As promised, Louisiana’s own, Lainey Wilson shares her third song and visualizer in a series of waterfall releases over the past three pandemic-stricken months. “Things A Man Oughta Know” was first released as part of her 2019 Ep, Redneck Hollywood. Today, Wilson strips it all the way down to acapella, exclusively on American Songwriter.
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The video captures an ethereal evocation of hard lessons learned about what it means to be a man. The footage for “Things A Man Oughta Know” shared today was captured during the video shoot earlier this month on a rooftop in downtown Nashville. “The city was the quietest I’d ever heard it. It was eerily peaceful,” Wilson recalled of the scene. “I just kinda started singing the song at one point, and they ended up catching my little impromptu acapella moment. I love it. I think it captured the haunting nature of the moment and the reality we’re living in right now.”
As a natural-born entertainer, Wilson fills into the role of country star with fabulous ease. The evidence of her talent is outlined clearly in her latest work, March’s “WWDD” and April’s “Rolling Stone.” The latest raw footage reveals the full breadth. The only thing hidden behind the catchy, contemporary production of both of this year’s previous releases with Jay Joyce, is a vocalist of unmatched talent, humbled by her characteristic humor and wit.
Her roots as a storyteller run five generations deep through the rural Lousiana dirt her family continues to till. Though she has quickly risen through the ranks of artistry, Wilson considers herself first and foremost a songwriter. “Things A Man Oughta Know” creates a discussion on values. “It’s a song about treating people right and having good character,” Wilson shared about 2019’s single.
Co-written with Jason Nix and Jonathan Singleton, the song employs practicality to balance a broken heart. As soon as Nix introduced the idea, Wilson jumped on it. The conversation began talking about Wilson’s childhood and things her father taught her and her sister, like how to change a tire or back up a truck and trailer.
“There were no boys in the family, so my daddy treated us like we were boys,” Wilson laughed to her fans in a live stream session. “Then we dug a little deeper and talked about characteristics my parents taught me to look for in myself, but also other people,” she continued about the crafting process. “We ended up writing the song from a heartbreak perspective. At the time, I was in what I thought was a happy relationship; everything was going great. And, I kid you not, about three or four months after we wrote this song, the dang thing came true. That’s the funny thing about songwriting. Sometimes you think you know exactly what you’re writing about, and it turns out you didn’t have a dang clue. It was kinda like we were foreshadowing what was gonna happen.”
Somehow, this song didn’t make the shortlist as Wilson prepared with the label to go to the studio. Wilson shared that somewhere down deep, she knew they had to record it. So, she brought it with her into the studio with Jay Joyce that week.
“The way that it came out was just real and raw and honest. Everything I’m trying to represent,” Wilson shared.
Nix and Singleton have become dear friends of Wilson’s outside of the writing room and stepped up on social media to help share their story behind the song. “We covered quite a few of the bases in the song, but I think we might have left a few things out,” shared Nix on Instagram as part of the #thingsamanoughttoknow challenge Wilson started on Tuesday. “When to keep your mouth shut,” Nix advised jokingly to the camera after his wife asked about the flattery of her outfit.
Singleton was next up to the plate with the notion that a man should know when to let a woman drive. After a few flashy donuts in a souped-up SUV on an Instagram video, he let Wilson take over the driver seat and show the social media world what she’s got.
Watch the exclusive acapella video for Lainey Wilson’s “Things A Man Outta Know” below and join the #thingsamanoughtaknowchallnge.
