It’s an uncomfortable line to walk using real life as fodder for art. I never want to feel like I’m exploiting a situation just to have something to sing about. But, I’ve never been the kind of storyteller that can just create something completely out of thin air. So, most everything that I write about is, at least in some small way, inspired by something personal and real that has happened in my life or in the lives of those around me. That is the only way I know how to deliver a song so that it is sincere and connects with people. This week’s song fits in that incredibly uncomfortable “close to home” category in every way. It might be one of the most emotionally charged songs in my catalog to this point.

My wife’s grandma Betsy died last year. She is survived by, among many others, her husband Joe and her three sons and their families. Kara called her grandparents Maw Maw and Paw Paw. Before Maw Maw passed, they lived together on the river in a place called Hometown, West Virginia. Paw Paw was a postman and they also owned a small convenient store for awhile that Maw Maw worked. I couldn’t make it up if I tried. Now a days, Paw Paw Joe is there on his own for the first time in 57 years. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my Heart, I can only assume that life for him is very different. Kara said he has been getting rid of most of his things and without Betsy to cook for him, he sometimes will just eat graham crackers or a loaf of bread for dinner.

I was driving home from tour to Ohio from North Carolina up I-77 and passed the sign at the state line that reads, “Welcome to West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful”. Then, I started passing all of the exit signs that are familiar to me when Kara and I make a trip back to her neck of the woods. It made me realize that I hadn’t been back there in a while because of touring or something. I started thinking of Paw Paw Joe and how he love(s)(d) his wife and how he might be missing her. I also thought about Kara and I getting older and the heartbreak that would certainly come if I was ever without her one day. So, I took the liberty of writing the lyrics as if they were coming from Joe speaking to Betsy. It’s really out of my comfort zone but I decided to lay those lyrics over a bluegrass/Appalachian style tune to match the characters in the song more appropriately. After all, if these are Joe’s words, I’m pretty sure he would be singing them over a song like this.

When I first talked about doing The Mixtape Project, many people asked me if I was going to be touring less this year to concentrate on writing. But, I’m not really sure how I can do that. To me, the two can’t be separated. If I hadn’t been on the road seeing those signs and missing Kara’s family, it’s fair to say that “From: Joe To: Betsy” might not have been written.

For all you recording geeks out there, I wanted to make this week really simple and intimate as is the song and some of it’s themes. Just one mic (as you can see in the video) and one whole take. No punches. (studio talk) Yes, there are plenty of bruises all over this thing but remember, I am recording demos here just to give you an idea of the song in my head for that week.  I realize I let the click bleed through in a couple spots (more studio talk), but I got a decent take so I kept it. The priority was sincerity. I hope it came off that way. Hopefully the video makes for a good preview for those who don’t yet have a subscription.

This river is my Hometown
It’s the place where I settled down
It’s all I’ve ever known
From the hollow to the hills
Where the whole of my soul is still
You’re Wild and Wonderful

It’s all within our reach
How simple our life could be
Vacation at the beach
We’ll have a boy or maybe three
I’ll deliver the mail
And you run the corner store

This river is our Hometown
It’s the place where we settled down
You’re all I’ve ever known
Seen the hollow and the hills
I’m in awe of your beauty still
You’re Wild and Wonderful

The years appear as boats
I watch them as they go
And I’m reminded in the winding road
That once around that bend
I’m turning once again

This house is empty now
And I eat my daily bread
All is calm and yet somehow
Your laughter fills my head
If only a dream I pray, Lord, don’t let me wake

This river is my hometown
It’s the place where we laid you down
But I am not alone
From the hollow to the hills
They echo your beauty still
You’re Wild and Wonderful