Inside ‘Remington': Granger Smith’s ‘Tractor’ Inspired by Father’s Passing

Granger Smith's new album, Remington, draws extensively from his real life, and one track in particular titled "Tractor" was inspired by a deeply personal event: the death of his father.

"This album kinda represents the last two years of my life," the singer-songwriter says in the video above, which is premiering exclusively with Taste of Country. "It's a diary, a snapshot of who I am."

The album cycle was filled with unusual highs and lows, as Smith experienced the birth of his son and the passing of his father. "Tractor" was inspired by dealing with the emotional aftermath of that.

"I've been working, and my brothers have been working for so long on music and traveling and doing our thing, and Dad was always my biggest fan," Smith shares. "He was always back home in Texas, on his ranch, doing his own thing ...  he was on his tractor every day, all day long."

After his father passed away, Smith and his brothers tried to fire up his tractor to do some work on the ranch, which Dad was no longer there to do. But the battery was low, and it needed oil, and they didn't know where he kept his oil can. The incident made them realize they had been so busy that there were things they didn't even know or ask about their father, who was supporting them through those times from afar.

The song "just kinda poured out," and Smith didn't intend to put it on an album. But once his family members and his wife heard the track, they convinced him it should be made available.

"If other people could hear it, and hear the story and relate to that in any way, and maybe if that helps them get through a similar situation, that's what music's all about," Smith reflects.

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