Last month, country music superstar Blake Shelton began his Back to the Honky Tonk Tour, which includes Emily Ann Roberts and Dustin Lynch as the opening acts.
Videos by American Songwriter
But honky tonk isn’t the only thing The Voice’s former longtime coach is bringing back.
After years of excluding the emotional song, he reintroduced his hit “The Baby” to the set.
How can a song be too sad for country music? Here’s the story behind the song and why Shelton brought it back.
The Family Baby
In Shelton’s song, the narrator recalls life as the youngest child in his family, who’s referred to as “the baby.” It’s an everyday battle with older siblings, who attach an impish narrative to the last one born.
My brother said that I
Was rotten to the core
I was the youngest child
So, I got by with more
I guess she was tired by
The time I came along
She’d laugh until she cried
I could do no wrong
Parents often joke about how they’d super-parent with the first child, but as the next ones come along, fatigue sets in, and soon, Lunchables and an iPad replace organic food and new languages.
I got a call in Alabama said come on home to Louisiana
And come as fast as you can fly
’Cause your mama really needs you and says she’s gotta see you
She might not make it through the night
The Writers
Michael White and Harley Allen co-wrote “The Baby,” which appeared in 2003 on Shelton’s second studio album, The Dreamer. Warner Bros. Records released “The Baby” as the first single, and the somber piano ballad became Shelton’s second No. 1 single.
Meanwhile, it remained No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country chart for three weeks.
She looked like she was sleepin’
And my family had been weepin’
By the time that I got to her side
And I knew that she’d been taken and my heart it was breakin’
I never got to say goodbye
I softly kissed that lady
And cried just like a baby
The Dreamer continued Shelton’s ascent to stardom and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, one spot higher than his self-titled debut.
However, he wouldn’t reach the top spot on the album chart until his 2011 release, Red River Blue.
Too Hard to Sing
Because of its melancholy, Shelton stopped performing the song at concerts.
He told Genius, “I don’t know that I’ve ever listened to or even sang a song that was more painful to get through than ‘The Baby.’ It’s so freaking honest—it’s unbelievable. It’s like a sore spot. This guy took his mother for granted. Maybe we’re all a little bit guilty of that. I was the baby of my family. And the only thing about this song I can’t relate to is that my mother is still alive, thank God.”
During the tour’s opening night February 22 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Shelton explained to the crowd why he removed “The Baby” from his sets. He said, “There’s a song that I quit doing years and years ago because the song is just so heavy that sometimes I would do it and look out into the crowd and literally see people crying and running to the bathroom.”
But he changed his mind. “I decided to bring it back and do it on this tour because now that 20 years later since it came out, I realized that it was a mistake to stop doing it back in the day because that’s just the power of country music when a song connects with people.”
Country’s Heartrending History
Oklahoma native Shelton is the youngest of three children, and he was only 14 when his older brother Richie died in a car accident at age 24. He has an older sister, Endy Shelton Intrieri.
Though Shelton didn’t write “The Baby,” he’s been “the baby” of his family and understands the profound loss of a brother. Of course, it’s not the same as losing your mother, but it’s a close pain that comes through in Shelton’s vocal performance.
But country music has always been there to break hearts. Even when Chet Atkins added pop’s smooth elements in place of honky tonk’s rough edges, the sadness prevailed.
Charley Pride’s bereft hit, “Where Do I Put Her Memory,” shares a similar sentiment to Shelton’s “The Baby.”
There’s really no such thing as closure after losing a parent, but Blake Shelton’s narrator arriving too late to say goodbye is genuinely heartbreaking.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Photo by Emma McIntyre/WireImage
