"Joshua Tree": The Song

This song to me is kind of like a lucky charm, like a rabbits foot, or a worry stone that you carry around in your pocket. It seems to have some kind of energy that has brought some really interesting and magical things into my life. I’ve never written a song like that before.

I originally wrote this song about two of my heroes and their tragic love story. I was inspired by the story of Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons, how he discovered her and brought her on the road. The story I heard was that there were feelings and chemistry there but they had never given in to it. But then the time came that Emmylou decided she was finally going to tell Gram that she was in love with him. She didn’t want to tell him over the phone though and they were about to go back out on the road in a few weeks, so she decided to wait until she could say the words face to face. 

Tragically, Gram Parson’s overdosed and passed away before she got the chance. He died in Joshua Tree in 1973. I thought this might actually be the saddest thing I had ever heard, and as a self proclaimed lover and writer of sad songs, I felt compelled to take on this story. I brought the idea to my friend Luke Sheets and together we finished the song. It was the last addition to my record, I wrote it just a few days before we went in the studio. 

I had never been but since writing the song, I have visited Joshua Tree, California many times and I feel so inexplicably drawn to that special place. I’m not sure if it’s the song, the story, my experiences there or if there’s just some connection to the energy but I’ve truly never known anything like it. 

This song means many things to me now. It’s not only a snap shot of a great love story that almost was, but it’s an idea that love is never truly gone, because love cannot die. No matter where you are in the world or in time, love always exists. This song to me is like a message in a bottle filled with that great love, that you throw out into the Universe. Who knows what happens next?

I’m so thrilled to finally share this song with you all. I hope you love it.

Listen to “Joshua Tree” and watch the video and all the things right here!!!

All my 💖,

Ruthie