Josh Abbott Band, ‘Ain’t My Daddy’s Town’ Music Video [Exclusive Premiere]
The final song on the Josh Abbott Band's newest studio album, Until My Voice Goes Out, is a tribute to Abbott's late father, who died in March. The song's simple, but poignant, music video is premiering today on The Boot; readers can press play above to watch.
"Ain't My Daddy's Town" was written originally by Jaren Johnston and Rodney Clawson; the two pitched Abbott on the song on Feb. 3 — only a few days before his father’s fatal stroke; at the time, Abbott passed, because the song wasn’t something he could relate to just yet. After his dad’s death, though, Abbott kept listening to the track and, a few months later, decide to record it, altering a few lines in the second verse to make the song more autobiographical (hence his credit as a co-writer).
"Gonna have to scoot the seat up / In that old red Ford work truck / Take my mom out on a date / Make sure her bills aren’t paid late," Abbott sings in that second verse of "Ain't My Daddy's Town," explaining how he's "got to fill those boots he wore" and "carry on what he loved" now that his father has passed. "Cut the turkey at Christmas / Trying not to tear up / Be tough as nails, strong as oak / Just like him, I hope."
It's not just those altered lines that make "Ain't My Daddy's Town" meant for the Josh Abbott Band, though: An incredible twist of fate let Abbott, Johnston and Clawson know this song ended up with the right artist. When Abbott's father entered the hospital following his stroke, doctors asked if there might have been any warning signs. Abbott's mother, then, recalled that, a few days earlier, her husband had come home from work with a terrible headache; he took some medicine, slept it off and woke up feeling well enough to take her on an impromptu, early Valentine's Day date.
The day that happened? Feb. 3.
"I had no clue at the time, but the universe did," Abbott writes on Instagram. "Something greater than us put that song in my hands at the right moment."
The "Ain't My Daddy's Town" music video was filmed the night Abbott and his bandmates recorded the song, in early June. As Abbott sings, he's holding his father's favorite hat.
Until My Voice Goes Out was released on Friday (Aug. 18).
The Miraculous Story of Josh Abbott Band's "Ain't My Daddy's Town"