Vince Gill’s ‘A Letter to My Mama’ Is an Instant Mother’s Day Classic [Listen]
Vince Gill's new song "A Letter to My Mama" finds the singer tearfully apologizing for youthful indiscretions and years spent taking his mother for granted. The song — the first release from the upcoming Okie album — is as honest as his most well-known hits.
Arranged as slightly more than a guitar and vocal ballad, "A Letter to My Mama" begins in near spoken-word fashion, with Gill expressing his need to put his thoughts down on paper. "I'm sorry is a real good place to start," he sings midway through the first of several unique verses. Steel guitar and a brushed snare drum accompany the singer.
"I'm sorry I was selfish / Just chalk it up to youth / I got too old to need you / That's just running from the truth," Gill offers before a few lyrics that speak to his parents' relationship and the lesson their troubles taught him. "Looking back I wonder how you ever pulled us through / I can't imagine walking in your shoes."
"If I could stop this pen from shaking I'd write these words down too / There's no one in this world I love like you," Gill sings before implying the lyrics are just a smidgen of what he wrote down on paper before a song was formed.
The Okie album will drop on Aug. 23 and include 12 songs Gill wrote or co-wrote. What was intended to be a songwriter's record became something of a concept album, he says. "A friend sent me an email saying, ‘You could have only written this record after living a 60-year-plus life.’ He said, ‘There’s no struggle in these songs, just truth and your experience," Gill shares.
Look for Gill to return to the road with the Eagles this month. Their European tour will take them through Belgium, Germany and Amsterdam.
Watch: Vince Gill Talks About His Future With the Eagles
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