Now I need to hear Willie and Snoop duet “Oklahoma Sun.”
From Koe Wetzel’s 2022 Hell Paso record, he and Ernest share writing credits on the song, but apparently, it was actually written with Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg in mind.
Koe recently sat down with Buddy Logan for a chat on Radio Texas Live, where he discussed his recent fifth studio album Hell Paso, his forthcoming country album, as well as some of the wild meet & greets he’s experienced over the years.
As it turns out, on a trip to Nashville during a write with Ernest, they hit a bit of a wall, and naturally, hit the bar:
“‘Oklahoma Sun” is probably one of my favorites. I went to Nashville, was writing with Ernest, and we had a couple different leads to songs, nothing was working.
We’re like, you know, to hell with it, lets go to the bar. We went to the bar, had a couple drinks, you know, got a little twisted off.
On the way back, he was like, ‘Let me play you this,’ and he plays the hook for ‘Oklahoma Sun.'”
At the time, it was called “Willie,” because Ernest had hoped Willie might sing it with Snoop:
“At the time it was called ‘Willie,’ and I was like, ‘Why are you calling it Willie? He goes, ‘Well I wrote it for Snoop Dogg and Willie to come on and sing.’ And I was like, ‘Well have they done anything with it yet?’ He was like, ‘No.’
And I said, do you mind if I take it and see what comes up? He was like ‘Yeah, absolutely, go for it. It was just the hook.”
Koe says he added in most of the verses himself later on, and that it turned out to be one of his favorites on the 13-song tracklist…
And with Koe also about to get to work on his forthcoming country album, I’d love to see him and Ernest team up for more. They clearly produce great music together:
“I just went in and and put the verses over the top of it. It turned out to be one of my favorites on the record.”
Oh, what could’ve been… though I have to say, Koe definitely made the song his own, and it’s easily one of my favorites on his fifth studio album, too.
It’s a sad breakup song, and the lyrics are pretty simple for the most part, but the melancholy and mellow production on the chorus is so infectious and catchy that I can’t get enough:
“I’m waitin’ on a storm I know is coming
I’m waitin’ on the sun to sit on down
This Oklahoma sun just keeps on settin’
And my baby ain’t comin’ around”
I just love Koe’s vocals on that last line, “and my baby ain’t comin’ around,” and the picture he paints comparing his feelings about his heartbreak to the anticipation of waiting for a storm he knows is brewing, even if the sun is still shining outside right now.
A Youtube comment on the song summed it up best, saying the sound of this one was very reminiscent of early 2000’s rock like My Chemical Romance, and even more alternative-leaning bands like Jimmy Eat World, for example:
“My Chemical Koemance. Wetzel Eat World.”
Throw Nirvana in that mix, too, and coupled with Koe’s twangy Texas vocals, I guess you could say that pretty much sums up his entire sound.
At the end of the day, as cool as it would’ve been to have Willie and Snoop team up, “Oklahoma Sun” was made for Koe… don’t sleep on this one:
“Oklahoma Sun”
