Laying it all out there.
Wynonna Judd is gearing up to release her new album The Hard Truth on October 2nd, and of course, she and her mother, Naomi Judd, were nothing short of a power duo in the ’80s, scoring five Grammys, nine CMA Awards and 14 #1 hits. As a solo artist, Wynonna also carved her own path in the ’90s, scoring huge hits with the likes of her rendition of “I Saw the Light,” “No One Else On Earth,” “She Is His Only Weakness” and “To Be Loved By You.”
The past decade has been nothing short of trying for Wynonna, however, notably because of the tragic death of her mother in 2022. Thankfully, it seems as if she’s doing much better recently. This led to her debuting her first new song since 2022 at Stagecoach, “Kentucky Queen,” just recently, and today, she put out a very, very personal song called “Girl Who Could Sing.”
It was written by Wynonna with her husband, Cactus Moser, as well as Clara Calaway, Melissa Forrette, and Brant Colella. It’s a very candid letter to Wynonna’s late father, whom she never knew. She didn’t know who her biological father was until she was 30-years-old, actually, and of course, it “changed everything” about her life from that point on and became an all-consuming heartbreak which affected her very deeply, understandably:
“I was 30 years old when I learned the truth, that the man I called ‘Dad’ my entire life, was not my biological father. It changed everything I thought I knew about who I was. By the time I was ready to meet him, he was gone. I never got to hear his voice, look him in the eyes, or ask him why.
I’ll carry those unanswered questions with me for the rest of my life. ‘Was I ever really your daughter, or just a girl who could sing?’ is the question that hurts the most—because I’ll never get to hear his answer. What do you do with the questions you’ll never have answers to? My answer is simple… I sing about it.”
The sad fact is, she will never get to know her dad on this earth, and she grapples with that throughout the song:
“Before you left, I didn’t quite get your last name
Did you hear the same lies
That kept us away
Two worlds apart
Ten miles too far
Who I was to you is still a mystery to me
Was I ever really your daughter
Or just a girl who could sing
Did my voice and my backbone
Both come from you
Now the middleman’s gone
All the answers died with her too
Did you ever buy a ticket
Did you come to a show
It will play in my mind for a lifetime
To never really know”
Wynonna was inspired to write “Girl Who Could Sing” after his family discovered a drawer filled with newspaper articles and clippings of her, after his passing, which is incredibly special and I’m sure was a life-changing discovery for her.
Discussing The Hard Truth as a whole, Wynonna would explain that it’s her most personal album to date, diving deep into her journey of heartbreak, healing and faith throughout the difficult past few years. Additionally, she’d note that the record challenged her unlike any other before, making her face her perfectionism and embrace honest emotion.
“I’ve spent a lifetime singing about heartbreak, healing, faith, and survival, but I’ve never made a record like this one. These songs tell the truth about where I’ve been, what I’ve lost, what I’ve overcome, and who I’ve become.
This album asked me to be brave enough to tell the truth—even when my voice shook. It challenged me to let go of perfectionism and embrace the beauty of honest emotion. ”
When most artists say they’re peeling back all the layers and getting raw and vulnerable, they don’t mean it quite like this, and it’s commendable how transparent she’s being, and I think somehow, all these decades later, we’re going to get a whole new layer of Wynonna:
She also released a new music video, which features from the exact press clippings her father had kept. Watch it here:
“Girl Who Could Sing”
The Hard Truth T
1. Prelude (All Downhill From Ashland)
2. All Downhill From Ashland
3. Everything (feat. Patterson Hood)
4. Am I Missing Out
5. Broken And Blessed
6. Hear Me Now (feat. Iron & Wine)
7. The Hopeful Lie (feat. The War And Treaty)
8. Kentucky Queen
9. Girl Who Could Sing
10. Drive
11. Love Ain’t Got The Best Of Me
