It’s written from the perspective of an everyday, average Dad who sometimes gets lost in his own routine, who from time to time needs a subtle reminder of what’s really important in life. Nicole never seems to care if he’s busy or otherwise occupied; she always wants his time and attention. It’s a needed reminder to stop and be a part of the fleeting moments in her life. She really was three feet high, and definitely is larger than life.

And thank God she’s around–to bring us all down (to earth). Oh, and you can see exactly what we’re talking about in the video we shot for this song. Nicole is the star!

Eventually, we were able to come up with the good image of him walking a long distance to town, then shining his dusty shoes before they got married at the courthouse. But there really is a brother ‘Earl’, and Randy’s grandmother did wear a blue wedding dress. The baby, Randy’s Mom, wasn’t actually born in June (but it rhymes with two, you know), but her Dad did build the house himself—with a little help from friends and family.

This was a nice one to finish, a nice tribute to Randy’s grandparents.

Wanda’s Song
This was the first song we wrote when we moved to Nashville. It took a long time to write, many sessions, many hours. We didn’t have a very concrete idea for the story when we started. It started out with the hook “If that is all you see, then you don’t see me”, basically saying that people often look at superficial things, instead of really trying to get to know someone. Initially the story was very complicated. Too complicated. When we finally settled on the taunting/teasing idea, we were able to make it work better. The three of us knew people in our childhood who Wanda represented. And we could relate to the experiences of the main characters. It was cathartic to write this song and make a statement denouncing the kind of behavior that put Wanda in the place she finds herself. We are particularly proud of the bridge to this song—we think it’s one of the strongest we’ve ever written. Also, it’s the most interesting song we have musically, thanks to the acoustic groove John Paul Lourence came up with, with the verses in a minor key, and the chorus in a major key–it gives the song the funky feel it has. Rusty Danmyer and Larry Franklin nailed the dobro and fiddle parts respectively, really enhancing the recording. The process of writing this song was a good reminder that it often helps to have a fairly strong concept of the direction of the song before you begin writing—it usually makes the writing sessions much less frustrating.