Trace Adkins Had To Stop Recording ‘Whippoorwills And Freight Trains’

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A Song That Hit Trace Hard
Out of all of the songs on his album, Somethingâs Going On, none of them moved Trace Adkins as much as âWhippoorwills and Freight Trains.â
As he revealed during an interview with USA Today, he got so emotional while recording the song that he had to take a step back:
âI was about halfway through recording the master vocal when I just had to step away from the microphone,â he shared. âI lookedâ¦and said, âYouâve got to give me a moment. This song is killing me.ââ
Listening to âWhippoorwills and Freight Trains,â itâs no wonder why Adkins was so moved by the song.
The Pain In The Lyrics
The song’s lyrics tell the story of a man whoâs been through a lot of pain in his life. He used to hate the sound of trains and whippoorwills, because such subtle sounds allowed him to focus too much on his heartache:
As Adkins sings, âSilence is like a bullet from a rifle, aimed straight at my heart, triggered by those echoes in the distanceâ¦â
But the same sounds that used to torture the narrator bother him no more.
He has found a woman that makes him feel whole again, and she has taken away all of his pain. He sings about how sheâs helped pull him through:
âBut when you lie by my side in peaceful dreams, moonlight on your face, girl, I can drift away and sleep safe, from whippoorwills and freight trains.â
You’ve Never Heard Trace Like This
As you listen to the audio of âWhippoorwills and Freight Trains,â youâll notice that Adkins hits an extremely low note in there. Weâre all used to hearing Adkinsâ deep baritone voice, but never as low as this.
As Adkins told Billboard, that low note he hits in the song is the lowest note heâs ever done on a recording:
That note was inspired by country legend Buck Owens, who once teased Adkins that all he had going on for him was his ability to hit that low note.
âHe told me once, âSon, put that low note in every song you record because itâs what youâve got going.’â Adkins said.
However, Adkins made sure to note that the lyrics in âWhippoorwills and Freight Trainsâ are much more important to him than that low note.
Now itâs time for you to hear to the song that means so much to Adkins. Tune in below to listen to the sensitive âWhippoorwills and Freight Trains.â