Cole Swindell‘s new album, Spanish Moss, is out. Swindell wrote ten of the 21 songs on the record, including the title track, inspired by his childhood years.
“When I think of Spanish moss, I was born in Savannah, and obviously grew up in South Georgia, both sides of the state,” Swindell shares with Everything Nash and other outlets, at a recent media event. “It’s just something that I’m very familiar with. Not everybody obviously is from there. They might not know what it is when they hear that. We were down in 30A playing golf with some songwriter buddies, and me and Jordan Minton pulled up in front of these trees. He’s like, ‘What’s that stuff called again?’ I’m like, ‘What? Spanish moss?'”
Swindell took a photo that day of the Spanish moss, which became his album cover.
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“It’s funny how songs can take you to a specific place and time,” Swindell explains. “Even visuals. For me, Spanish moss, anytime I hear someone say it, or I see it, it reminds me of my dad, who lived in South Georgia. Also, the song is different than anything I’d ever done. I just thought it would be a cool concept to name the album after that.”
Spanish Moss follows Stereotype, out in 2022. The record became a pivotal one for Swindell, with three No. 1 singles.
“This album, for me to love it this much, it sure didn’t feel like that the whole time,” the singer-songwriter acknowledges. “I’m just being honest. The last album, just going into making an album after Stereotype, which gave me ‘Heads Carolina,’ ‘Never Say Never’ with Lainey Wilson, you don’t want to think about that. You just want to enjoy that.”
In between the two records, Swindell also had a lot of big life moments, ones he wanted to savor instead of rush through in favor of churning out another project.
“I’ve waited a long time to live life, and not to worry about that for a minute,” Swindell concedes. “I think getting engaged, getting married, just doing that, and then finally waking up and going, ‘This album, it’s not finished. It’s not even close to finished.’ So that’s when it all started back, writing and just making sure we had the right songs. That for me, knowing that we weren’t even close, it was an eye-opener.”
Swindell is happy with the way Spanish Moss turned out. But he admits it was a struggle getting to the finish line, especially with so many life changes, including finding out he is going to be a father.
“I think I was in a different part of my life by then as well,” Swindell notes. “I was married. I had never been in that situation. I knew that we had some good stuff. I just knew it wasn’t quite there. It just didn’t cover all the bases yet. It wasn’t ready. I think, as frustrating as it was, I think the moment it all came together, a lot of these songs came in the last week, a day before we went into the studio for the last time. That’s two albums in a row that that’s happened, and they were some of the biggest songs of the whole thing. It’s just another reminder that I’m not in control of my plan. That’s not how it’s going to happen, and it usually works out a lot better than I had it.”
Now, with the release of Spanish Moss, his fifth studio album, the 42-year-old is thrilled with the end result.
“I was like, ‘I’ll go play this for anybody, anywhere,'” he says. “I’m proud of it.”
Spanish Moss includes “Forever to Me,” which became his 13th No. 1 hit. See a track list for Spanish Moss below. Find all of Swindell’s music and upcoming shows at ColeSwindell.com.
Spanish Moss Track List:
1. “Kill A Prayer” (Cole Taylor, Josh Thompson, Jesse Frasure)
2. “Dirty Dancing” (Beau Bailey, Ned Cameron, Hunter Phelps)
3. “Dale, Jr.” (Cole Swindell, Greylan James, Matt Alderman)
4. “Spanish Moss” (Cole Swindell, Devin Dawson, Jordan Minton, Jordan Reynolds)
5. “We Can Always Move On” (Kyle Fishman, Thomas Archer, Michael Tyler)
6. “Georgia (Ain’t On Her Mind)” (Cole Swindell, John Byron, Ben Johnson)
7. “Lost Heart” (Rodney Clawson, Zach Kale, Tawgs Salter, Nolen Sipe)
8. “Bottom Of It” (Cole Swindell, Jonathon Singleton, Chase McGill, Ben Simonetti)
9. “Left To Get Right” (Greylan James, Thomas Archer, Rocky Block)
10. “Longneck List” (Lindsay Rimes, Jameson Rodgers, Matt Rogers)
11. “Country Boy Can’t Survive” (Cole Swindell, Josh Osborne, Travis Wood, Jared Keim)
12. “Happy Hour Sad” (Jimmy Robbins, Micah Carpenter, Travis Wood, Lydia Vaughan)
13. “Wild” (Cole Swindell, Matt Dragstrem, Matt Rogers, Jordan Minton)
14. “One Day” (Chase McGill, Ernest K. Smith, Jordan Schmidt)
15. “Forever To Me” (Cole Swindell, Greylan James, Rocky Block)
16. “Someone Worth Missing” (Ben Stennis, Michael Tyler, Brad Rempel)
17. “First Second” (Greylan James, Josh Osborne, David Garcia, Rocky Block)
18. “’99 Problems” (Devin Dawson, Seth Ennis, Jordan Minton, Jordan Reynolds)
19. “It Don’t Hurt Anymore” (Blake Bollinger, Trea Landon, Craig Campbell)
20. “Take Me Down” (Cole Swindell, Jessie Jo Dillon, Chris Tompkins, David Garcia)
21. “Heads Up Heaven” (Cole Swindell, Chase McGill, Bobby Pinson)
Photo Credit: Robby Klein