I'm kinda sadWe have been going through every song on Lady A's new album, 'OCEAN'Celebrating the fact that it's finally availableAnd we're down to the last song on the albumAnd I almost, in some ways, feel like we saved the best for lastOr at least one of the bestIt is the title track from the album, "Ocean"And there are so many things that we could talk about with this songSo I guess first, let's just start withWhat does "Ocean" mean to you?For people who have not heard the song, or seen the videoWhich we're gonna get to in a second"Ocean" is a really, really raw songWe were sent this songAnd it's Sarah Buxton, Abe Stoklosa and Topher Brown are the writersAnd I listened to it probably at leastA half a dozen times for melody aloneIt was so artisticIt felt so, like it should be in a movie scoreAnd then I dove into the lyricAnd the lyric, it will break your heartI mean, it's so raw and honestAnd this song can be just like anythingWe've talked about this beforeIt can be about so many thingsSomeone who's struggling with depression, substance abuseIt can be just someone who is emotionallyUnavailable because of whatever reasonI sing this song and sometimes it'sLike I'm that person I'm singing aboutAnd it gets really real for meAnd I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I don't wanna be that way for my husbandOr another relationship in my life"It's hard to say exactly what it's aboutI think it's about so many different things for whoever hears itI think "Ocean" for three people who are married and have kidsI mean, I've been married now ten yearsAnd you have to admit that there are moments whereI know I get really selfish and my wife is like, "I'm herePay attention to me"You know, 'cause you get caught up with the kidsThat's where the focus goesAnd you get caught up in your jobAnd it's funny how these songs sometimes almostMakes you aware of what you're doing and your flawsIt's made me kinda go, "Alright, I gottaCheck in on my wife a little bit more"I think though, the thing that I love about "Ocean" isWe were really excited to record itBut we still didn't know what it was gonna beIf it was gonna be special, if it was gonna work or notAnd to me, this song is the purest example ofYou can have a great song and lyricallyIt's an amazingly written songBut without your performanceI mean, her performance to me justSells it in such a raw, vulnerable wayAfter we recorded it and got the first versionI couldn't help myself but send it to the songwritersAnd they were just sit back and were soFloored and bawling and blown away by itAnd that's the reaction that I felt tooAnd I love about thatYou know, sometimes it's not just about a songIt's about the right song with the right artistThe right vocal, the right timing and everythingAnd I just feel like this is hands down myFavorite vocal that Hillary has ever put downThe most honestAnd it was probably put together in, what, two or three takes?Those are the best ones, you know?This song, I get like, nauseousAnd I don't mean that dramaticLike, I have a visceral response toHearing this song, singing this songIt stirs up so much in meIt made me so creatively uncomfortableI mean, I was terrifiedIt's not that it was a lack of belief in if I could do it or notI just wanted to do the song justiceAnd I wanted it to feel true and authenticTo me singing the lead to us as a bandAnd I'm just so grateful that we get to be the voices on itAnd that I pushed through my discomfortBut it's definitely one of those that I'm like, "Hooh"And if Dan were here, he would say likeI was so, "Are you sure? Are you sure?"And you know, the whole recording processOf that song, it happened really fastBut it was the last song we recordedAnd we started it out with just me and Gordon Mote on pianoAnd he is so unbelievable, so talentedHas such heart and soul in everything that he doesBut we had no click trackI mean, it was very just basicLike, your most basic way of cutting a trackAnd so, so much of it was the feel and the connection between he and IAnd truly that ebb and flow of the piano and the vocalAnd so, I walked out of the studio that dayEmotionally like, "Hooh, that was a lot"But also, it was a point of like, I overcame somethingI pushed through a little bit of a fearAnd a discomfort that was really healthyI think her vocal, like Charles said, is one of our favorite vocalsIt's one of my favorite art pieces that we've doneYou know, another thing about "Ocean" thatJust drew me in so much was just the imageryI mean, it's such a beautiful representationWhen you think about the waves, the ups and downsAnd that's really what led us to titleThat for the album is the ups and downsI mean, all the big things that an ocean can representI mean, standing on the shore and not being able to get in'Cause the waves are crashing in against youAll these just kind of beautiful metaphors that play out in that songThat you can kind of pull snippets fromSo, it represented the project to usI think it felt like a great summation ofThe ups and downs that we've gone throughOver the last two years together as a band, personally, separatelyAnd the way we've come together to make this recordIt felt like it was a special moment inTime that this song landed in our lapsAnd it's such a beautiful piece of artI mean, it's literally just a painting to meIt's an absolute masterpieceAnd Hillary made it that and the songwriters made it thatAnd me and Charles tried to stay out of the way with our harmoniesBecause it's just a beautiful stand-alone momentAnd so, that to me is what stands out as well about "Ocean"Yeah, Hillary's performance on this song is amazingI would call your sound devastatingly beautifulBecause the way that you channel theEmotion in this song is just so brilliantAnd I am curious about the videoBecause usually when there's a video treatmentThey basically write up a story, this is how we see the video goingSo I mean, did they bring you something that said"You'll basically stand here and cry whileWe take a close-up shot of your face"?Or, gosh, I mean, what was happening onThat day when you were filming this video?For people who haven't seen it, I can't even describe itIt's just so emotionalWe were in Vegas, it was our last weekend of our residency in AugustAnd so there were a lot of emotions around thatOf just, this is, you know, a chapter of our careerA huge milestone in our career coming to a closeI'd been away from my family for almost two weeksSo I was very much ready to get home to them and missing themIn every photo that I was receiving, and like, just differentThings were just kind of keeping me pretty raw, emotionallyThat was when we had received news of our dearFriend Busby and what he was dealing with, soI mean, there were a lot of things that were going onAnd it was truly, the tears just kind of poured out, like, itWasn't like I was sitting there going, "Okay, access the sad"I started singing it, Hodges and I's friendship and workingRelationship, he's a safe, trusted place for me to go thereAnd it really kind of happened, there was no planIt was just, "You're gonna sit here and sing thisSong," and then the floodgates just burst openSo it's hard to watch, it was hard for my familyTo watch, but I think that it was just realAnd honestly, it feels like that every time I sing itI can't imagine, because just watching the video, I wanted to reachThrough my screen and just hug you, you did such a brilliant jobI highly encourage you, if you've not seen the video for "Ocean," I can't even do it justice in words, so go watchThe video, but first, here's the song, just to give youAn idea of what kind of emotion is involved in this songIt's the title track off Lady A's new album, which we are so excitedTo finally be celebrating the release of here on Big Machine Radio
