Lucy Isabel – “Miles from Home”
Americana Highways is hosting this premiere of Lucy Isabel’s song “Miles From Home” from her forthcoming album All the Light. This song will be released on May 17, and the album will be available on October 11.
All the Light was produced, engineered and mixed by Jared Anderson with additional engineering by Sean Trainor, and it was mastered by Preston Cochran.
“Miles From Home” is Lucy Isabel on vocals and backing vocals; Jared Anderson on guitar, bass, and piano; Kramer Sell on percussion and drums; and Andy Ellison on pedal steel.
Americana Highways had a chance to chat briefly with Lucy Isabel about the music. The premiere appears just beneath the interview.
Americana Highways: Can you tell us what inspired you to write this song and what it’s about?
Lucy Isabel: When I started touring again after the pandemic, I was in a completely different situation than I was pre-pandemic. I had a baby in the first half of 2021, so my post-pandemic touring now involved a one-year-old roadie. I was driving back to Nashville with my daughter after a northeast run of shows in fall 2022, and she reached a point where she was completely over being in the car. I looked at the GPS, and we were still exactly 100 miles away from where we were staying that night. Suddenly, the chorus of “Miles From Home” popped into my head, and I started writing the song right there in the car. I sang it out loud in the hopes that it would help distract my daughter from the drive, and it was somewhat successful! She’s three now, and she loves dancing along to the song.
AH: What kind of a vibe were you going for on this song? How does the final version differ from what you imagined it might be before you went into the studio?
LI: When I wrote the song, I was thinking of it as a lighthearted expression of life on the road. I’ve been touring for almost a decade now, and there are a lot of ups and downs. I wanted to be honest about that lyrically while still expressing the fun, rhythmically and melodically. When I play the song solo acoustic, it has a little more of a traditional country or bluegrass feel to it. I was interested in seeing what we could do with it in the studio to make it more rock/Americana. I like the idea of the song living different lives depending on whether I’m playing it solo or with a band.
AH: What do you hope listeners get from hearing the song?
LI: I hope that listeners take in the lyrics and enjoy themselves. I wanted to convey the message that there’s a lot in life that’s out of our control, and trying to control everything doesn’t do much good for anyone. It’s okay to just let go and see where life takes you.
AH: Have you played this song live? If so, what kind of reaction has the song gotten from audiences?
LI: This was one of the first songs that I wrote for the album, so I’ve been playing it live for about a year and a half now. It’s always received warmly, and my favorite reaction is when there are kids in the audience and they hop right up and start dancing.
AH: How does this song fit in among the others on the album? How is it similar and/or how does it stand out as different?
LI: This song is one of the more upbeat songs on the album, and it will feature pretty early in the tracklist. It’s a good summation of the overall theme of the album, which focuses on how my mindset has changed over the years. I’m at a point in my life where I look for the good in everything instead of fixating on the challenges.
AH: What’s next for Lucy Isabel?
LI: The full album will be released in October 2024, and then I’ll be touring the Southeast and Northeast with my family in tow! My daughter often “helps” me during soundchecks on the road, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. I hope to see and meet a lot of folks out there this fall.
Thanks very much for chatting with us, Lucy Isabel. This song has a timeless country feel, and Lucy sings it with an open honesty and vocals that sound like an echo of the acoustic instruments that accompany them. “Do I ever learn to see the forest for the trees?” Fans can find the music here: https://show.co/RmLCRQh
