813. Heartland, HW

I should be married by now,
Two kids in a paid-for house.
I can hear ’em now,
Askin’ what I’m doin’ now.
I should have a little more to show,
Than a suitcase smells like smoke.
I should have an alibi,
On where time goes when it flies.

Hailey Whitters. Granted I admit to having a “thang” for country singers in the vein of Whitters. She reminds me of Kacey Musgraves a bit but Musgraves voice is a bit more clear, less gritty. Then there’s artist that kinda fall further on the clear to gritty scale like Brandi Carlile and maybe Gillian Welch. Then there’s the ultimate grit Americana Cajun-land musical artistry of Mary Gauthier, who I like… I mean A LOT!! Not the hots type of like bug connect to her music. Then back sliding down on the clearest of clear pure vocal scale you’ve got artist like Allison Krauss who is a phenomenal musician mind you but who I don’t care for her singing voice too much. I need some grit in my music. That’s the point.

Because, I’ve been on the rocks.
I been on the road.
On the other side,
Of every door closed.
I’ve been on a limb,
Trying to catch a break.
Something’s gotta give.

Sometimes you gotta take it down a fast lane,
Right back to your last name.
To remind you where you came from.
You’re still shinin’ in the same sun.
It don’t matter how high,
You’ve been floatin’ in your blue sky
Nothin’ gets you like goodbye can
When life is out of your hands
Yeah, you gotta let your heartland

I can roll the window down.
Feel the wind in my hair now.
Find a station through the static,
The old me while I’m at it.

You gotta let your heart land,
In the middle of nowhere,
Oh, you gotta let your heart land.
Sometimes you just gotta go there, just go there.
And it don’t matter how high,
You’ve been floatin’ in your blue sky.
Nothing gets you like goodbye can,
When life is out of your hands,
Yeah, you gotta let your heartland
Oh, you gotta let your heartland.

The songs that really resonate with you & you find yourself repeat listing is for a reason. You connect to that music for some reason. Heartland is one of those for me now, where I’m at in life. Neko Case said it best in her song “Guided by Wire.” Give that song a listen and maybe you won’t enjoy her country affectation but those lyrics directly capture one thing about music that I love throughout my life. When a lyricist and song writer elevates their game it’s with a song that “sings your life right back to you.” Bam!!! That’s the point right there.