“I can drive a man to drinkin’, whiskey, rum or beer. Make him forget all of his thoughts, ones that are near and dear. I can drive a man to drinking. The only way I know how. You might think it wont happen to you, but I can drive a man to drinkin’
If you’ve ever been accused of driving a person to question themselves to the brink of drinking, this song is for you. Kelsey Jeffries is releasing her new track Drive A Man To Drinkin’ and she talked to Born & Bred about it.
Edited for brevity and clarity
BB: How did this song come to be?
KJ: I was in a conversation with an unnamed person that became a little bit of a disagreement and they said, “ You could drive a man to drinking.” After i was done talking to them, I pulled into my driveway and wrote all of the lyrics right then. And then they sat for two years. I just couldn’t find the music to them.
BB: Is that how you write? Lyrics first and then music?
KJ: Yes, all of my songs start with lyrics and then I find the music. Sometimes it’s will be the same day. Sometimes its a year and half later. And I struggled for a while to find the music for these. I didn’t touch it for a while. I was in a funk and one of my friends really encourage me to pick up my guitar and use it to help me get past it. I hadn’t touched my guitar in a while. So that evening I got my guitar out and nothing came to me. But the following day the whole thing came to me.
I had recorded a voice memo on my phone as to how I thought the chorus would sound. But then I got into the studio with this song and it was nothing like where I thought it would end up.
BB: Speaking of studio, where did you record this track and who worked on it?
KJ: The producer I work with is named Jamie Peck out of Wheeling. He works with many artists and is fantastic. He is easy to work with and gets you involved in the process. Very comfortable to work with.
BB: Who all played on this track?
KJ: I did the acoustic work. Jamie did drums, pays and Hammond on the track. A guy named Bear Cline did the electric rhythm and lead work.
BB: So you talked about how the title came to be, but where did the story in the song come from?
KJ: Well, first the music for the song came to me after hearing Led Zeppelin’s When the Levee Breaks. I didn’t rip off the song but after hearing it thought this is really the feel I want for this track. The story is based off of another persons experience that I know about. I took elements of that story and visualized him at his home bar and the idea of being able to drive this man to drinking. The verses talk about his thoughts and struggles and then the chorus switches to my perspective. But I think the listener will be able to come up with their own interpretations as to how the story unfolds. This track is my favorite that I’ve done and I am so excited for people to hear it. It’s bluesy country rock and I think people will enjoy it.
BB: When is this track dropping for the public to hear?
KJ: The song releases on June 30th but is available for pre-order on May 30th on streaming services that allow that like Amazon and Apple.
