Throughout the week on Backstage Country, HARDY will sit down with Elaina Smith to share the stories and inspirations behind some of his biggest tracks. Listeners will have a front row seat to the songwriting process from one of country music’s successful singer/songwriters.
“Wait in the Truck” (HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson)
HARDY - wait in the truck (feat. Lainey Wilson)
Smith recalled that HARDY once told her he wept the first time he heard the demo for “Wait in the Truck.” HARDY nodded and said, “It was weird. It wasn't because of the song, like I didn't listen to it and go, ‘Wow, I wrote such an incredible song!’” He laughed, “Yeah. It wasn’t like that. It's not that I listened to the song and it affected me, but when I heard it back, I was so thankful to be a part of a song that I knew was going to change my career.”
He admitted, “That's the only thought I had. Not that all I could think of was how this song is gonna heal people, and give mostly women a voice, and empower them, and just all of that stuff. It was just I knew it was gonna be such a special time for me when I had captured ‘lightning in a bottle.’ It's an uncontrollable wave of emotions that came out, but in the best way to the point where my wife, rather girlfriend, I think, at the time, and I said, ‘Hold on, you got to listen to this.’ It was a cool moment.”
Since he mentioned the song giving women a voice, Smith asked if there were instances where women came up to him and told him their stories. He admitted, “The saddest thing is the biggest thing that I've heard from so many women is how long they went in an abusive relationship and how they're like, ‘I should have gotten out sooner’ and ‘I kind of wish that I could have heard this song 10 years ago because it took me so long and I wasted so many years putting up with it.’ I hate that for them. But I'm also glad that maybe this song made them feel represented.”
“Truck Bed”
Smith shared that “Truck Bed” is one of her favorites among HARDY’s songs. She asked about the experience of playing the song during live shows. The Mississippi-born singer calls it “probably the hypest moment of the night” but also because the song is “already like a hype song.”
HARDY continued, “When you stack that on top of the fact that it was a big hit for me, it's the perfect storm of just craziness.” He chuckled, “And there is a big buildup, we always do it with the show where they don't really know what's coming, and then boom, I sing that first chorus, and it's the shock factor. It's the moment that most people are there to see, and they're so excited to sing along with it. It's awesome. It's my favorite part of the night.”
Whether you're a die-hard HARDY fan or just love learning what goes into your favorite country hits, this is your backstage pass to the music you love. For more of HARDY’s music, visit his website.
