonded over shared interests, including Middle Eastern culture. The three ultimately melded into the trio Khurangbin in 2010. The name comes from the Thai word for “airplane,” Lee’s favorite word in the language. They quickly developed a devoted, underground following, though they shied away from the spotlight. The trio is known for merging multiple styles of music, including “styles of funk, soul and psychedelia but all through a Texas lens,” as described by Leon Bridges himself in an email to the New York Times.
Lyrically, the song is formatted as a sort of love letter to the state of Texas. The song unfolds at a leisurely but steady pace; the temporal spacing of the verses and even individual lines, along with imagery such as “caressing you from Fort Worth to Amarillo” and “how about you and me take a little trip / in the big body?” evoke the seemingly never ending lands of Texas. In fact, Bridges seems to be describing a trip across the state, chasing the sunset, all the while remaining in Texas. The relaxed, even languid tone of the music feels to reflect the easygoing, carefree way of life that is part of the Texan identity. Above all else, the Texas sun represents home, especially for a musician who spends long bouts of time away from it; even when Bridges is away out in the cold, he longs for the familiar warmth of that Texas sun.
Stylistically, the song is just as much of a cultural melting pot as Texas itself. It features Spanish, country pedal steel, and psychedelic guitar tracks. The pedal steel in particular evokes the stereotypical country, “Texas” sound, often associated with spaghetti western films – the somewhat stereotypical version of the Wild Wild West portrayed in Hollywood. Meanwhile, the soft strumming of the acoustic guitar borrows heavily from Spanish music in both the harmony and strumming patterns, albeit slowed down to better suit the honey-like flow of Bridges’ voice. The production of the song even speaks toward Texas as a concept. The vocals are soaked in reverb, and the guitar tracks are left a bit messy, the noise floor reminiscent of wind blowing across flat land, both alluding to the general feeling of vastness. A distant, even slightly eerie, howling siren again reinforces the feeling of large space and distance, and may even be a reference to the tornado sirens in many Texas towns.
The EP as a whole draws from the plethora of genres found within the state, including Tejano, gospel, R&B, and more. Notably, the EP includes elements of Zydeco music – a very specific New Orleans sound that combines Afro-Caribbean and French accordion music, and a reference to one of the handful of cities Bridges has called home. The blend of genres of the EP truly represents his journey that ultimately landed him in Texas. In the end, the song represents Texas as the ultimate homecoming; it’s where all these musicians belong, and are constantly longing to return to as a place where they feel welcome and understood by their fellow Texans.
Lyrics:
You say you like the wind
Blowin’ through your hair
Come on, roll with me
‘Til the sun goes down
Texas sun
Say you wanna hit the highway
While the engine roars
Well come on, roll with me
‘Til the sun goes down
Texas sun, oh yeah
Texas sun
Caressing you from
Fort Worth to Amarillo
Come on, roll with me
‘Til the sun dips low
Texas sun
Texas sun, oh girl
Texas sun
When I’m far from home
And them cold winds blow
Stuck out somewhere, with folks I don’t know
‘Cause you keep me nice, and you keep me warm
Wanna feel you on me
Can’t wait to get back there again
Texas sun
Texas sun
Texas sun
Texas sun
You say you like the wind
Blowin’ through your hair
Well come on, roll with me
‘Til the sun goes down
Texas sun
Texas sun
Oh baby, you’re so gorgeous
How about you and me
Take a little trip?
In the big body
Take a ride with me, babe
You by my side
How does it sound
You and I?
Oh, girl
Take a ride with me, babe
You by my side
How does it sound
You and I?
Baby, ooh
Take a ride with me, babe
You by my side
How does it sound
You and I?
Works Cited:
Ashrawi, Sama’an. “On Their Collaborative EP, ‘Texas Sun,’ Khruangbin and Leon Bridges Pay Tribute to the State That Raised Them.” Texas Monthly, 13 Feb. 2020, www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/khruangbin-leon-bridges-texas-sun-album/#:~:text=My%20Profile-,On%20Their%20Collaborative%20EP%2C%20’Texas%20Sun%2C’%20Khruangbin%20and,out%20alike%20informed%20the%20album.
Beta, Andy. “Khruangbin / Leon Bridges: Texas SUN EP.” Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 8 Feb. 2020, pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/khruangbin-leon-bridges-texas-sun-ep/.
Moore, Marcus J. “’Was It a LOST PSYCH-FUNK Classic?’ It’s Khruangbin, Right Now.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/arts/music/khruangbin-mordechai.html.
Parrish, Charlie. “Coming Home with Leon Bridges: Soul’s New Star on Success, Anxiety and Denim.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 25 July 2015, www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/11761353/Coming-home-with-Leon-Bridges-souls-new-star-on-success-anxiety-and-denim.html.
Staff, LouisianaTravel.com. “Zydeco Music in Louisiana.” Louisiana Official Travel and Tourism Information, www.louisianatravel.com/music/articles/zydeco-music-louisiana.
