On The Record

"Is Heaven Good Enough For You"

This series, “On the Record,” will be a weekly Substack exclusive in which I’ll go through my recorded catalog song by song starting with my first album, Alabama Song, which was released on MCA Records in 1998. Photos will be attached if available and tolerable.

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I remember exactly where I was when this title came to me. I was riding in the backseat of my white Volkswagen Jetta while my first husband, Butch, drove and his friend Dickie Ray rode shotgun. We were on a road trip headed to Marfa, TX. It was 1995.

At twenty-three, “Is Heaven Good Enough for You,” might’ve been the first legitimate song idea I’d had. I knew when it floated into my mind that it had the makings of a classic country song because there was already a twist in the title. I’m not sure when it was begun in earnest, and I’m not sure who did what, but Butch and I ended up writing it together with my Mama in mind. When I listen now I hear sorrow, I hear anger, and I hear heartbreak in the lyric. But what’s most palpable to me is the sob in my throat. My voice almost sounds like there’s a veil of sadness sitting on top of it. Though I know I sound mostly the same today, when I listen to my voice now it sounds younger in some ways. What we carry in our bodies is so interesting. I remember recording this — it was a publishing demo that ended up being a master because we knew we couldn’t top what we’d captured. There’s a lot of heart on this record. It has presence.

I’m not sure anyone disagreed with “Is Heaven Good Enough for You,” being on Alabama Song. It was the perfect closer for the album. But what I ultimately have to say about the song now is that I don’t feel entirely comfortable singing it. My thoughts on death and my ideas about heaven have changed in the last twenty-six years. Wherever my Mama is, I know it’s a good place, but I know I don’t know anything about it — I couldn’t possibly — so trying to describe it with some tired streets of gold imagery feels wrong, as does the underlying anger in the song. I was angry about losing her then. I am grateful for having had her now, however short the time was.

We grow. We change. We heal. We lift our eyes and spirits away from what is absent and toward the love that is always with us.

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Personnel:

Kenny Greenberg: Acoustic Guitar, Producer

Rick Plant: Banjo, Electric Guitar, solo

Michael Rhodes: Bass

Chad Cromwell: Drums

Tim Lauer: Harmonium

Dan Dugmore: Pedal Steel

Ashley Cleveland + me: Background vocals

Recorded by AJ Derrick at The Loveshack

Mixed by Richard Dodd

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Thanks for reading these “On the Record” installments. I’m so enjoying writing them. I’ve made ten studio albums so that means I’ll end up covering more than one-hundred songs! More to come next week with “The Hardest Part,” as I move on to album number two.

Onward,

AM