Josh Turner on ‘Deep South’ Title Track: ‘I Was Writing Just to Have Fun’

If there's one song Josh Turner is excited about on his new record, Deep South, it's the title track. Turner tells Taste of Country the story behind the song that reflects his life experiences growing up in the deep South.

"It basically is a laundry list of things that I’ve experienced growing up in the deep South and the way life was," the South Carolina native explains. "I just kind of wanted to paint that picture, kind of a lyrical collage, if you will, or a montage of things that I saw and did and experienced and the culture and the heritage of growing up in the deep South."

While admitting that the process of putting together Deep South was a frustrating one, the song itself just came naturally to Turner, who wrote the track solo. "I didn’t write it with any commercial aspirations, I wasn’t thinking about the record or anything when I wrote this song. I was writing just to have fun, and that’s what this song is, it’s fun," the country star says.

In spite of lyrics like "Thank the Lord I'm from the deep South / Let me take you there / Streamin' down a back road like we don't care / I'm from the deep South," Turner reveals that fans all across the world are connecting to the song and its meaning. "You just never know how a song is going to connect or relate to people," Turner expresses. "But everybody I’ve played it for, whether we’re in Canada or Alabama, it doesn’t matter, people have really responded to this song and love it. It’s got a lot of energy, it’s just a lot of fun.”

Deep South dropped on Friday (March 10). The album's first single, "Hometown Girl," is currently in the Top 15 on Billboard's U.S. Country Airplay chart.

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