Americana Highways bring you this premiere of Matt Harlan’s song “Long Road” from his forthcoming album, due to be released on Moontown Sounds. The song, which was written by Matt, Gabe Lynn Wootton, and Charlie Harrison, will be available on June 16th. It was mixed by Rich Brotheron and mastered by Nick Landis.
“Long Road” is Matt Harlan on vocals and guitar; Robert Rodriguez III on accordion; Mark Riddell on bass; and Isaias Gill on brushes and snare. Lovely acoustic guitar melodies open this bare-bones lovely song, an ode from you to your child. “It don’t matter much the kind of town you grow up in,” the song offers up images of different childhoods mixed in with observations as it grows. It’s perfect for around the campfires of summer.
This song was born of the strangest mix of pure luck and pure intention. Everything seemed to be intersecting that night. I was feeling pretty nervous to be taking care of my daughter alone for the very first time while my wife was on her first post-pregnancy business trip. I’d recently been talking to some friends about co-writing and the baby was sleeping fairly soundly by then, so I invited them over. (Also figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a few extra hands in case I needed help.) After I sent the message, I realized I didn’t have a song to work on. So, I sat on the porch – guitar in one hand, baby monitor in the other – and wrote most of the first 2 verses in about the time it took to sing ‘em. After putting his older kids down, Charlie showed up to shape the story through a calmer, more experienced lens. Gabe couldn’t make the trip up from Galveston but chimed in on text with key images that tied the verses together while he tended to his own toddler. To me, it was the embodiment of the “takes a village” maxim as applied to songwriting: I couldn’t have written the same song before having a child. And I couldn’t have written it without the help of fathers who had already gone through what I was living at that moment and seen what the other side starts to look like. — Matt Harlan
Find the music and more information here: https://www.mattharlan.com