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Darryl Worley recently discussed the songs on his new album, I Miss My Friend (DreamWorks Records). Released July 16, 2002, the disc was produced by Frank Rogers (Brad Paisley).
“Tennessee River Run” (Darryl Worley/Steve Leslie): I don't typically sit down and write “party” songs, but one day I was sitting with Steve and I said, “You know, I'd really like to write a fun, up-tempo song about something I know about, something from my life.” Well, I did grow up along the Tennessee River, and a lot of our fun times were spent out on the water. I said, “We'll write about it by telling exactly what we used to do.” It has a sort of “Chattahoochie” feel with a little Cajun bounce to it.
“I Wouldn't Mind The Shackles” (Darryl Worley/Howard Perdew): This is a break-up-with-a-girlfriend song. The idea came to me while I was driving to Howard's house. It just slammed into me when I came up with that hook line: “I wouldn't mind the shackles if it wasn't for the rattle of the chain.” I think a lot of people can relate to this – it doesn't necessarily have to be about a woman or a relationship. There are a lot of things that pass through our lives that kind of hang on.
“I Miss My Friend” (Mark Nesler/Tom Shapiro/Tony Martin): About 16 years ago, I'd gotten to know this older lady who had a nine-year-old daughter. The relationship had progressed to where I thought I would introduce her to my family. She and her daughter went away for a week, to Florida. The day before she was to come back home, I talked to her on the phone and told her I was going to take her to meet my mom. But they were killed in a car accident the next morning. There was no closure, no chance to say goodbye. She went away and left this feeling in my heart. It was horrible. It all came out the night we shot the video for “I Miss My Friend” – it was therapy; it was like a million pounds were being lifted from my shoulders. The director didn't know my story at all, but out of the blue he knelt down and said, “You never got a chance to say goodbye, did you?” It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He said, “This is your chance, once and for all. Tell her all the things you wished you could have told her.” Needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot of acting going on. It was an unbelievable experience. I'll never forget it.
“Callin' Caroline” (Darryl Worley/Steve Leslie/Frank Rogers): Frank's family owns a beach house, and we went down there to try and write a few songs and get away from it all. Right out of the blue, we wrote this, quick and painless. I don't think we wrote another thing the whole time we were down there. This is a hot little number. Truckers are gonna love it, and I know it will be a whole lot of fun to play live.
“Family Tree” (Darrell Scott): As soon as my wife and I got married a year ago, we decided we wanted to have children as soon as we could. We've been “practicing” a lot, but it still hasn't happened. So this whole idea of “Family Tree” is right on the money for where I am in my life. I could definitely see me with one in the cradle and one in my arms and not knowing what the hell to do. That's Frank's son making the baby noises.
“Back Where I Belong” (Darryl Worley/Steve Leslie/Randy Hardison): I think every artist who does some songwriting eventually puts their “home” song on an album, and this is mine. It's very emotional to me because it's so much right out of my past. My hope is that a million people will hear it and say, “Man, that makes me want to go home.” I sometimes do it in my show with just me and my guitar. I'll say something like, “On Saturday night when we're out here having a blast, there are some people overseas who aren't. We're able to go out and do these things because they're out there defending our country.” I'm hoping this song means something to those men and women.
“The Least That You Can Do” (Darryl Worley/Walt Aldridge): I've always known this is one of the best-crafted songs I've ever written. It was written out of experiences that Walt and I both had suffered and dealt with. The guy is just so pathetic. You can't help but feel sorry for him because nine out of every 10 people have sat in this chair and worn these shoes. He's just trying to keep all that egg off of his face. This song tells the truth.
“I Built This Wall” (Darryl Worley/Jerry Salley): This is the kind of song I grew up singing. When Jerry and I wrote it, it had more of a George Jones feel. But while we were doing the video for “I Miss My Friend,” we got word that Waylon Jennings had passed away. There was already a lot of emotion in that room. I thought, “Maybe we should try to record something like Waylon would have done it.” When we got back into the studio, I mentioned it to Frank and he said, “We ought to try that on 'I Built This Wall.'” I think that really took this performance up a notch.
“Opportunity Of A Lifetime” (Darryl Worley/Randy Hardison/Wynn Varble): I like to think of this as “Bob Wills meets Dean Martin.” It definitely has a western swing thing, but it also has a little big band. I love to do songs like this. All those early swing tunes that George Strait did were a big influence on me. We mixed it like an old jazz record. It doesn't sound like anything else out there right now.
“Spread A Little Love Around” (Harley Allen/John Wiggins): I don't usually write these positive, “feel good” things. I probably should try to do that more often, but I would have a hard time topping this one. It has such a sweet message. I love what it says. It makes you feel like you're at a family reunion.
“POW 369” (Steven Dale Jones): My family is very involved in the military. World War II, Vietnam – it goes on and on. I was out at The Bluebird Café for its “Turner South” TV show, and I saw Stephen play this song. It's a wonderful story and a true one. The fact that he lived this and decided that the experience was worthy of a song just hit me so hard. Right there on camera, I said, “You know, it would be a shame if this song was never recorded and people never got to hear it.” That night I made up my mind to give it a try. Stephen called me up after he heard it, and he doesn't do stuff like that. He said, “Thank you for cutting my song. You are a singin' sonofabitch, and this is the only cut I've ever had that made me cry.” It moves me every time I hear it, too, especially when he does it.
“Where You Think You're Goin'?” (Wynn Varble/Shawn Camp/Brice Long): I love traditional country music. To me, this is like an Ernest Tubb record. It's such a fun tune, and I love it that three of my best friends wrote it. That's them singing the “ooohs” in the background. They call themselves “The Ordinaires.” The whole thing is kind of loose and fun, with some interesting percussion things going on. I think it turned out really cool.
Cover courtesy of DreamWorks Nashville