Lone Star State of Mind (River Phoenix song)

Lone Star State of Mind is an unreleased song by American actor, singer and songwriter River Phoenix. The lyrics and musical composition are attributed to Phoenix.^[1] The song was performed by Phoenix in the film The Thing Called Love (1993).^[2][3] It would've been his first solo release for Island Records However, an official release failed to materialize. Instead a soundtrack for the film was released on July 16, 1993.^[4]

Background and history

Phoenix expressed his wishes to release music for a film with his band Aleka's Attic, the group departed in early 1993.

Phoenix began writing songs for the film in July 1993, Commenting on the musical direction, Phoenix said "The music has everything to do with me having the best understanding of the character and the movie".

In August 1993, Phoenix described "Lone Star State of Mind", "It originated from deep emotion and solitude and many days of being alone and in LA and a lot of childhood memories. It’s an ode to solitude and preservation of one’s independence and i guess, self-confidence."

In an August 93 issue, Journalist Malissa Thompson from Seventeen described his singing, although underscored with anger, sounds amazingly urgent and sweet.^[5]

The song was recognized by his fans, some of which almost went on to publish campaigns for the songs from the film be released onto CD. Full length of the studio version is rare to find on the internet.

References