Americana singer-songwriter Lori McKenna's music can certainly conjure up emotions in listeners. During "People Get Old," her first single from her upcoming new record The Tree, one might feel their eyes welling up with tears before the wisdom of her lyrics fully sink in. And with her new song, "Young and Angry Again," written by McKenna, Barry Dean and Luke Laird, the bittersweetness of nostalgia will hit well before the chorus even comes through.
Mckenna's 11th studio album, The Tree, is already shaping up to be an emotional meditation on the passing of time. McKenna worked on the record with producer Dave Cobb who also picked up the electric and acoustic guitar and mellotron for the album.
"I love people's stories about their families- the way they tic and the ways we're all crazy and love each other," McKenna stated in a press release, concerning some of the themes in her follow-up to 2016's The Bird & The Rifle. "I hope my songs shine a little light on that for a second. Maybe our stories remind us of our families and what they give us. It's beautiful, and sometimes we take it for granted."
Read More: Watch Lori McKenna's Reflective New Video for 'People Get Old'
The new single, "Young and Angry Again," is more individualistic than about family, but it still taps into a time many people take for granted — one's youthful years full of outward displays of strength mixed with inward emotional turmoil.
The Tree, out July 20 via Thirty Tigers and CN Records, is available for pre-order with the immediate download of "People Get Old" and "Young and Angry Again." In addition to her own new music, McKenna also enjoys success as a songwriter behind-the-scenes with big hits like "Humble & Kind," "Girl Crush," and "Cry Pretty."
McKenna starts off on her summer headlining tour supporting her new album called The Way Back Home Tour on June 29 in Annapolis, Md. and ending in Nashville on August 17 at the CMA Theatre. She also joins Alison Krauss on two tour dates in mid-June in Ohio at the Centennial Terrace and Fraze Pavilion.
"Young and Angry Again" Lyrics:
Sittin' on the roof to get closer to tomorrow
Didn't know enough to be scared
All you'd have to talk about is where you're gonna go
And what it's gonna be like out there
Out there
You carryin' around half of what God gave you
And half of what they told you you should be
Tryin' to make sense of why anyone stays around here
When you're just countin' days until you leave
Lightin' cigarettes just to hold 'em
Up in the air, singin' Never Get Old
Throwin' bottles at a highschool chainlink fence
Tellin' yourself all you'll ever need
Is a heart full of fire and gasoline
I could use a little who-I-was and that way-back-when
To be young and angry again
You hated broken hearts but you loved the songs about 'em
'Cause someone finally felt the way you did
There's dreams that are in the dirt roads, under bleachers in the shadows
But tonight, I swear to God I won't forget
Lightin' cigarettes just to hold 'em
Up in the air, singin' Never Get Old
Throwin' bottles at a highschool chainlink fence
Tellin' yourself all you'll ever need
Is a heart full of fire and gasoline
I could use a little who-I-was and that way-back-when
To be young and angry again
[Bridge]
Before the world set in and we punched that clock
Before we knocked those hell-bent edges off
[Chorus]
Lightin' cigarettes just to hold 'em
Up in the air, singin' Never Get Old
Throwin' bottles at a highschool chainlink fence
Tellin' yourself all you'll ever need
Is a heart full of fire and gasoline
I could use a little who-I-was and that way-back-when
To be young and angry again
To be young and angry again
