DAVID NAIL

                                                               "St. Louis" 

                                                               117 Music

As someone who values the songwriting craft in very high regards, David Nail has always been near the top of my go-to list when I’m looking to hear a great song and soak in an a wonderful lyric; whether it’s one that he’s chosen from outside writers such as “Red Light” or “Whatever She’s Got,” or one that he’s co-written himself such as “Let It Rain.”

Nail now returns with his brand new single “St. Louis,” the first song of his 2021 Bootheel project which focuses attention on his home state of Missouri.

In true David Nail fashion, he’s given us an incredible lyric while completely knowing how to utilize his voice in such powerful ways that it delivers a hard tug to our heartstrings as he sings us through an emotionally charged memory of a past love he had in the show-me-state.

Painting a perfect picture of St. Louis, Nail opens the song by reminiscing on a date night at a Cardinals baseball game by singing of being able to still hear the roar of the crowd, see a stadium full of red, buying souvenirs, and most importantly, whispering I love you to her as fireworks filled the sky – this last part being the aspect that sets the entire story in motion.

“When I think about St. Louis, I can’t help but think of you,” he sings on the opening line of the chorus, before hitting us with a tinge of regret as he confesses, “If I had known it was our last kiss,

I never would left you in St. Louis.”

The second verse shifts out of the memory and brings us into the here and now as Nail sings of receiving a telephone call while out on the road (presumably touring), not being able to sleep after it, and taking the first flight out in the morning back to St. Louis.

While we won’t give away the power punch that comes in the bridge, we can say that “St. Louis” is a songwriting masterpiece that’s steeped rich in the traditional type of country songwriting in that you’ll have to listen to each line of the lyric through the entire song to truly understand and grasp the depth of it.

Take a listen to the song below!

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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