Joey + Rory
JOEY+RORY
ALBUM NUMBER TWO
CUT x CUT
by Rory and Joey
1. Album Number Two (written by Rory Feek, Wynn Varble & Don Poythress)
RORY - We wrote this song on the porch of a log cabin by Old Hickory Lake about 5 or 6 years ago. Actually we wrote it the same day that we wrote “A Little More Country Than That”. Both songs sat on a shelf for years…“A Little More” because it was too country, and this one because it was a little too honest. It’s funny how life works out. The “Country” song became a big hit and this one’s now the title cut of our second album! When we wrote this song, it was for a different artist who was about to cut his sophomore record. Wynn, Don and I thought we’d just go ahead and call it like it is. But the artist (and his label) didn’t really appreciate it. My wife did though! She never forgot it, and she made sure it was one of the first things we cut on this new record. We hope this isn’t our last album, but if it is…rest assured, we held nothing back. We gave it our all!
2. That’s Important To Me (written by Rory Feek, Joey Martin & Tim Johnson)
RORY - Every line of this song is true. We don’t watch much TV, we don’t buy things on credit, we always hold hands when we pray…all of it. But it’s not because of me. It’s because my wife knows what’s most important in her life and ours. She’s a great woman who meant her wedding vow when she said it and who lives to take care of her home and family. Tim, Joey and I wrote this song 7 years ago. It’s been the cornerstone of Joey’s music, and now ours, since then. This is my favorite song on this record and the one I’m most excited about singing for the rest of our lives.
JOEY - After Rory and I got married, we started writing because I was trying to be an artist on my own. We got together with a friend of ours (Tim Johnson) and were talking about how I grew up and things my Mom & Dad taught us. When we got married and all of a sudden I had two daughters of my own, those were things that I wanted to teach our girls. That it’s not about the latest thing, it’s the little things in life that are the most valuable. It’s just a simple list of all the things that are important to me, set to a pretty little melody.
3. All You Need Is Me (written by Rory Feek)
RORY - My wife is a cowgirl. She loves all things western...boots, bunkhouses, two-steps, horses, saddles...you name it. If it’s got something to do with that lifestyle...she’s crazy about it. And although I’m a man who tends to wear more bib overalls than Wrangler jeans...she still calls me her cowboy. I wrote this song a long time ago with her in mind. She’s always loved it and has been dying to record it. On this record we finally got the chance. All the players on this song just played the heck out of it.
4. Born To Be Your Woman(written by Rory Feek, Joey Martin & Heidi Feek)
RORY - We wrote this one with our oldest daughter Heidi (we also wrote "Tonight Cowboy You’re Mine" on our first album with her). I was a single dad of two young teenage girls when Joey and I met. When we got married in the summer of 2002…in the ceremony, Joey gave rings to our girls too. Engraved inside our rings are the last few words of our marriage vows..."bound by God forever."
JOEY - We believe that He knew we were meant to be together…that I really was born to be Rory’s woman and he was made to be my man. This song’s very old-school. We love that. It seems like one of those timeless songs that could have been recorded years ago by Dolly & Porter or Loretta & Conway.
5. Baby I’ll Come Back to You (written by Rory Feek, David Banning & Matt Rossi)
RORY - I wrote this song a few years ago with my buddies David and Matt. We thought it was just a silly tune at the time, and we'd all but forgotten about it, until Joey came across the work tape one day. She laughed and laughed and just loved it. We're huge fans of all the singers we mention in this song, so we sure don't mean any disrespect. We've had a ball singing this one out live. We'd love to make a fun video for this one day. All we need to do is get us a few extras to come be in it with us, “...how ‘bout it George, AJ, Hank Jr, Willie, The Possum, Dolly, Toby and Brad!!”
6. God Help My Man (written by Rory Feek, Jamie Teachenor & Paul Overstreet)
RORY - I never liked this song... I told my wife we shouldn't record it!! Just kidding! This is a fun one. Jamie, Paul and I wrote this long before Cheater ever came out or became a hit, but after the success of our last happily-married-couple-singing-about-cheating song...we felt like we had to at least record one more on this new record. Not sure what my bride would do if she caught her man doing her wrong...but let's just say she's got a fine selection of frying pans in the kitchen, just in case!
JOEY – This is so fun to sing because of the “Cheater Cheater” song that launched us. Coming off a song like that on our first album, we wanted to make sure we included another one on this record that really embraces that strong-woman side of me as well. When we play this one out live women just go crazy! It really speaks to them in a fun way!
7. The Horse Nobody Could Ride (written by Rory Feek, David Banning & Jenny Yates)
RORY - Did I mention that my wife loves horses? She's a lot like the wild mustang in this story. You can't 'make' her do something or 'force' her to go your way. She's all about trust and respect. Like her mother, she's her own woman, and stubborn as they come. But if you earn her respect, and her trust, she'll do anything in the world for you, without you even asking.
8. Farm To Fame (written by Rory Feek & Jim Collins)
RORY - This is our story, well at least the first part is. Fame is a funny thing. It's always exciting when it's happening, but it doesn't last forever. One day we know, we'll be back at the farm, living like we lived before. That's not a bad thing though. We loved the life we had, just like we love the one we're living now. I remember when I first moved to Nashville, seeing one of my country legend heroes at a Shoney’s restaurant. He was driving an old junky car and talking about the big comeback he was working on. Dreams are funny things too. They never die. Isn't that cool?
9. Where Jesus Is (written by Don Poythress, LeeAnn Hart & Donnie Skaggs)
RORY - Joey found this song. It was on a CD that our friend Don Poythress had sent us of new songs he'd written. I woke up one morning and came downstairs and she was sitting at her computer with tears in her eyes. She said “honey, you've got to hear this song”. I put the headphones on and like her, just cried like a baby. Our faith is very important to us. Actually, it's the most important thing to us…above our music, our marriage, even our kids. Without His love in our Iives...we’d have nothing, even if it looked like we had it all. Being on the road most of the time now, we don't always get to go to church on Sunday mornings. So ‘church’ for us happens wherever we are...lying together reading the Bible in the back of the tour bus, in our seats on an airplane, or wherever we happen to be. Thank you Don, LeeAnn and Donnie for this song. We pray the life of this song is a long, beautiful one.
JOEY - We always want to put some kind of faith filled song on our records and this one was it. We’re out here chasing this dream and we don’t get to go to church very often. Our faith is important to us and it’s true, it doesn’t matter if we’re on an airplane or in the back of a tour bus, Jesus is everywhere with us. We really believe and feel that and this song says that. This song isn’t just for us, this is for a lot of people who are away from home.
10. You Ain’t Right (written by Phil O’Donnell, Kelly Lovelace & Tim Owens)
RORY - It’s important to us that we don't write all the songs we record. We've made our living for the last 15 years by people recording my songs on their albums and I think it's important that we share this opportunity that we've been given with other writers as well. There are so many great songs out there that we didn’t write that deserve to be recorded. This is one our buddy Philbilly gave us. We'd had his recording of it for a long time and just loved it. We love to laugh, and this one makes us giggle every time we hear it. We know a lot of people like the folks in this song...people that “ain't right”. Heck, some of 'em are in our family...and probably yours too!!
JOEY - I love humor, that’s one of the biggest reasons I was so drawn to Rory. One of our friends (Phil O’Donnell) wrote this and when we heard it, I just laughed. The funny thing was our producer thought that I was too girly to sing a song about a guy breaking wind. But that’s what’s so funny about it…it’s real life. Everybody does it. I think this song will make a lot of people smile and laugh.
11. My Ol’ Man (written by Rory Feek & Luke Bryan)
RORY - I’m not supposed to be here. I’m a songwriter. I was never supposed to be singing on this record or any other. For the last 2 years Joey has wanted to record a song with me doing the lead vocals (something that was more than a little scary for me to do). Anyway, this is the one she chose for me to sing. She's always loved this song and so have I. It's not so much that Luke and I wrote it about my dad or his, as it is that it's about the kind of dad I want to be to my kids. The man in this song hurts me. He's my hero. Always there as an example, showing me what it is to be a good man and real father, in ways that my dad never really could. Thank you honey for making me do this...now lets get back to you singing again!!
12. This Song’s For You (written by Rory Feek & Zac Brown)
RORY - Our album was already finished when this song showed up in our lives. Zac and I wrote it together on his tour bus traveling down a road somewhere in Kentucky, but it came to life at the first show we played on the Zac Brown Band tour in March '10. We worked it up with Zac and the boys and played it that first night in San Diego just as something to do in the encore. The response took our breath away. It still does. Some songs have a life of their own. They refuse to sit still on a shelf somewhere. This one literally moved mountains to get added to this record you're holding. It has something to say and we're just the voices that are gonna carry the message. It's not just for the fans...it's for all the people out there who work hard for a living but are barely getting by, who truly love this country even though it ain't perfect, and who are starving for some country music with some meat in it.
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