Brad Paisley has covered just about every corner in country music throughout his career. From rowdy honky tonk anthems to the most heartfelt ballads, he always gives his all to every story he’s telling and makes raw honesty a priority. With his latest release, “Raining Inside,” he taps even deeper into this vulnerability to uncover a story centered around a heaviness that has been weighing him down mentally, especially in recent years.
The reality is, you never really know what someone is dealing with or what kind of thoughts are swirling in their heads. Unfortunately, Paisley has seen the effect of these struggles take over, leading to the passing of several of members of his community over the years, as well as a many others in the world. As he reflected on these losses, he was reminded of the fact that pain isn’t always visible on the outside. Determined to bring awareness to this fact and make others feel less alone, he channeled the loneliness of mental health struggles into his new song featuring the rock band Dawes.
The Evolution Of The Song’s Relatable Message
“I had the idea and I kind of thought of it as this song, it’s sort of like blues for no reason…and I think it could probably mean a lot of things to a lot of people in various situations,” he told Country Now. “There’s a sadness that you see and that you don’t see, I think, a lot of the time in people in your life…Before Ellen (DeGeneres) went off the air, I guest hosted one of those last shows, and Twitch was another example of somebody that was really fun to work with. And it was shortly after that that I was shocked by the same thing. You never know what somebody’s going through and what’s in that head.”
He went on to explain that while these examples are the worst possible outcome of someone struggling with mental health, there is another level, one that feels more like a “dull sadness” lingering inside someone.
“I don’t know what it is that causes that these days. It could be anything. And one of my favorite lines of the song is, ‘I don’t even need a reason.’ So I kind of thought, what’s it like to write a song where, usually it’s ‘since my baby left me’ or ‘lost my job’ and what’s it like if ‘I have friends that I can’t talk to and a doctor I don’t trust’ and all that, what’s the song, where it’s that?”
Joining Forces With Dawes
Sitting down with Lee Thomas Miller and Dawes’ lead singer, Taylor Goldsmith, Paisley got to work bringing this idea to life in a way that goes beyond his traditional country sound by incorporating the warm, vintage-inspired sound of the band Dawes. The song was originally recorded with just Paisley’s vocals, however inspiration to work together was further motivated when the country singer joined Dawes in performing Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” at the GRAMMYs.
“Being such good friends with Taylor, I just said, ‘what happens if you guys and me become a band. If my thing becomes part of yours and vice versa?’ And so that’s what it is. It’s them as the band and me fronting that. And then Taylor takes the second verse, and I think that collaboration, it’s always really fun these days to see artists do that and become something new by combining forces.”
Paisley leads the first part of the tune, sharing a vulnerable perspective of someone who can’t escape the darkness in their head.
“I’ve got friends that I can’t talk to/ And a doctor I don’t trust/ I got a ’68 Camaro/ And just like me, it has the rust/ There’s no difference in the darkness/ Even when I close my eyes/ I don’t need to hear the forecast,” he sings.
Taylor’s powerful vocals shine throughout the second verse, continuing on the pain-stricken narrative before coming together with Paisley on the chorus that takes listeners inside the individual’s mind to truly understand what they are going through.
They deliver, “It’s raining inside/ It’s really coming down/ It’s raining inside/ There ain’t a sky in the clouds/ Nowhere I can run/ Nowhere I can hide/ It’s raining inside.”
Along with their seamless vocal blend, both artists take turns showcasing their epic guitar skills with a series of unforgettable riffs tearing through the track, but most noticeably in the third verse.
“That’s another thing that I said when we did it, is there’s such a great vibe to Dawes that feels like you’re listening…At all times, to me, they have one foot in the ‘70s of California music. No matter what they’re doing there, there’s a prevailing Jackson Browne, Eagles thing with them and I love it,” he shared. “So in our case it was like, let’s do this in a way that feels like the way they arranged songs back then and the way the Eagles would trade guitar licks and you got Joe Walsh, Don Felder or Bernie Leadon or any of those guys playing. And that’s kind of how we did this…the whole song just becomes this cacophony of guitar riffs and dueling, and it feels a bit like a storm to me,” Paisley described.
Brad Paisley has already shared the stage with Dawes and showcased “Raining Inside” live on a number of occasions. He hopes that there will be many more opportunities to give this song the spotlight it deserves in the future.
Giving Fans Another Look Into His Next Album
This song comes as the West Virginia native’s current single, “Truck Still Works” continues to heat up at country radio. Written by Brad, Chris Dubois, Will Bundy, Hunter Phelps and Rodney Clawson and produced by Brad and Luke Wooten, the already fan-favorite track acts as a sequel to one of his biggest hits of 2005, “Mud On the Tires.”
Both tracks give fans are building onto what will eventually become Paisley’s next studio album. “Raining Inside” is an especially great example of the types of stories fans can expect to see across this next collection as he pulls from real-life stories of being an artist, a father, a husband and a friend.
“I’ve written a few new things lately that are really cool and I think one thing that’s on my mind as everything’s just kind of crazy in the world is how small can I make the lens? Because it’s like there’s enough to write about on a very personal level. ‘Raining Inside’ is a really good example of that where it is a large theme that anyone can apply to, but it’s as small of a target as you can make, which is essentially what’s going on inside your head. And so when I think about the little community I live in and the friends I’ve got and the things that are important to me and these kids that are teenagers that are growing up in front of my eyes, there’s a lot to write about there.”
His goal is to create music that resonates deeply with listeners, making them feel like it was meant just for them. It wouldn’t be surprising if he continues to incorporate nods to his early catalog, much like he does in “Truck Still Works.”
The post Brad Paisley Talks Teaming Up With Dawes On ‘Raining Inside’ and Tackling Mental Health Through Music [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.
