'Music For The Soul' by Sam Barber - Lyrics and Meaning

Sam Barber is currently knee deep in his 2025 tour across North America, but has still found time to be writing, recording and releasing. His latest EP titled ‘Music For The Soul’ was released on August 1, a strong 7 tracks of classic singer-songwriter observations we’ve come to expect from Barber.

‘Music For The Soul’ acts as a follow up to his impressive 2024 debut album ‘Restless Mind’, with the title track opening the EP. We saw the first sneak peek of the track back in June, when Barber posted a clip of him singing the song with an acoustic guitar in hand, simply captioned ‘music for the soul’.

The title track opens with some electric guitar picking before Barber’s timeless gravelly vocals come in for the first verse. An acoustic joins the ensemble, pushing the rhythm forward throughout the song, turning it into a passionate track that matches the authenticity of the singer-songwriter's words. A folky feel reminiscent of Noah Kahan favourites lingers throughout, with an instrumental break followed by a catchy chorus.

“Well, I know this ain’t the bar song you wanna hear, but I make music for the soul
And every empty glass you see on the ground is just another written note
These days I’m often asked where I find my thoughts, but I promise you don’t wanna know
No matter what I think, I’ll always be weaker than from the man I’ve grown”

Sam Barber has become known for his honest songwriting and voice that conveys every ounce of emotion he writes with. As this likely autobiographical song kicks off, Barber sings about the music he makes - ‘music for the soul’ - suggesting he doesn’t try to fit in with trends, or with the sounds that will rack up streams (although he’s managing that quite well), instead saying what he needs to say.

“And I’ve learned that money don’t blend well with fame
Just hope that these words help someone someday
I know it ain’t perfect, but it’s paving the way
And all I’m saying
This is music for the soul
Oh, this is music for the soul”

Barber’s success story has been pretty meteoric, the songwriter experiencing a rapid rise on social media since posting the first videos of himself singing. However, the singer isn’t motivated by money or fame, but rather by the knowledge that his listeners might find some comfort in his music. Although his words may not be ‘perfect’, he is offering a source of guidance for people that might be struggling with similar experiences or feelings as Barber is.

For many people, music is something to turn to when you need to feel like someone knows exactly what you’re going through. It's likely that Barber has his own artists that he seeks out for that, but many people now turn to the Missouri singer-songwriter for his words.

“Well, I know this ain’t the hope you were searching for, but I’ll still whisper it low
This one’s for the broken man with a shaky hand all alone
Guess I’ll spend the rest of my nights for the rest of my life on my own
And I know this ain’t the bar song you wanna hear, but I make music for the soul”

Sometimes we don’t want to be told what we need to hear, and even if the wisdom from an artist like Barber isn’t what you’re ‘searching for’, he won’t stop writing it any time soon, just in case someone needs it. Or is it the writer himself that needs it?

Refocusing the song back into the bar where this scenario is playing out, ‘Music For The Soul’ might be for those characters that are often sitting alone with a drink in their hand. But in a narrative twist that sees Barber singing about night after night at the bar, perhaps our storyteller is now the one needing to find some company in music.

The singer-songwriter has remained fairly quiet about the release of ‘Music For The Soul’, since posting the first glimpse on social media back in June and then announcing the release of ‘Home Again’ in July - another song that found its home on the EP.

With Barber currently out on tour though, we’re expecting to be hearing a few of these moving tracks, including ‘Music For The Soul’, as he’s on the road.

Well, I know this ain’t the bar song you wanna hear, but I make music for the soul
And every empty glass you see on the ground is just another written note
These days I’m often asked where I find my thoughts, but I promise you don’t wanna know
No matter what I think, I’ll always be weaker than from the man I’ve grown

And I’ve learned that money don’t blend well with fame
Just hope that these words help someone someday
I know it ain’t perfect, but it’s paving the way
And all I’m saying
This is music for the soul
Oh, this is music for the soul

Well, I know this ain’t the hope you were searching for, but I’ll still whisper it low
This one’s for the broken man with a shaky hand all alone
Guess I’ll spend the rest of my nights for the rest of my life on my own
And I know this ain’t the bar song you wanna hear, but I make music for the soul

And I’ve learned that money don’t blend well with fame
Just hope that these words help someone someday
And I know it ain’t perfect, but it’s paving the way
All I’m saying
This is music for the soul
Oh, this is music for the soul
Oh Lord, this is music for the soul

So I guess I’ll spend the rest of my nights for the rest of my life on my own
And I know this ain’t the bar song you wanna hear, but I make music for the soul

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