01.02.07 Preview: Should I Tell Them
I have the final version of the new live CD One Night In Knoxville in my hands. Tomorrow I’ll tackle the final tweaks on the album’s packaging and send the whole thing off to be manufactured.
You, my friend, have been very patient, waiting for months now for this CD to be completed. (Not you. That guy. Yea, you. And my mom. And, yea, that’s about it.) I at least owe you a preview of the album right? So, for the next few days, I’ll be posting snippets and a few hopefully interesting tidbits on them to.
First up, “Should I Tell Them”.
I started writing this song while working at The Methodist Childrens Home in Waco, Texas. I was in college and painfully aware of all my inadequacies. Music school will do that to you. I didn’t just lack the musical confidence to sing for 250 unentertainable juveniles, but I also couldn’t find just about every spiritual answer those kids at the home needed. Truth was no one was expecting me to have those answers, but I wrote this while buckling under these false expectations.
When I moved to Nashville the next year to start chasing down any kind of job in the music business, I smacked once again into those old feelings of inadequacy. I couldn’t write the kind of perpetually positive tied-in-a-bow spiritual nuggets coming from the professional writers I was becoming friends with at the publishing company where I archived reels of old songs all day. Convinced something was wrong with me, I pulled out my guitar on a lunch break and worked again on Should I Tell Them. Strangely, it was the first song my boss/publishing company VP Marty Wheeler liked of mine.
The song was quickly pitched (along with After The Music Fades, Two Cents and a never recorded song called Back Home to You) to Caedmon’s Call for possible inclusion on their Forty Acres record. It didn’t make the cut. I later found out it was never seriously considered but used instead, along with a few other writers’ songs, by their A&R guy to light a fire under the band - to get them writing more fervently, get them caught up and more in line with the marketing department’s deadlines for the album’s release. “Write some good songs fast or you’ll be recording these” kind of a thing. Their album turned out great without “Should I Tell Them”, and I got to record it myself three years later on my first CD.
This live version of the song is from the second of the two shows recorded in Knoxville. The crowd in the first show was too sedate, freaked out by all the microphones around the place and Brian’s sarcastic warnings not to mess up the recording or else. This left awkward unnatural silences throughout the recording so most of that show is not included on the final CD.
When we started mixing this disc I was bummed we couldn’t use more of the first show on it. We could have actually but it would have required so much editing that it felt dishonest to me and not at all live. I was afraid of using so much of the second show because I was tired during that performance. Very tired. And in pain on the high notes, which makes them sound that much more urgent...I prefer “urgent” to “pitchy.” The entire CD has that same kind of “urgency” and now, after listening to it dozens of times, I actually like that about the final product. It sounds like a show at the end of a long tour. Raw. Imperfect. Human. Just enough struggle to make you believe I meant every word of this song caught on silicon. And I did.
Todd said:
This is the song you opened with when you were touring with Bebo Norman in Conway, (?) Arkansas in 2001. It was the song that hooked me on your music - it was so honest and real. (Sidenote: Who was that girl who was touring with you? Whatever happened to her?)
This version sounds great and I can’t wait for the album.
Shaun Groves said:
Katie Hudson.
She changed her name and made a mainstream record for Island Def Jam that never released. Don’t know what happened after that. We lost touch.
She was fifteen then.
Todd said:
15? Holy cow.
Matt said:
Thanks for the sneek peek, Shaun. I’m looking forward to more!
Shawn Bashor said:
Very cool man, I like it. It actually sounds like a live album, not too polished, yet refined...or maybe is that just your singing skills?
Peace Bro, Shawn
andrew t. said:
The thought of Caedmon’s needing such a huge nudge to finish writing 40 Acres (and their A&R going so far as to request songs from outside writers) is...weird. You’d think guys like Derek Webb and Aaron Tate could just crank out brilliance on demand. It sheds some light on why they included a Shawn Colvin cover, though…
It’s cool to get the backstory on this song. It’s always been one of my faves from your first album.
connor Mccullough said:
dude i cant wait to get a copy of this cd, make sure you send plenty to us in Northern Ireland
Erin said:
I live in Knoxville right now and was really sad that I missed those shows, but I can’t wait to get the CD. Thanks for the sneak peek!
Steven said:
Love it. Can’t wait to hear it live here in a couple of weeks in Memphis.
said:
Awesome! You’d better bring copies to Grand Forks too! I’ll need several of my own. This is one of my favorite songs because I struggle to tell others at times; especially those I’m closest too. I don’t always like live cds because they do sound chopped, etc. and I always wonder what I missed, but this one is going to make me feel like I was there; and isn’t that the point?
Beth
Aims said:
Grrr I hate dial-up! I’m ready to be back at school where I have a network and I can listen to this stuff without even seeing the word BUFFERING!!! Back to waiting *sighs and turn up Gwen Stefani*
said:
Any idea on a release date Shaun?
Shaun Groves said:
I’m uploading the song clips to the store right now so we can start taking orders. Manufacturing begins this week and takes about three weeks they now say. So, we’re looking at the last week in January.
said:
Shaun,
You could always include the first show on the special edition version you release after everyone has already bought the first version. And do not forget the gold package that you will sell after the special edition that will also include the video version of 2nd show. And then after you are sure that everyone has those versions, you can bring out the super platinum version with even more stuff including both shows in CD and DVD form and even a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix on the DualDisc that will also be in that package. Well that is what many other artists would do (not mentioning any in particular - mm, bg, etc). LOL. Thanks for serving. Looking forward to the finished product. -G
said:
I am definitely excited and am one of the MANY who are patiently waiting Shaun! In fact I just got a call in-studio from a listener who was at the live recording and is excited to get her’s as well!
Hope to see you again soon Shaun and thanks for your support of Knoxville and of Love89.1FM
shaunfan said:
Shaun, I’m so glad you included this song on your live CD as it is my favorite song of yours. Thanks also for the background information and it’s better that Caedmon’s passed on the song. You were meant to sing this song.
shaunfan said:
Shaun, I’m so glad you included this song on your CD as it is my favorite song of yours. Also, thanks for the background information about the song. I’m glad Caedmon’s passed on the song as you were meant to sing it. Thanks so much for the encouragement I’ve gotten from your music! Kevin
shaunfan said:
Shaun, I’m so glad you included this song on the live CD as it is my favorite song of yours. Thanks also for the background information on the song. It’s better that Caedmon’s passed on your song as you were meant to sing it. Thanks for all of the encouragement that this song has given me. Kevin
Ryan G. said:
Shaun,
Thanks for this. Hearing where songs come from is always cool to read about.
-Ryan
said:
This song, should I tell Them, has a wonderful message and expresses feelings many Christians feel. I am convinced that we do not share Christ enough with the people around us. I am aslo convinced that we don’t do this because of a lack of confidence in ourselves. And this is the root of the problem. We are trying to rely on ourselves, imperfect and insecure and weak - when we should be relying on God - the creator and sustainor of the universe - who has not given us a spirit of timidity - but of power and love and self discipline (2 Tim 1:7).
I heard this song while preparing a lesson on just this topic, and plan to mention this song in my sermon in a few hours.
Thanks for sharing the story behind the lyrics. And remember - you can do little. But with God, you can do the unimaginable! (Eph 3:20)
Thanks again
said:
I love Should I Tell Them. I know the whole thing off by heart (but I don’t make it sound very good when I attempt to sing it!!). It is beautiful. It’s a favourite of mine.
said:
Hello Shaun.
I really enjoy this song.
It is so true that it is not us but Him who lives in us!
It is so common to hear church people speak to cover the bases so to speak to hide any weakness in the camp. But in reality and contrary to a lot of self help speakers it is excellent to state the obvious. I am weak he is strong. It seems to me that this message of being strong in Christ is true but taken to the wrong extreme where we think we need to pretend to be strong. It is not about pretending but being real. That is, acknowledging our inabilities, our failure to get it all together. That is what heaven is, all together perfect. The way is Jesus Christ. Ironically, there is freedom in knowing our weakness when we have that good news of a future and purpose.
Try telling that to someone who thinks they got to make it in this world.
Just to tell you, I knew Jesus as a little boy and accepted ‘officially’ Jesus as Savior at 15. The thing is, He is now my Lord, however, in many ways I found myself searching for answers and trying to be somebody ‘important’. In reality, I was substituting God for career achievements. Problem was, circumstances seemed to prohibit me from ‘getting ahead’ and I had failure written all over me. I was eating that fruit from Eden and not even realizing it. I was confused and frustrated. If you told me I was not letting Jesus be Lord in my life I would have said otherwise. I was blind, living my past expectations that were taught to me. To accept defeat was not my plan. It got to the point where the Lord showed me in some Literature what I was doing. I was shocked and relieved. I welcomed Jesus as Lord. Sometimes we learn the hard way. It was not until then, that I could really witness about Jesus.
Before that, I felt like Christian failure. Now I know, real success does not come on my own, it is Jesus who gives me peace of heart, it is Him who fills my heart where death once tolled, it is Jesus who gives me Life. When trouble comes to heat up our affairs, we need to hold on to Jesus. He is faithful.
God bless
Ronnie