Jeff Buckley: Reflecting on ‘Grace’ 28 Years After Artists’ Passing

It has been just over 28 years since the 30-year-old singer-songwriter, Jeff Buckley, drowned in the Mississippi River, at the very height of his career and at the peak of his seemingly endless potential. On May 29th, 1997, in Memphis, Tennessee, Buckley decided to go for a swim, fully clothed. He was last heard singing ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zeppelin before disappearing entirely. His body was found several days later on June 4th, identified by his green nail polish. The cult following he has built in a relatively short time had shattered at the news yet strengthened and grew in the wake of the tragedy. Buckley only had one studio album out at the time, and the very reason why he was in Memphis was to record the follow-up to the hit record. Grace was only the start but, in a flash, it had ended.

The legacy he left us with, however, echoes throughout generations, both past and future. Buckley died three years before I was born and Grace predates my very existence by six years. It is a record I personally listen to almost daily, and I am not alone in this sentiment. ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’ has been a popular audio for the younger generation on TikTok, and people of all ages still reflect on the sound, the lyrics, his influences, and the meaning behind it to this day.

For such a young artist in a sea of blossoming yet tumultuous music careers all unfolding simultaneously in the 90’s, Buckley was dedicated to the craft and the craft only. In an interview, he poignantly commented, “I don’t really need to be remembered; I hope the music’s remembered.”

And so it was.

Grace as a whole is a cohesive yet experimental piece that ventures into realms we hadn’t seen before and have yet to see since. The playfulness yet intensity of his wide-ranging vocals, the poignant, intimate, and colorful lyricism that is consistent throughout, and the general experimentation bursting from this record cemented his place quickly as one of the greats.

To embrace Grace, we must embrace all the layers that Buckley held dear and emphasized in his work. Lyricism, vocal diversity and imperfection, and the bending and mixing of multiple genres and influences. All of these elements together are what make the record what it is and what keeps it standing strong over three decades later.

I find myself listening to songs on this record and applying them to life today with eerie similarity. In ‘Eternal Life,’ Buckley bellows, “Racist angry men, what have you done? / Man, you’ve made a killer of your unborn son / Oh, crown my fear your king at the point of a gun / All I want to do is love everyone.” These lyrics, only emphasized by the grunge-heavy sound, particularly echo throughout our present day. It is enough to make one wonder what he would have to say about the current state of the world were he alive now. Songs like these prove an anchor for today’s listener navigating the political climate we face presently. When speaking to the audience, as captured on the Live at Sin-é EP, he prefaces ‘Eternal Life’ by explaining,

This song is about…it’s an angry song. Life’s too short and too complicated for people behind desks and people behind masks to be ruining other people’s lives, initiating force against other people’s lives, on the basis of their income, their color, their class, their religious beliefs, their whatever…

With other dreamier yet equally as stirring and evocative tracks such as ‘ Mojo Pin’ and ‘Dream Brother,’ Buckley paints a complete and well-rounded image of what it is to be navigating a messy world as a young person with perhaps an older soul than most. The topics he covers are some I would be surprised to hear in modern music today. In ‘Dream Brother,’ he warns his close friend from walking out on his pregnant girlfriend, similar to how Jeff was abandoned by his own father—singer-songwriter, Tim Buckley. In the heartbreaking chorus he laments, “Don’t be like the one who made me so old / Don’t be like the one who left behind his name / ‘Cause they’re waiting for you like I waited for mine / And nobody ever came.”

As a 27-year-old man writing this record, he naturally demonstrated wisdom beyond his years and it is impossible not to think about what he could have gone on to create, had he never gone for a swim that fateful day in Memphis. However, we must be grateful for what he had given us to embrace before he left us too soon.