CURRENT SINGLE: “Hard Days”
There are a lot of singer/songwriters who not only write songs that they record, but sometimes their songs end up being recorded by other people. Brantley Gilbert is one of those singer/songwriters, but when he sits down to write a song, in his mind, he is always writing for himself, and he’s not thinking about whether or not a song might be good for someone else, or whether it is following some sort of formula to be universally appealing to the masses. “I’ve found – and I don’t know if this is across the board, it may just be a me thing – but I found the songs that I wrote that really went the furthest and really hit people the way that I intended to, are the songs that I write for me, about me,” says Brantley, “and really explain the emotion that’s goin’ on and really let that expression happen uninhibited and unfiltered, not thinking about a radio audience or a show audience.”
While Brantley has had songs he’s written recorded by other people, it just so happens that those songs that he wrote for himself were relatable enough to another artist for them to want to record it. Brantley says his mindset toward songwriting, “it’s just, I’m gonna write the hell out of this song. That’s something that I’ve found in my case, that the songs that are more personal, in a strange way end up being more relatable. And it’s not necessarily my job, but I feel like I stumble upon that more when I write songs that are closer to my heart.”
A good example of a song that is deeply personal for Brantley but has become meaningful to a lot of other people in their own lives, is his current single, “Hard Days.”
Brantley Gilbert – who are you writing for :37
“I’ve found – and I don’t know if this is across the board, it may just be a me thing – but I found the songs that I wrote that really went the furthest and really hit people the way that I intended to, are the songs that I write for me, about me, and really explain the emotion that’s goin’ on and really let that expression happen uninhibited and unfiltered, not thinking about a radio audience or a show audience. It’s just, I’m gonna write the hell out of this song. That’s something that I’ve found in my case, that the songs that are more personal, in a strange way end up being more relatable. And it’s not necessarily my job, but I feel like I stumble upon that more when I write songs that are closer to my heart.”