Jackson Dean's current single is saving lives, literally. The singer-songwriter has a Top 30 hit with "Heavens to Betsy," his third single. The song is from his latest album, On the Back of My Dreams, released in September.
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Dean wrote the song with Benjy Davis, and Driver Williams, about a man in Heaven, trying to communicate with his daughter via CB Radio. "Heavens to Betsy" says in part, "Heavens to Betsy / I don't know if you can hear me / Up here you're coming in clear as a bell / Heavens to Betsy / I finally quit the drinking /'Cause I hate that my demons put you through hell."
"I was at a show one time, and I can't remember where it was," Dean shares. "But I had this guy come up to me, and he grabs me by the shoulder. I was like, 'Hey man, what's up?' And he goes, 'There's a couple of your songs that changed my life, man. I thought about ending it and you pulled me back from the dark.' That was the first time I was like, 'Wow.' And then it happened again, and then again. And I was like, 'Alright, I guess I'm doing something right.'"
The Story Behind "Heavens to Betsy"
Dean was just 20 years old when he wrote "Heavens to Betsy," after he unintentionally uttered the words in conversation.
"That line has never been used around me growing up or anything," Dean tells Billboard. "I took it very literally." Believing the song was a sign that he should write the song, Dean got to work with Davis and Williams. Dean had the idea that the song was about a father communicating with his daughter after he had already passed away.
"It had to be dark," Williams says, "because whoever was in Heaven, you know, he's obviously dead. And it's just like, 'Man, how dark can we get with this?' And we went really dark with it."
The writers labored over making the song as powerful as it is, with Dean rightfully proud of the finished product.
"I often create music with the hope that my songs get people thinking in some way or another," Dean says in a press release. "But with 'Betsy,' it's the listeners that have flipped it back around on me. Hearing stories of how much 'Betsy' has affected people has impacted me in ways I could have never expected."
