Guy Clark Releases New Album, ‘My Favorite Picture of You’

Guy Clark has penned a lifetime of memorable songs, but he may have just written his best collection of tunes. The 71-year-old says his latest album, 'My Favorite Picture of You,' contains 11 of the most honest and authentic songs he has ever composed.

The title cut of the album was written thanks to a picture he took of his wife, Susanna (who passed away in 2012), after she walked in on him with Townes Van Zandt, completely inebriated in the middle of the day. Clark snapped a picture of her when she was angry, and the photo inspired the poignant tune.

"Don't try to be careful," he tells CMT was his motto for writing the new record. "Go ahead and do your best and let it fall wherever it falls. I mean, you just have to go for it."

The tunesmith, who has advised aspiring songwriters to "be willing to show your ass" in their music, says it is a process he is still learning himself. "I just try to do the best I can," he notes. "Throwing stuff away. Just doing it half-assed. Sometimes I have more luck at it than not. ... Just stick with it till you get something that sounds right -- that is right."

While Clark isn't afraid to be painfully honest in his music, he tries to keep his songs open for his listeners' own interpretation. "That's kind of what I try to do -- to allow people to put themselves into it," he adds. "That way, they can connect with the song. It's what I'm trying to do, anyway."

Purchase 'My Favorite Picture of You' here.