“The beautiful thing about songs, as opposed to movies and books, is that they’re not filed based on what’s true and what’s not,” says Jason Isbell, arguably America’s best living troubadour. “First of all, everything is based on a true story, or else we wouldn’t even have a language for telling stories.”

And with that simple declaration, it’s obvious: Here’s an artist who’s done serious internal work—a lot of deep thinking and intense feeling—and then emerged from that process with some profound insights.

Not convinced? Isbell elaborated on his perspective two months ago in a conversation with the Los Angeles Daily News: “You go into a bookstore, and you’ve got fiction over here, nonfiction over there. But songs don’t work that way. And I feel like, as a songwriter, you’re allowed to tell as much or as little of the truth as you want, as long as you’re attempting to be honest throughout.”