Guest Room Sessions: Greg Hawks, ‘Things I Did Not Say’

For October's installment of The Boot's Guest Room Sessions, singer-songwriter Greg Hawks is performing his new song "Things I Did Not Say." Press play above to watch.

"Things I Did Not Say" appears on Hawks' brand-new album, I Think It's Time, released on Oct. 12. The artist wrote the deeply personal song about the experience of losing his father; he says the song "is about not taking people for granted — how we should remember how short our time on earth is.

"We run and hurry to the next thing because we’ve convinced ourselves we have to do it, trying to live up to so many expectations, all the while assuming the people always there for us will always be there," Hawks tells The Boot. "The song is a reminder to myself: Don’t get too caught up in the small stuff. Realize that whenever you’re with someone you care about, it might be a good idea to tell them how much they mean to you. Because there's no guarantee you'll see that person again."

Hawks is joined for his Guest Room Sessions performance by his friend, bassist Danny Kurtz, who plays with the alt-country band the Backsliders. Hawks calls Kurtz "a great musician, and an all-around great dude."

I knew he would be perfect for this type of tune," Hawks says. "Danny and I go way back. He co-produced and played bass and sang backing vocals on my first record, [2001's Fool's Paradise]."

Hawks and Kurtz filmed this Guest Room Sessions performance in the entryway of Hawks' home in Chapel Hill, N.C., which he's fashioned as a shrine of sorts to the country icons he counts as musical influences. Viewers will spot famous album covers and folk art pieces, by CM and Grace Laster, of George Jones, Loretta Lynn and Bill Monroe.

I Think It's Time, Hawks' fourth studio album, is now available for purchase.