Stevie Ray Vaughan | Live Alive

Life Without You

In order to give, you've had to have.

It makes no sense to give, what you don't have.
It is sensible to give, share with others, what you have, 
because in this way you make good use of the Source,
from which you have received... 

From the Abundance of the Heart, that never runs dry.

In this sense, giving means adding, contributing. 
In this sense, giving is receiving, not taking.

If we all give, we all shall receive
If we all give, we wouldn't have any problem...

 

'Life Without You' was a song Stevie wrote after the untimely death of his great friend and mentor Charley Wirz. In the lyrics, Stevie shows his love for Charley and how much he truly missed him. It's the last track on 'Soul to Soul', the third studio album Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble released on September 30, 1985, by Epic Records.

Recording sessions took place between March and May 1985 at the Dallas Sound Lab in Dallas, Texas. Vaughan wrote four of Soul to Soul's ten tracks; two songs were released as singles. The album went to #34 on the Billboard 200 chart and the music video for "Change It" received regular rotation on MTV. In 1999, a reissue of the album was released, which includes an audio interview segment and two studio outtakes.

'Life Without You' is also the last track on the 'Live Alive' recordings and given the significance the song had to Stevie it is a shame the track was cut from later CD and re-issue versions.

'Life Without You' notwithstanding the other tracks on the album is an epic nine-minute piece of art, that outmatches the video take version linked to this article or the version on the 'Live In Tokyo' bootleg, but that may be a matter of taste... What cannot be ignored is that brother Stevie had a story to tell us...

Once you gave it all, you wouldn't have any problem, because you already had it...
You cannot rule another man's land...I'm talking about Africa, you know...

Stevie Ray Vaughan: October 3, 1954 - August 27, 1990

 

'Live Alive' recording credits:

Performances: July 16, 1985 at Montreux Jazz Festival / July 17-18, 1986 at Austin Opera House / July 19, 1986 at Dallas Starfest.
Live recording by: Montreux Sound Studio, Montreux / Arlyn Studio, Austin / Reelsound Recording Mobile Unit, Austin.
Contributing studios: Dallas Sound Lab, Dallas / Sound Recorders, Kansas City / Record Plant, Los Angeles / Wonderland Studio, Los Angeles.
Mastered by Precision Lacquer, Los Angeles.

Very special guest: appearing July 17, 1986 in Austin, Texas, on tracks B4, C1, D1, D2 - Jimmie Vaughan.

'Dedicated to Big Jim & Martha Vaughan.'

Life Without You | Vinyl only track from the album "Live Alive" (Epic, 1986)

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