The Eerie Story of Josh Abbott Band’s ‘Ain’t My Daddy’s Town’
Josh Abbott didn't plan on recording "Ain't My Daddy's Town," the last song on his new Until My Voice Goes Out album. The retrospective sung from the perspective of a man who had just lost his father didn't fit his biography, or at least he didn't know it yet.
The very same day songwriters Rodney Clawson and Jaren Johnston sent Abbott the song via email Abbott's father's health began to take a turn for the worse, although no one knew it at the time. That was on Feb. 3, 2017.
"I listened to it and I loved it, and so my reply to them was, 'Man it's a really touching song ... but our albums have always been so autobiographical that I don't know that I can put a song out about my father dying, because he hasn't died.'"
Six days later Charles Abbott suffered a stroke, and less than one month later he died. The singer goes back to that date because the signs were there. His mother would tell doctors that on that day his father had to come home early from work due to dizziness. He took some Tylenol and had a nap.
"They went out that night, which was amazing in hindsight," Abbott recalls. "He woke up from his nap and took my mom on one last date ... six days later he had a stroke. That date was Feb. 3, the same day that I got an email and a song about a father dying is the same day my dad had his warning stroke. What is that? Is that fate? Is that coincidence? Is that the universe speaking to me? I don't know."
The writers of "Ain't My Daddy's Town" let him tweak a couple of lyrics to make the song even more autobiographical, and then Abbott and his band returned to the studio for one last cut. It stands out on an otherwise upbeat project from the Texas country group. While other songs like "I'm Your Only Flaw" (about his fiancee) are undeniably personal, it's this track — a song he didn't write and didn't even want to record — that adds a signature to the project.
Until My Voice Goes Out is available in stores and at digital retailers now.
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