When did the initial idea for your latest single ‘My Beloved’ come together?
My wife and I have been married for 26 years and I wanted to write a song about her as a partner in life. I’ve been with her longer than I ever was without and while life hasn’t been easy for us, we’ve really danced through it all together. I wanted a song that felt like something you could hear at a wedding or a dancehall, something that you can dance in a kitchen to or anywhere else.
I got that opening line “I tell her she’s everything. She says I’m alright.” and the rest just flowed.
How would you describe the track, to a reader that is unfamiliar with Joe Buchanan?
It’s a classic country love song about dancing through life with your partner. Lush pedal steel, warm fiddle, and playful lyrics. Anyone who is Jewish will immediately recognize the chorus as being from The Song of Songs, Ani l’dodi v’dodi li (I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine).
Can you tell us a bit more about the meaning behind the track?
There are a lot of love songs about first love, summer flings, and attraction. There’s not a ton of tunes about once you’ve been together a long time. You develop a language and way of being that is unique to your relationship. You really become entwined and if you’re with the right person, it’s a stunning experience and you create something that never existed before. A unique love born of the work it takes to make love last. That’s what the track is about.
There were so many versions of the chorus but it always ended with “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine”. We picked the three that really summed things up and as I’ve played it live, people have been reaching out to tell me that it’s their song, too. The very best feeling as a songwriter is to know that something you made resonated with folks.
How would you say that the track compares to anything you’ve done before?
This is the first time I’ve stepped into the Producer’s chair and that allowed me to make exactly the album I wanted to make. Because these songs are inspired by Judaism, the last 11 years since my conversion, and growing up in Texas, it’s hard for most folks to see the vision. To me, the vision is crystal clear. Texas country, inspired by faith.
Because of that, the whole album feels unique and very dialed in to what I’m trying to do. It’s a bigger album and I really believe it’s the best work I’ve done.
What was the hardest part about putting it together, and why?
The toughest part is the cost. Making the music, playing with the band, writing lyrics, and all the work that goes into production is the fun stuff. Yeah, it’s a ton of work but I’m someone who likes to work. I like to learn and I like to be involved so that I can get better as an artist. That helps me better support my band, the folks who work with me, and the crews that work behind the scenes to make it all happen. If someone chooses to work with me, I’m going to take care of them and make sure it’s a great experience for them. One of the ways I can do that is to understand more about the business instead of just singing or writing.
The toughest is always the cost. I’m an independent artist and I have to raise the funds for everything myself or do things like Indiegogo or Kickstarter. It’s not a complaint at all, it’s just the reality for unsigned artists. I sure as heck ain’t wealthy by any stretch (I make music for a living) so we had to break up the creation of this album between stretches of gigs so we could afford to do what ever the next step is. Again, no complaints about it. That’s just how it is.
Why should a reader check out the track?
If you like love songs or are any kind of romantic, this is really a song for you. If you like dancing, love stories, or a slow sway in the kitchen, this is your song. If you grew up on classic country and want someone to bring a little bit of it back, I got you covered.
What else can you tell us about the track, that we haven’t covered in this interview?
Everything about this was recorded live in the studio, except for the fiddle. We were planning on having a fiddle player join us but no one was available the day we went into the studio for it. So we reached out to some folks and got Gabe Witcher from the Punch Brothers to lay down some fiddle for us from his home studio. He really made the track sing and absolutely brought what we were looking for.
