" It was just the Jeff I knew, who liked to jam, liked to fool around. "

"Jeff picked it up and started playing it like he was born playing it. I'd never met anyone so naturally gifted musically in my life. He was just sitting there strumming mandolin and making jokes about aliens, 'Oh, the aliens are coming' in this kind of hillbilly voice, so I went to the other room right next to the studio and started typing up some lyrics. I printed out a couple of sheets of lyrics and handed them out to Fred and Jeff. Jeff looked at them [and said], 'Hey, this is pretty cool' and they started working together on the melody, the chorus, and the bridge and I kept writing more lyrics. Within four hours, we had the song written, scored, recorded and it was just a complete natural session I'll never forget."

- Fred Reed

Jeff Buckley Collaborators Recall Origins of Alien-Inspired 'Ozark Melody' -- Free Download