Little Rebellion Music

Songwriters: Walker Hayes, Doug Waterman

While Colt Ford became known mainly with lighter fare extolling on the virtues of fried chicken, trailers, trucks, and beer, he has increasingly added lyrical substance to his album tracks. Current radio single, ‘Workin’ On,’ is by a long distance the best-written song he has ever recorded.

From Walker Hayes‘ demo, I have been deeply impressed with this song. An honest, and at times quite brutal, self-examination is something only a certain type of artist can translate, and luckily for Hayes and co-writer Doug Waterman, this song landed with the perfect team. The writers’ use of language is exquisite. They created profound statements by weaving together uncomplicated phrases. It is at once very accessible, and very intelligent. And if you happen to be a songwriter, you should be deeply envious of the chorus especially.

Another unexpected strength of this song, is that this does not follow Ford’s usual pattern of bringing in a vocalist to handle the choruses. He handles this one all by himself, and his performance is vulnerable and honest. “Owning up to my weaknesses / keeping it humble but strong,” he starts the bridge, and everything about it feels authentic.

For a song that has so much to say, it was handled with a surprisingly light touch. And at no point does this become about a beat. Disciplined drums and a sharp, confident fiddle are the main features, while a soft electric guitar is almost turned into a percussive instrument which tethers the vocal to the rest of the track.

‘Workin’ On’ will resonate with a great number of people, and I sincerely hope that a great number is exactly the amount of people who will hear it.

Set aside any preconceptions you may have an listen to ‘Workin’ On. To find out more about how the song was written, check out the interview with the songwriters below.

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Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.

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