In one of his most enduring songs, Johnny Cash likened love to a burning ring of fire. Originally penned by his soon-to-be-second wife, June Carter, “Ring of Fire” gave romance a tangible feeling, a concreteness that could easily be pointed to, a sensory depth and explicative character. Combined with Cash’s signature baritone, that ineffable feeling is rendered even more tactile. There’s a reason it has become routinely recognized among the greatest love songs and as a classic in the country canon.
Love songs are a familiar character in songwriting, but Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek frames his own love songs through his subject’s unfamiliarity. On Meek’s “Ring of Fire,” not to be confused with the aforementioned Cash staple,…

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