Americana Highways presents this premiere of the title track from Chris & Adam Carroll’s upcoming release Good Farmer, produced by Lloyd Maines, which will be available to hold in your hot little hands on August 9th. “Good Farmer” is Chris Carroll on vocals and mandolin, Adam Carroll on guitar and harmony vocals, with Dennis Ludiker on fiddle.
Chris Carroll says of this song that it’s “a song about righteous women, who farm love.” Errol Loundsberry — a family friend, a rice farmer from SW Louisiana, and the main character in Adam’s “Errol’s Song” from his record Looking Out The Screen Door — categorized humanity into groups with the “good farmer” at the top of the list, and this appealing song sprouted from this concept. From its opening anthemic rhythms, the story of “Good Farmer” unfolds, and it’s about women we may all know: Daisy, who listens to the land; Susie, who has love on her mind; Rosie, with midnight shifts and overtime; and Lily, who writes the words of the orphans’ lullaby. Coming close on the heels of Adam Carroll’s earlier solo release this year, the Carrolls’ Good Farmer will complete the excellent songwriting set, and tell you honest, sweet tales this summer, with its gentle, respectful Americana music arrangements.
The concept of the Good Farmer has stayed with me. I started to think about my sisters-in-law who have been having babies and nurturing their little ones. I also had in mind all of the really cool women we meet out on the road and the ones I know at home that have become family of choice. Sisters, who all have different stories and journeys. I imagine them in their backyard gardens, doing something important like beekeeping. Our friend Alycia Goeke in Oklahoma is a major inspiration for this song. They take this into their communities, and they’re all creating something truly special. We had the idea to write a song telling a tale of 4 women, using flowers and seasons to depict them, from a young one to a matriarch.
I know that as a culture we take our farmers, all of them, for granted, not thinking of the amount of time and work that goes into what nourishes us. Adam and I love to support our local growers at our farmers market in Wimberley, Tx: a town aptly named “A little bit of heaven.” We’d all be lost without good farmers — Chris Carroll