Soulful and straightforward, this song is artfully written and starkly beautiful in its delivery.
It’s “Things Will Never Be The Same” by Sam Lewis from his upcoming album, Waiting On You, due out April 27.
And here’s a fabulous acoustic video premiering today!
With touches of Bob Dylan laid over a steady strum, Lewis knows how to draw us into his story and leave us breathless.
He shares, “‘Things...' came to me when thinking about a number of different moments from my childhood. My sisters and I come to mind when I hear the 'lightening in a bottle' line. The memories in the chorus I think are my father's whom might be telling the story, though I'm still not certain. Tag lines like 'stretch marks and purple hearts' and'New Orleans and Southern Rock' are these searing images that give the story an 'Americana-esque' back drop. I wrote it with a more 'folky' progression though that changed once the song told me it needed to be driving; which makes perfect sense considering my family and I were constantly on the move. Proof that sometimes the writer really isn't in the driver's seat.”
With his compelling songs, stirring melodies, and preternaturally soulful voice, Lewis has quickly established himself as one of Nashville’s most talented new tunesmiths. Waiting On You – his sophomore album via Brash Music and follow-up to 2012’s self-titled debut – reverberates with earnest emotion and restless energy, rich with the intimate lyricism of folk, country’s raw integrity, and a lived-in muscularity born of Lewis’ captivating vocal timbre.
Lewis and his band united at Southern Ground, the site of classic recordings by Kris Kristofferson, Tony Joe White, and Lewis’ beloved Roy Orbison. As on his previous recordings, the band played together live on the studio floor, tracking a dozen songs in just two and half days.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
“It’s a bit of a blur,” Lewis says, “but I just wanted to make a record with people I knew. My first record, I didn’t know any of those people and there was something in that without a doubt, but this time around, I wondered what it would sound like if I was a lot more relaxed.”
Safe in the solid foundation provided by his own band, Lewis added accent to his songs via contributions from some of Music City’s most celebrated sidemen, among them guitarist Darrell Scott (Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Robert Plant), harmonica legend Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young), guitarist Will Kimbrough (Rodney Crowell, Jimmy Buffett), keyboardist Gabe Dixon (Paul McCartney, Supertramp), and Nashville’s favorite vocal group, The McCrary Sisters (Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin).
The cast of iconic players ably adds texture and filigree while never overburdening Lewis’ elemental ballads and finely etched character studies. Darrell Scott’s haunting lap steel on “Never Again” lends a lingering last-leg spirituality while Kimbrough’s inventive addition of reverbed electric mandolin to “3/4 Time” “put that song on its side and kicked it in the ass.” “Texas” – which hearkens such heroes as Guy Clark and Willie Nelson – practically demanded the “big color” that could only be provided by Mickey Raphael, a true blue icon whose indelible harmonica sound is among country music’s most familiar.
“I’m just making friends, man,” Lewis says. “I’ve been really lucky. I have people that believe in my material. I have songs that they think the world needs.”
Lewis sees himself as a link in a lineage, a continuum of truth-tellers and troubadours like Hank Williams, Fred Eaglesmith, and John Prine, singer/songwriters who utilized diverse elements of American music to create their own unique canons.
Acoustic Nation is written by Laura B. Whitmore, a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, who has contributed to Parade.com, Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.
