Jim Lauderdale, ‘Violet’ [Exclusive Premiere]

“I’ve written love songs before," Jim Lauderdale tells The Boot, "but never one about a color. That’s what the song "Violet" is.“ Readers can press play above to hear the brand-new song, premiering exclusively with The Boot.

Throughout "Violet," Lauderdale personifies the color, reflecting on the beauty it brings to the world: "Violet, softly stirring morning time / And the edge of evening, too," Lauderdale sings in the first verse of the song. "Lays a blanket out across the sky / Cov'ring everything within her view ..."

"Violet" appears on Lauderdale's forthcoming new album, Time Flies, which is due out on Aug. 3. It's one of 11 tracks on the record -- one of two projects the singer-songwriter will debut on that date. While Time Flies is comprised of new material, the other disc, Jim Lauderdale and Roland White, was recorded in 1979, in Earl Scruggs' basement, when Lauderdale first arrived in Nashville, at 19 years old.

"I wasn’t able to get a deal for it at the time with my efforts. Several years later … I thought the time was right and called Roland to get the masters," Lauderdale shares with Rolling Stone Country. "Roland said, 'I thought you had them.' We couldn’t find them anywhere. A few months ago, as Roland was leaving the stage after sitting in with me at the Station Inn, he said, 'I think my wife found our tape at the bottom of a box ...'"

In addition to being a prolific and award-winning songwriter in the country music world, Lauderdale is a highly regarded artist in the Americana genre. He's released 29 solo albums previously and has two Grammy Awards to his name; he hosts the Americana Music Association's Honors & Awards ceremony every September.

Listen to Jim Lauderdale, "Violet":

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