'Nancy Avenue' by Ole 60 - Lyrics & Meaning

"It’s been 7 months and 10 days since we last released music," Ole 60 shared on their socials on 30 April, announcing 'Nancy Avenue' for May. "In that time, we’ve been hard at work making music that means something to us."

Written by guitarist and vocalist Jacob Young and pedal steel and banjo player and guitarist Dwight McGlynn, 'Nancy Avenue' is the follow up to the Kentucky band's Songs About You EP released in September 2024 and their first for Three Twenty Four Records.

The six-piece shot to notoriety in 2024 with 'smoke & a light,' topping Spotify’s U.S. Viral Top 50 chart with the single and the Apple Music Country Albums chart with their debut EP, three twenty four, surpassing Zach Bryan and Morgan Wallen in the process. In September 2024, they did it again with sophomore EP Songs About You and breakout hit, 'Thoughts of You,' topping TikTok’s all-genre Viral 50 Music chart.

Headlining their Outta My Way tour and opening select dates for Zach Bryan throughout 2025, the band are in the studio now recording their forthcoming full-length debut album and 'Nancy Avenue' could be the first taste of a new record.

Coming in at the gentler, more acoustic end of Ole 60's sonic spectrum, the sound of 'Nancy Avenue' is similar to previous recordings like 'Insane' and 'Thoughts of You.'

Beginning with a firmly strummed acoustic guitar, a sighing pedal steel and electric guitar build throughout the song. A single drum hit comes in at around the two minute mark, which is then embellished with some fills before dropping out again.

Essentially a country folk ballad, the vocals are bright and clear, making sure the words to the song are given centre stage.

'Nancy Avenue' is a song about home, which in the case of Ole 60 means Hawesville, Kentucky, so the street they are singing about in the song would presumably be the Nancy Avenue in Lewisport, the neighbouring city to Hawesville in Hancock County, located on the south bank of the Ohio river. The street runs for two blocks from 3rd Street, crossing 2nd Street and then ends.

To be young again

Getting higher than

Pell Street water tower

I can hear ‘em now

The lyrics look back fondly on youth as being a carefree time, using recreational drugs. They liken the effects of the drugs to another local landmark, Pell Street Water Tower, which is located on Pell Street in Lewisport, between 3rd and 4th street. Notably, the water tower is located near a plaque commemorating the founding of Lewisport. Formerly called Little Yellow Banks, the town was renamed Lewisport in 1839 in honor of John Lewis, one of the first permanent settlers in area, and the lyrics use significant local landmarks throughout the song to conjure up the idea of home.

Sirens ringing out

Past the roundabout

Couldn’t figure out

How to live without you

The sirens here presumably refer to the sirens used on police cars. The Lewisport Police Department is located on Caroline Street, a few streets away from the Pell Water Tower, so it's likely they would have heard a lot of sirens in the area as police cars left and returned to the precinct.

Although the lyrics here suggest that the narrator had difficulty knowing how to carry on after a break up, the song seems to be directed to the street Nancy Avenue, in which case the lyrics here are about how it is difficult to live away from home, or the place you grew up in, after you move away. Often young adults will stay living where they grew up or return home.

In the US in 2024, roughly one in three adults aged 18 to 34 still lived at home with their parents and this trend has been consistent over the past two decades, with a slight increase during the pandemic.

In them days back then

Where the river bends

Wished it’d never end

I’d have stayed there forever

The lyrics nostalgically recall a time that they wish hadn't ended in "them days back then" when they spent time in Lewisport, which is located on the bend of the Ohio river.

The things I said to you,

Nancy Avenue

I’d have stole the moon

If you dared me to

"Nancy Avenue" is being used here anthropomorphically, in a way that attributes human characteristics, emotions, or behaviours to non-human entities, in this case a street. It works particularly well in this case because "Nancy" is also a girl's name. Famous Nancys include Nancy Kerrigan, Nancy Reagan and Nancy Sinatra.

The lyrics suggest that they shared secrets with the street and would have done anything the street asked them to, much in the same way that one would a friend or lover.

When someone says they are going to "steal the moon," they are not literally talking about physically taking it. The moon is a large, celestial body with immense mass, and even with advanced technology, it's currently beyond human capability to move it from its orbit.

"Steal the moon" is an idiom which uses the metaphor for pursuing something that's highly improbable or even impossible, and often used to describe a plan or objective that is beyond the scope of what is achievable. As a band, Ole 60 have pursued an unlikely and ambitious career path, and this would tie in with that.

When I think of you

and what you put me through,

Nancy Avenue I’d do it over

The time spent growing up on Nancy Avenue was not always easy, but the lyrics suggest they would not change anything about the time they spent there.

Left a piece of me

On your dead end street

Wouldn’t change a thing

I’d do it over and over and over

The narrator says they have left a piece of themselves behind on Nancy Avenue, adding a reference to the "dead end" nature of the street, which could mean the limited opportunities that they relate to the city and the area they grew up in. Leaving a part of yourself behind often gives you the chance to present yourself with opportunities to grow and to become a better version of ourselves.

In reality, Nancy Avenue in Lewisport is literally a dead end street, backing on to a crop field.

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

Nancy Avenue

The narrator still feels affectionate towards the place they grew up in. It's common that as people get older, they often develop a stronger fondness for the place where they grew up. As people mature and gain more life experience, they may develop a greater appreciation for the place that shaped their early years, finding a unique perspective on the familiar landscapes and people. Often people who leave their hometowns eventually return or make an effort to maintain strong connections with where they grew up, seeking a sense of belonging and continuity.

"This song is about the most important thing to us: home," the band posted alongside the announcement of the single on their socials.

Jacob Young's grandma has posted on socials about the song too and given us some insights to the time they lived on Nancy Avenue.

"Who would’ve thought in 1969 when Charles and I bought a house on Nancy Avenue that our grandson Jacob Ty and his friend Dwight would write a song about that dead end street," J.P. Young wrote. "So proud of Ole 60. Charles would’ve loved all of this."

To be young again

Getting higher than

Pell Street water tower

I can hear ‘em now

Sirens ringing out

Past the roundabout

Couldn’t figure out

How to live without you

In them days back then

Where the river bends

Wished it’d never end

I’d have stayed there forever

The things I said to you,

Nancy Avenue

I’d have stole the moon

If you dared me to

When I think of you

& what you put me through,

Nancy Avenue I’d do it over

Left a piece of me

On your dead end street

Wouldn’t change a thing

I’d do it over and over and over

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

I was falling for

Nancy Avenue

When I think of you

& what you put me through,

Nancy Avenue I’d do it over

Left a piece of me

On your dead end street

Wouldn’t change a thing

I’d do it over and over and over

--

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