For singer-songwriter Nail, it was a history-making moment -- small town boy decides to chase a big city dream -- and a theme that has informed his music ever since. On his first album from MCA Nashville, he neatly bridges the divide, laying claim to his hometown roots while keeping a firm grip on the future, and all the deeply emotional territory in between.
“I feel like regardless of where you grew up, city, small town, east coast, west coast or whatever, there’s something in this music that you can relate to,” he says. “They might not all be exactly the same, but everyone has those moments; the first time you left home, falling in love, losing love. That’s what moves me, what I can dig into.”
Nail, son of a former high school band director, cut his musical teeth on a record collection that included Stevie Wonder, Elton John and the Beatles. “Elton John was one of the main reasons I started singing, and is still a tremendous influence,” he says. “I think he and the Beatles are probably two of the greatest melody makers of all time.” Then he moved on to country: “I ‘discovered’ country music in the early 90’s along with everyone else my age,” he says, “but I guess I kind of got more obsessive than everybody else. I found myself looking back as far as the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, exposing myself to some of the biggest stars of that era. It was then that I fell in love with Glen Campbell, who is still one of my all-time favorites.”
Drawn to Music City after high school, Nail took that first step on his long and winding road, following the music. “I had been to Nashville as a small child but I had no memories of what it was like and obviously had no idea what the music business was like,” he says. “I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing.” Overwhelmed, he ended up moving back to Missouri in less than a year.
Returning to Nashville two years later, Nail became frustrated once again in early 2005 with the lack of movement with his music career. David spent the next two summers helping an old college buddy coach the Twitty City Knights, a select group of some of Nashville’s best baseball talent. “I did it just to get away from the reality of what my career had become at that time, and it was being around those kids that recharged my batteries. It reminded me how free and easy life is at 17 and 18 years old and how truly blessed I’d been, both growing up, and now, being able to chase my dream. I will forever look back on that time and those kids for getting me back on track.” Shortly thereafter, mutual friend Brian Wright, who’d recently become V.P., A&R, for both the MCA and Mercury Nashville labels, introduced Nail to Frank Liddell, who 10 years earlier had produced one of Nail’s all-time favorite records, Chris Knight’s self-titled Decca debut.
Through the ups and downs of a life in the music business, Nail was persistent – and his dream became a realization with I’m About To Come Alive, a collection of songs that captures the highs and lows and the hometown flavor of his own experiences. “I wanted to take something from the people who’ve inspired me,” he says, “but also put myself in there, and just make something I could be proud of. It’s definitely a moody record, there’s definitely going to be some heartbreak in there, definitely going to be some dark times. But there’s music you listen to when you’re feeling good, and music you listen to when you’re down and out, and I think this is a record that satisfies both needs.”
From the second he started recording, Nail was determined to bridge the gap between traditional country and the soulful styling’s of a Lionel Ritchie and Ray Charles. “I’ve got to have a piano player with a lot of fire, a little more recklessness!” he says. Liddell (Miranda Lambert) offered up legendary player Chuck Leavell, who brought his inspired piano into the mix with Nail’s smooth, yet soulful vocals to create magic on tracks like “Mississippi.” “It’s a very reflective ballad about a guy from a small town who’s in the city,” Nail says. “Very moody and Ray Charles-esque. Chuck went in there and started playing the intro and suddenly I felt as if I was back in those early days of recording. His playing sent me to another level of singing.”
“Turning Home” had that same soulful emotion and drew Nail’s attention as a demo. “When I first heard it, it was a lot of what I was feeling at the time. I just kept listening to it over and over. I felt like I had always been searching for a song I could really sing, put some emotion, pain and hurt into, and then here was this song,” he said. The result is a perfect match between singer and song, with that same church-meets-honky-tonk piano on the side, and vocals reminiscent of another one of Nail’s big influences, Vince Gill.
Nail wrote five of the eleven I’m About To Come Alive tracks, including “Missouri.” “I was in the middle of a two-year bout with depression,” said Nail. “It’s without a doubt the most honest and personal song I’ve written. I’d been in a relationship for a year or so and could sense something was wrong with me. It was more or less me crying out, pleading for her to leave me because I didn’t have the courage to do it myself.” Along side Scooter Carusoe “Anything But Mine” Nail also wrote “Clouds,” which, he explains, is about one of his most recent misses at romance. “The best songs I’ve ever written just kind of come to me. You don’t have a choice in the matter, they just more or less pour out. Both ‘Missouri’ and ‘Clouds’ were like that.”
With all that emotion going into his songs, he admits he’s a guy who’s always looking for the happy ending. “This is a confession – I’m a man of many extremes, whether working or playing,” he says. “I’m a songwriter, so I’m a sensitive guy. I long for the storybook life.” And it’s produced a lot of good material. “I think the really great singers and writers are able to dig a little deeper and find that other level of emotion,” Nail says. “And I think that’s what makes them better than the rest. I always pride myself on trying to find that place with every song.”
And it’s that moment of raw emotional connection that Nail hopes to pass on to listeners. “I’m more or less just trying to join the fray of good music,” he says. “People ask me all the time how I’d describe my music and I say ‘Well, I hope it’s good.’ Hopefully people will just enjoy it for being good music and take from it whatever it makes them feel.”
Hard knocks and heartache, good times and bad, small towns and big cities – it’s all in his music. “They’re all aspects of life,” he says. “I’m still growing as both a person and artist, and will hopefully continue getting better in regards to both.”
Countin' Cars
David Nail Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another one drives by
Sounds like a V8
Listen to it fade away
It ain't her, that's for sure
Just another night of
Watchin' headlights all night
Slow down, turn now
I wish I was sleepin'
Instead of wonderin' where you are
Wide awake, countin' cars
There's nothin' like the sound
Of her wheels rollin' down
This old gravel driveway
Like she's done everyday
Comin' home girl, come on
I'm here goin' crazy
Watchin' headlights all night
Movin' 'cross the ceiling, prayin'
Slow down, turn now
I wish I was sleepin'
Instead of wonderin' where you are
Wide awake, countin' cars
I wonder if she's drivin' by
Goin' 'round and 'round in circles
Wide awake
Watchin' headlights all night
Movin' 'cross the ceiling, prayin'
Slow down, turn now
I wish I was sleepin'
Instead of wonderin' where you are
Wide awake, countin' cars
Oh, countin' cars
Countin' cars
The lyrics to David Nail's song "Countin' Cars" are about a person who is unable to sleep and spends their night awake, counting the cars that drive by. The person is waiting for someone to return and they express their longing for the sound of that person's car to roll down their gravel driveway, as it sounds like music to their ears. They continue to listen to the sound of the passing cars, hoping that one of them will be the car of the person they are waiting for, but they are disappointed each time.
The lyrics convey a sense of restlessness and longing. The singer of the song is unable to sleep and is preoccupied with the thought of the person they are waiting for. They are unable to focus on anything else and can only think about the sound of the passing cars. The repetition of the phrase "wide awake, countin' cars" emphasizes the person's frustration and exhaustion.
Line by Line Meaning
Almost midnight
The time is nearing midnight
Another one drives by
Another car passes by
Sounds like a V8
The car sounds like it has a V8 engine
Listen to it fade away
The sound of the car fades into the distance
It ain't her, that's for sure
The car is not the one the singer is waiting for
Just another night of
The singer is spending another night
Watchin' headlights all night
The singer is watching headlights all night long
Movin' cross the ceiling, prayin'
The headlights are moving across the ceiling and the singer is praying
Slow down, turn now
The singer wishes the car would slow down and turn towards their house
I wish I was sleepin'
The singer wishes they were asleep
Instead of wonderin' where you are
Rather than being up and wondering where the other person is
Wide awake, countin' cars
The singer is wide awake and counting the number of cars they see
There's nothin' like the sound
There's nothing quite like the sound
Of her wheels rollin' down
Of the sound of the wheels of the car the singer is waiting for rolling down the road
This old gravel driveway
The driveway leading up to the singer's house is made of gravel
Like she's done everyday
The car and its driver come down the driveway every day
Comin' home girl, come on
The singer is urging the other person, a girl, to come home
I'm here goin' crazy
The singer is going crazy waiting for the other person to come home
I wonder if she's drivin' by
The singer is wondering if the other person is driving by
Goin' 'round and 'round in circles
The singer is wondering if the other person is driving around in circles
Wide awake
The singer is wide awake
Oh, countin' cars
The singer is counting the number of cars that pass by
Countin' cars
The singer is counting the number of cars
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LEE THOMAS MILLER, MICHAEL WILLIAM DULANEY, NEIL THRASHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
TomatheGreek
One of the most underrated country singers...
Adrian Griffin
The most underrated country artist...Ever...Debatable maybe...But He's great...Period!!!
Dawny.Smilez
His voice is just amazing! 🥰🥰🥰
I'd give anything to see him in concert.
Sabrina Marchand
Agree 100%%
Ritwik V
Him, Chris Young, Thomas Rhett.
Just like Keith Urban blew up...they should too!
Jon Thai
Simply amazing... love the acoustic versions of all of his songs...
Catherine Poore
Oh how i love this man. The passion he shows thru is music is just breath taking
Catherine Poore
Yees!!
lah2174
His voice is amazing and his songs have so much meaning.
Amy Rose
David Nail I love all your music . You have an amazing voice . Your music appears to be from a loving heart and experience .