Americana Highways presents this premiere of Parker Ainsworth’s song “Only Love” from his forthcoming album Running For So Long slated to be released in 2021.
Parker Ainsworth’s “Only Love” is dropping just when we need it most. With uplifting lyrics proclaiming liberation from negative emotions and creating a table set for all in togetherness and inclusivity, “Only Love” is the perfect anthem to kick off the new year and its message is what we should all strive to put out into the world. Parker Ainsworth’s sound is reminiscent of Gregory Alan Isakov, Ray LaMontagne, and the late John Prine, and his writing has the capacity to be both uplifting and melancholic – a perfect dichotomy in capturing the spirit of the human condition. The track was produced by Tommy King along with Ainsworth himself. Instrumentalists on the track include Tamir Bazilay on drums, Johnny Flower on bass, Dylan Day on electric guitar, and Ainsworth on acoustic guitar and vocals.
“Only Love” is the oldest song on the record. It took some wrestling in the studio to reimagine it into something I felt comfortable releasing actually. I initially wrote it when I was living on a sailboat in Marina Del Rey. I’d just gone through a heavy breakup and my less noble instincts were to write angry songs brimming with blame and resentment. A friend lent me a copy of the book “Conversations With God,” and after a couple chapters, I realized that sometimes one needs to write where they want to go, as opposed to where they are or where they’ve been. With this in mind, I wrote a song to guide me back to what I felt really mattered, what was and is really important, Only Love. It wasn’t until this year that I realized I’d first heard that phrase, “Only Love” from a dear family friend who just passed. Jim Chestner was his name. He was a true citizen of the world and a walking story in and of himself. So “Only Love” has always been around in a way and I’d like to dedicate this song to Jim on his next adventure. – Parker Ainsworth
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