Terry Klein's forthcoming album Tex (out on Jan. 25) draws inspiration from the expressive lyrics of artists like Hank Williams and John Prine and the prose of authors like Flannery O'Connor. So it makes sense that Klein's song "Daddy's Store" feels like a heart wrenching short story centered on a man looking over the family business in a small West Texas town where time stands still.
"That song, it keeps repeating over and again for evermore," Klein sings on the steel-laden track. "And as long as that man is breathing, yes, I'll mind my daddy's store."
Klein says the song, which Wide Open Country is premiering today, was written after a songwriting workshop led by the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier. Klein says the song is about the paths our parents set for us and the limitations we place on ourselves.
"I wrote this tune over a few weeks in January and February 2016," Klein tells Wide Open Country. "It was the first song I wrote after doing Mary Gauthier's songwriting workshop in Nashville, which was one of the most transformative experiences I've ever had. A bunch of the writers were talking about feeling guilty that they weren't living up to their parents' expectations, but my sense of things is that we use a lot of that baggage to impose obligations and limitations on ourselves. It's a feeling I know well. I made peace with it as I was writing this. And man can you ever hear Mary's influence all over this song."
Tex, Klein's sophomore album, was produced by Walt Wilkins and engineered by Ron Flynt. The album features Jaimee Harris (vocals), Bill Small (bass), John Chipman (drums), Bart de Win (keys), Kim Deschamps (steel), Warren Hood (fiddle), Robert Casillas (bajo sexto), John Bush (percussion), Corby Schaub (electric guitar) and Arianne Knegt (spoken word vocals).
Listen to "Daddy's Store" below.
Upcoming Terry Klein Tour Dates:
December 16 — Austin, Texas — NeWorldDeli
December 29 — Altadena, CA — Coffee Gallery Backstage
January 6 — Smithville, Texas — House Concert
January 18 — Houston, Texas — The Americana
January 20 — Austin, Texas — NeWorldDeli
February 15 — Austin, Texas — The Townsend
February 16 — Austin, Texas — The Townsend
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