Skip Ewing has long been the quintessential troubadour, a thoughtful poet armed with a guitar and an arsenal of words and emotions he’s channeled into some of country music’s most memorable songs.
Not content to rest on his laurels, Ewing continues to contribute to today’s music landscape with such acclaimed collections as his 2020 album Wyoming, 2021’s Christmas and his forthcoming creative tour de force—Road to California.
Ewing’s new single, “Knots” serves as an entry point to his new set. Reuniting with co-producer Kyle Lehning [Randy Travis, Dan Seals, George Jones], Ewing has penned a relatable introspective ballad about just how tangled up life can get. “I had the idea long before I wrote the song.” Ewing says. “It is about the difficulties we all contend with, especially inside our own brains. I finished it and called my wife Linda and said, ‘I need to sing this for you,’ but I had a hard time getting through it. It brings up a lot in me.”
“Knots” is the story of a man who has lived a lot of life and is trying to unravel the knots to better move forward. “‘Knots’ illuminates the chance meeting of two kindred spirits who see themselves, and their own journeys through adversity, in the metaphor of tangled knots in fishing line,” Ewing says. “Positivity, dedication, and a reverence for life resonate hope and poetically beckon compassion, acceptance, awareness and support. ‘Knots’ embraces and positively addresses PTSD, suicide prevention, self-efficacy, community, and the respect-worthy aspiration to remain faithful to oneself. It’s about someone who is working as hard as they can with the knots they have. They are still trying to untie them. I have a lot of respect for that.”
The impact of “Knots” is multifaceted. Ewing shares, “It’s about the singer and the subject. It’s about the gravel in all of our shoes. It’s about women and children, people we know and see everyday—generosity, courage, dedication, and commitment to the most loving path. My prayer is that we’ll look closely, not look away, judge less harshly or not at all, endeavor to understand, be present, and remember to treat ourselves compassionately as well.”
Like Ewing’s best work, “Knots” is deep, insightful poetry wrapped in an engaging musical framework that invites repeated listening. After all, he’s no stranger to turning out hits. Ewing has had songs recorded by Keith Urban, Zac Brown Band, George Strait, Keb Mo, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and numerous others. His No. 1 hits include Collin Raye’s “Love, Me,” Diamond Rio’s “I Believe,” Kenny Chesney’s “You Had Me from Hello,” Clint Black’s “Something That We Do” and Bryan White’s “Rebecca Lynn,” “Someone Else’s Star,” and “I’m Not Supposed to Love You Anymore”. As great as those cuts are, there’s something achingly poignant about hearing Ewing sing one of his own compositions. Just ask anyone who has heard “The Gospel According to Luke” or fans who continue to rave about his 1988 debut album The Coast of Colorado.
“I started writing the Wyoming album in 2018 and at that time I didn’t know if I’d ever do another music project,” Ewing admits. “I had sold everything in Nashville. I sold my house. I sold everything except my instruments and some art. Trying to write for what radio had become just didn’t resonate with me. I couldn’t write the songs I really wanted to write and be successful as a writer. In the meantime, I had been coming to Wyoming every year since the early 2000’s and loved Wyoming. I knew I wanted to live here.”
Though music would always be his first love, Ewing developed a passion for horses and discovered he had a gift for working with them. “I rode literally thousands of miles horseback in Wyoming,” Ewing says. “I started studying horsemanship and horse training, and I just began learning so much about myself from horses that it inspired me. It was another part of my spiritual journey. Meditation was a big part of it and horses became a big part of it. They were interwoven.”
Thankfully for his fans, the pleasures of cowboy life didn’t totally eclipse his desire to make music. Wyoming reintroduced Ewing’s thoughtful songwriting and enviable skills as a guitarist, and the California native hit the road on tour again. He followed Wyoming with Christmas, a holiday collection that is both poignant and playful, soon becoming a seasonal favorite.
This chapter in life finds Ewing communicating what’s on his heart and mind unfettered by boundaries. “I just want to write skillfully in such a way that I use all of the tools that I have—my heart, my brain, my experience—and I’ve just been unafraid,” he confesses. “I’ve become more willing to speak my heart rather than try to do what somebody else is telling me to do in order to be successful. I want to be successful, of course I do, but success to me, at this point, is allowing myself to be redefined as an artist.”
As Ewing prepares to release his new project, he’s excited for audiences to hear what he’s been working on for his next musical chapter. The album is a diverse collection that runs the gamut from the playful “Road Dog” to the life affirming “Not Afraid to Love.” “I have to believe that I’m writing songs that are meaningful and crafted as well as I know how to craft a song,” he says. “For me it’s writing poetry. It’s three dimensional, not two dimensional. It’s like painting.”
For Skip Ewing, the world is his canvas, and the veteran singer/songwriter is reveling in his latest creative adventures. “When audiences are given the opportunity to hear what I do, we make a connection. That’s really evident when we play live. If that wasn’t the case, I would have had to look at my wife and say, ‘I’ll do something else.’ I want to take the listener on a journey. I want them to listen and be surprised. Maybe they’ll find something that validates their existence. Hopefully they’ll find something nourishing. In any case as long as they’re listening I’ll do my best to offer them a meaningful journey.”
