Ryan Klein, the writer, guitarist and background vocalist for The Lowdown Drifters, said in an exclusive interview with Music & Lyrics that he wrote "Back to the Wood" to explain the good things his small hometown brought out in him.
"I wanted to tell people the positive things that the town had brought out in me and the way it shaped me into the person I am."
He said most people, while they're in their small towns, only see the limitations and "then come to appreciate all the things that make your town unique."
Klein said it's all about home for him.
"There might be opportunities, but there's only one place you call home."
As a writer, he said, "songs either come in five minutes or five months." If it is a "five-minute" song, it'll start with "an idea and it all just spills out."
"Back to the Wood" was a "five-minute" song and "came out pretty fast," Klein said.
I think this song has an authentic country rock feel.
Lead vocalist John Cannon's scruffy-but-cool voice lends itself well to a song about "the wood," like sandpaper on the wood, really - in a good way.
Accompanying that voice and Klein's guitar and voice, there is Tyler Alumbaugh on lead guitar, Galen Bailey on drums, and Eric Gehrke on bass.
Accompanying that voice and Klein's guitar and voice, there is Tyler Alumbaugh on lead guitar, Galen Bailey on drums, and Eric Gehrke on bass.
While the name of the song makes you immediately think it will be super country/folk song with banjos and such, it's pretty smooth rock - with an accent, of course.
Klein said the song sounds like a cross between "Fly Over States," by Jason Aldean and "More Than Miles," by Brantley Gilbert.
And besides those performers, Klein said Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbel, and Jamie Johnson are just a few of his influences.
"There's a lot of meaning behind their lyrics," Klein said. "They're not just shoe-horning in 'six-pack' and 'gun rack.' There is thought behind it."
Klein said his favorite lyric is from the first verse, where it says, "I got this small town pride, From a preacher and his bride, And that Spartan head right there on my jersey."
Because Klein's father was a pastor, whenever the band plays this song, Klein always says it's his shoutout to his dad.
"I've been to Nashville and California, but at the end of every trip, I just wanted to go home."
Find the lyrics to this awesome song about small towns below.
Well I grew up,
In a little hick town,
Folks 'round here all call it God's country.
I got this small town pride,
From a preacher and his bride,
And that Spartan head there on my jersey.
It's where I'm from
And where I'll raise my sons
And hope that they turn out just like my daddy
So when we raise a toast,
And we'll all start to boast
You'll know it ain't just the whiskey talking
'Cause I can take a red eye down to Nashville,
Road trip to LA,
Drive right pat those redwood trees,
And sing on the Opry stage.
But I know son,
Where I come from,
Where I'll be and where I always should,
So you can take me back to the wood,
Take me back to the wood.
I spent four years
In a college town
Where the Busch you know it flowed just like water
But it was too dang cold
And those wheat fields were getting old
And back home you know the grass is always greener
Road trip to LA,
Drive right pat those redwood trees,
And sing on the Opry stage.
But I know son,
Where I come from,
Where I'll be and where I always should,
So you can take me back to the wood,
Take me back to the wood.
If you ever come to visit,
I'll take you down an old dirt road,
To a bonfire where the angels dance,
And the beer is nice and cold
Road trip to LA,
Drive right pat those redwood trees,
And sing on the Opry stage.
But I know son,
Where I come from,
Where I'll be and where I always should,
So you can take me back to the wood,
