Family: Album Notes

In early 2025 I released a collection of songs called Family. These songs came from many different chapters of my life. Some were over a decade old, some were brand new. But they were unified by an underlying theme, all sharing some connection to the story of my heritage, my upbringing, and my family.

I was in New England – my current home that is a world apart from the North Carolina hills where I grew up. I was looking through old photos and found these amazing pictures of my grandparents from when they were young.

My life away from home inspires a constant nostalgia for what feels familiar and deeply me. So naturally, I found myself thinking about the people who raised me, and the songs I've written that tell their stories. And as it usually goes, something called inspiration struck. A story wanted to be told. I came from people who experienced life, suffered hardship, wanted a plot of land, grew gardens, fell in love, and had storied to tell. And below my new distance from those people, my sustained connection to them became more clear. As I was leaning into this distance, I basically wanted to thank them. So I compiled every song that told their stories and put them together for this album.

I broke the release into two halves – Mom's side and Dad's side. With 9 Pound Hammer, I turned the story of John Henry into a modern tale of labor and reward. In Cussing at a Neon Sign, I remembered Betty. In I Don't Mind the Rain, I reflected on some of Henry's most impressive traits, and held them up against me. In Jose Pozo, I paid tribute to a fallen brother. In Let's Go Home, I told Jame's story of leaving NYC for NC. In Way to Live, I summarized the oldest family stories that I know into a mirror's reflection. In Someday, I dared the brutality of aging to cross swords with the depth of love. And with Japanese Cherry Tree, I discovered a very simple anchor that always feels like home to me – a front-yard tree.

Family got me back to my roots in more ways than one. The subject matter lended its self to connection with something musically pure and vulnerable. I approached the album aiming for raw, simple, natural sounds. I tracked live. I kept it acoustic. I got in touch with the feeling of playing music in my bedroom, just like when I first started making music so many years ago.

I'm in a chapter of life in which I'm discovering sides of myself that are removed from the deepest parts, removed from the people and places that shaped me. With that, it felt important to start by releasing Family as a tribute and statement of respect to whatever it was that I was stepping away from.

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Family was recorded at True Music Studio in Greenville, RI, Tyler Nail's home studio in Providence, RI, and Electromagnetic Radiation Recordings in Winston-Salem, NC.

Recording Engineer: Tyler Nail, Doug Williams

Mixing and Mastering: Nick Lancellotti, True Music Studio

Songwriting and Performance: Tyler Nail

Guitar, mandolin, slide guitar: Tyler Nail

Harmony: Polly Bessette

Bass: Chris Pecoraro

Promotional Photography: Vinnie Bellows, 476 Productions

Album Artwork: Tyler Nail

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9 Pund Hammer

Daddy didn’t have no 9 pound hammer but he worked himself just the same

Daddy did the job, Daddy made the paper but they don’t know Daddy’s name

He could throw an axe, he could throw a hammer, he could pick and shovel too

There wasn’t much at all working men would pay for that my Daddy couldn’t do

But Daddy couldn’t beat the steamer no matter what he tried

No Daddy couldn’t beat the steamer until the day he died

Until the day he died

Daddy raced the drill clearing through the mountain and came out the other side

He laid his hammer down, blew a kiss to Mamma and he laid right down and died

See Daddy must have known he lost it to the steamer, you could see it on his face

They laid his body down, heated up the steamer, and they put it in his place

‘Cause Daddy couldn’t beat the steamer no matter what he tried

No Daddy couldn’t beat the steamer until the day he died

Until the day he died

Mamma needed food, Mamma needed money, and she needed help from me

Times were getting hard, they were getting harder, we were poor as we could be

Well I could throw and axe, I could throw a hammer, but they said I was a kid

I finally found a job heating up the steamer making half what Daddy did

‘Cause Daddy couldn’t beat the steamer no matter what he tried

No Daddy couldn’t beat the steamer until the day he died

Until the day he died

Cussing at a Neon Sign

It’s a shame you have to go, I wish that you could stick around a little longer

I’m not ready to go home, I’d rather get another round, something a little stronger

Will you tell me once again the story of a little kid in tobacco fields

Cussing at a neon sign and carving up a made-up name in a driving wheel

Every year that got away, every word you ever dared to pray that fell apart

Every face you’re thinking of, every time you thought you fell in love, and it broke your heart

Will you tell me ‘bout the time a pair of kids were running ‘round an apple farm

Smoking Daddy’s cigarettes and hiding Mama’s garden gloved underneath their arms

And that night you parked a car and listened to the radio by the trestle bridge

And whispered I don’t want to go to Sunday school tomorrow, and kissing on the lips

The days keep going by, it’s getting colder

Stay a little while, we’re getting older

It’s a shame you have to go, I wish that you could stick around a little longer

I’m not ready to go home, I’d rather get another round, something a little stronger

I Don't Mind the Rain

Henry kept a garden, he would grow as much as anyone

He would spend the whole day on his tractor in the summer sun

And Betty - she would call him even though she knew it was in vain

She’d yell off the back porch, Henry it looks like it’s trying to rain

Dark clouds in a summer sky can be a sight for a sore eye

Henry-d turn that wheel again and drive his Ford into the wind

And he’d say I don’t mind the rain falling down across the garden bed

I don’t mind the dark clouds rolling in from overhead

Well I know that sun is waiting for his chance to shine again

So for a little while I don’t mind the rain

Henry built a cabin with oak logs and an old tin roof

Built it with his third son when they had some extra time to lose

They’d sit on the front porch after mowing yards or killing weeds

And they could hear the wind change and the thunder cracking through the trees

The leaves show their underside when they feel the water in the sky

Henry’d stand underneath the tin and greet the rain just like a friend

And say I don’t mind the rain falling down across an old tin roof

I don’t mind the time inside if you want to know the truth

Well I know that sun is waiting for his chance to shine again

So for a little while I don’t mind the rain

It’s been years since Henry dies and was laid to rest by Betty’s side

And when the rain comes down today it feeds the flowers round his grave

Now I keep a garden just to see what I can figure out

It’s just a little garden, it ain’t nothing to write home about

I find myself wondering how it was that Henry grew so much

He must have had a green thumb or a mother nature Midas touch

Sometimes when the daily yield has turned me red as an apple peele

I see the dark clouds rolling in like a mountain floating in the wind

And I think I don’t mind the rain falling down across my burning brow

I don’t mind the rain, we really need it anyhow

Well I know that sun is waiting for his chance to shine again

So for a little while I don’t mind the rain

I don’t mind the rain

Yeah I don’t mind the rain

Jose Pozo

You’re coming home from California

Thought I’d never see the day

It’s been a while since you’ve been to Carolina

Now you’re coming home to stay

It’s been years since you left here

Went and made it on your own

We were proud, you were braver than Atlanta

We always hoped you’d make it home

You drifted like a cowboy

And you walked that narrow line

We were glad you had made your way to somewhere

But boy we missed you all the time

You taught us how to get in trouble

When my grandma would run out of grace

Event when you bugged her like the devil

You kept a smile on her face

And we’d go out to the movies

A bunch of cousins on the town

And I just noticed we’d only ever do that

The years that you’d come back around

And we’d always have a phone call

About every month or two

And I don’t laugh with any of the family

The way I always have with you

Wed talk about the family

And you’d choke up every time

Then you’d tell me you wouldn’t make it home this winter

But you’d see us down the line

Now you’ll be here every Christmas

And every other holiday

Even though its what we’ve always wanted

We wish you’d got here another way

Well lay you down beside your mother

In a field not far from home

Like we did with your cousin and your brother

And you’ll never be alone

And we can see you when we want to

Say some words and shed a tear

It broke our hearts that you left a little early

But we thank God that you were here

You’re coming home from California

Thought I’d never see the day

It’s been a while since you’ve been to Carolina

Now you’re coming home to stay

Let's Go Home

Let’s get out of this city, go somewhere we understand

Those southern hills are pretty, let’s go home while we still can

Well I come from Carolina, in those old and foggy hills

My Mama had a farm there and that’s where she’s living still

I left to be a slider, ended up here on a whim

And I’ve wondered since I left there when I’d see my home again

Let’s get out of this city, go somewhere we understand

Those southern hills are pretty, let’s go home while we still can

Ii’ve poured out all the bottles that had had me on the floor

There’s blood on all the money and I don’t want it anymore

I gave it to a lady I was passing on the street

‘Cause I don’t wanna feel this city hard and heavy on my feet

Let’s get out of this city, go somewhere we understand

Those southern hills are pretty, let’s go home while we still can

Something happened in the hotel when I was working yesterday

A man was trying to help me and his life got took away

He had a wife and children and there’s nothing I can do

And I couldn’t take this city if it ever came for you

Let’s get out of this city, go somewhere we understand

Those southern hills are pretty, let’s go home while we still can

Honey you’re not from around here and neither am I

And I know you love the tall grass and the big September sky

Oh I wish that I was fishing in some sorry little lake

Let’s take the car and what we have and go home for goodness sake

Let’s get out of this city, go somewhere we understand

Those southern hills are pretty, let’s go home while we still can

Yeah let’s get out of this city, we’ve been here for way too long

Let’s get out of this city and go somewhere where we belong

Way to Live

Well my grandfather’s grandfather had hands made out of leather

And his arms were white as snow upon a hill

Through the dusty storms and thunder he worked the fields all summer

That were left him in his father’s fathers will

Well he bore a son named Henry who bore a son named Henry

Who had four sons as different as can be

And as long as he was able he kept food upon the table

Enough to feed his four son's families

Will you go to church on Sunday, be in the field on Monday

Will you be sure not to take more than you give

Will you grow the things you need, reap the harvest, sow the seed

Will you show the next to come the way to live

And my grandmother’s grandmother had faith unlike another

That she gave to her entire family

My grandmother fled the island when the Communists went violent

And set out on a life of being free

She worked hotels in Miami, DC, and New York City

And moved to Carolina for to stay

And her parents fled the island, moved in the house beside them

And thanked God for their family every day

Will you go to church on Sunday, be in the fields on Monday

Will you be sure not to take more than you give

Will you grow the things you need, reap the harvest, sow the seed

Will you show the next to come the way to live

If I ever am a father with a wife, a son, and daughter

Well I hope I’ll be worthy of the name

There was so much blood and passion that was spent to make it happen

And I hope that I can carry on the flame

But I don’t go to church on Sunday, I work 9-5 on Monday

And sometimes I take way more than I give

I don’t grow the things I need, I have yet to sow the seed

I’m still looking for the way I’m supposed to live

I’m still looking for the way I’m supposed to live

Bonus:

Someday

Someday if I live to old age

And my hair turns to gray and my memory fades

Someday when I’m no longer young

And the damage is done and my race has been run

Someday I may not know who I am

I may not know where I’ve been

But oh I know I’ll still love you then

Someday I may wander the trees

With pain in my knees fighting to breathe

Someday I may look at my hands

And not understand what’s happened to them

Someday I may drift off to sea

I may float in the breeze

But oh my love you’ll be there with me

Someday if I live to old age

And my hair turns to gray, and my memory fades

Someday when push comes to shove

I may fade in the dust

But oh I know I’ll still be your love

Someday I may not know who I am

I may not know where I’ve been

But oh I know I’ll still love you then

Oh I know I’ll still love you then

Oh I know I’ll still love you then

Japanese Cherry Tree

There ain’t no telling if there is a soul

Or a place like heaven for it to go

When I’m done running my race with time

When the silence falls on the second line

Let me rest in peace underneath the leaves

Underneath the shade of a Japanese cherry tree

When the heart don’t bleed and the word don’t speak

Lay me underneath a Japanese cherry tree

Give all my money to my sister's kids

And tell them to be mindful of the life they live

Tell them to be careful, but stay in the fight

‘Cause there’s a life worth living if you do it right

And let me rest in peace underneath the leaves

Underneath the shade of a Japanese cherry tree

When the heart don’t bleed and the word don’t speak

Lay me underneath a Japanese cherry tree

To all the people that I ever knew

It would have been worth nothing if it weren’t for you

I never claimed to be a decent man

And why you stayed beside me I'll never understand

I’ve been in the bottle, I’ve been in the hole

Gone 100 miles down a dead-end road

When I finally get to my final day

Say a prayer for the devil and send me on my way

And let me rest in peace underneath the leaves

Underneath the shade of a Japanese cherry tree

When the heart don’t bleed and the word don’t speak

Lay me underneath a Japanese cherry tree