Since releasing their last prior album, 2015's Geronimo, the Austin, Texas, five-piece have plunged ever deeper into their adventure as a touring band. Hundreds of shows a year in more than 40 different states and on three different continents, including visits to Ireland and Malaysia, have brought them to the 10 stormy tracks that make up Hail Mary, which will be released June 28th.
Now three albums and nearly 10 years into their career, Shane Smith & the Saints are ready to go for broke. "It pretty much summarizes where we are as a band and where I am as an individual after pursuing this for practically the last decade," Smith says of Hail Mary. "We're a scrappy group of guys and this is more or less one of those moments where we're really trying to put it all out there. We're trying to give it our best shot on this record."
Recorded at the same hometown studio as Geronimo, Matt Noveskey (of Blue October)'s Orb Recording Studio, Hail Mary was produced by Mark Needham (Imagine Dragons, The Killers), marking the first time the band has worked with an outside producer. Inspired by Shane Smith & the Saints' reputation as a high-energy live act with stunning four-part harmonies, Needham focused on capturing that un-doctored chemistry in the studio.
"A lot of these songs he had us in there with Shure SM58 microphones, live, in front of each one of the guys. He'd be actually using it for the final song rather than going in and overdubbing every single voice, which is a very rare thing," says Smith of the sessions, which were largely tracked live in the studio. "That gave us a little more confidence hearing him build us up on that whole thing."
That extra self-assuredness comes through in each of Smith's roaring vocals and in the band's stampeding melodies. From the crunching title track to the slow burn of "Oklahoma City" to the triumphant blaze of glory that is "Parliament Smoke," Hail Mary crosses the gritty, blue-collar storytelling of Bruce Springsteen with the singsong hooks of Mumford & Sons. Most of all, it's an album with a lot of heart.
"I don't like just throwing stuff out there. If I'm going to be singing about something every night, I try to make it personal, make it something I can really relate to," says Smith, the band's lyricist and primary songwriter. "I like to sing with conviction, an honest conviction." Having first starting playing music while he attended college in Austin, Smith follows in the footsteps of such Lone Star songsmiths as Ray Wylie Hubbard, Hayes Carll, and Ryan Bingham.
A native of Terrell, Texas, about an hour outside of Dallas, Smith first headed to Tyler Junior College in East Texas, where he was part of the tennis program. But he was soon lured to the "Live Music Capital of the World," where he attended St. Edwards University and soon connected with another group of players, those who now make up the Saints. Today that group includes Bennett Brown on fiddle, Dustin Schaefer on lead guitar, Chase Satterwhite on bass, and Zach Stover on drums.
Much like the care that Smith puts into his lyrics, the Saints have been deliberate in crafting their recorded material. Their first album, Coast, was released in 2013, and featured appearances by fellow Texas underdogs Aaron Watson and Ryan Engleman. Two years later came Geronimo, which Smith sees carrying a similar sort of double meaning to Hail Mary. "The title track did talk a lot about the historical figure, but it was a leap of faith thing as well, where we were as a band truly trying to find our sound," he says of the band's sophomore effort.
Shane Smith & the Saints' busy touring schedule meant that almost three years elapsed after Geronimo's release before they had the time to start recording Hail Mary. Even when the album had been completed, now more than a year ago, they were careful not to rush its release. As in the past, that will be done through Geronimo West Records, the label Smith runs with his wife.
"It's been such a long time coming. And honestly, for me, it's such a personal album in terms of the lyrical content, what the band has gone through and the band's families have gone through over the years," Smith says. "It means a lot to me, I know it means a lot to the guys, and I wanted to make sure we gave it good legs to stand on."
Though Smith and his bandmates have been the ones logging in the miles in their "Cousin Eddie-looking" RV, their friends, family, and other loved ones are the ties that bind together the songs on Hail Mary. "The last couple years of doing this stuff I've started to realize how much of a sacrifice it is for those outside characters. A lot of my lyrics are paying tribute to those people and the fact that we wouldn't be able to do this if it wasn't for them," says Smith. "A lot of people paint [the music business] as a glamorous thing, but it's truly difficult to pull off if you have any intention of being a family man."
Lucky for them, Shane Smith & the Saints' family has only grown through their tireless touring in recent years. Having long been grouped in with the sprawling, grassroots genres of Texas Country and Red Dirt music, Smith says that fanbase is uniquely suited to their own single-minded approach.
"It's a massive network of people that are music lovers, but they're not like your standard music lover. They're so passionate that they not only support the music, they show it to every one of their friends and promote it for you," Smith marvels. "It's a support system of people who want to hear really good music, but a lot of the time get frustrated with what they hear on the radio."
With Hail Mary, those fans will have their best representation yet of the barnstorming concerts that likely drew them to Shane Smith & the Saints in the first place. "After four years of touring and sweat equity, it's significantly helped and changed our sound," Smith says. "But the really cool thing is that, as our sound has truly started going away even further from what the norm is in Texas Country and Red Dirt, that same group of people is jumping on board now more than ever before."
Heaven knows Shane Smith & the Saints have earned that loyalty.
The Mountain
Shane Smith & the Saints Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To come true now
It just takes a little faith
Anything that we want to do we can do now
There ain't nothing in our way baby
Nothing our love couldn't raise above
We can get through the night
We can get to the light
With a little faith just a little trust
If you believe in love
Love can move mountains
Believe in your heart
And feel, feel it in your soul
And love baby love can move mountains
Ocean deep and mountains high
They can't stop us
Because love is on our side baby
We can reach the heavens and touch the sky
Just believe it, believe in you and I baby
If we got love that is strong enough
We can do anything, make it through anything
'Coz through it all love will always
Find a way
With a little faith, ,
You believe in me i'll believe in you
If we believe in each other
Nothing we can't do
If we got love that's strong enough
Love will find a way
With a little faith
The song "The Mountain" by Shane Smith & the Saints is an uplifting tune that carries a message of hope, faith, and love. The lyrics suggest that no dream is impossible if one has faith and trust. The singer encourages the listener to believe in love and its ability to conquer all obstacles. According to the song, love is a force that can move mountains and overcome even the deepest oceans and the highest mountains. The singer urges the listener to trust their heart and follow their dreams, knowing that love will find a way.
The song's chorus is particularly inspiring, as it is repeated throughout the song with increasing passion and intensity. The lyrics suggest that love can conquer all obstacles and that anything is possible with a little faith and trust. The singer believes that no challenge is insurmountable if one believes in love and has faith in one's abilities. The song encourages the listener to reach for the stars and to never give up, as long as they have love in their hearts and faith in their dreams.
Overall, the song "The Mountain" is a powerful anthem of hope and love. It encourages the listener to believe in themselves and to trust in the transformative power of love. The song's uplifting message is sure to resonate with anyone who has ever faced a challenge or dreamed of achieving something great.
Line by Line Meaning
There ain't a dream that don't have a chance
Every dream is attainable with effort and faith
To come true now
Dreams can come true at any moment in time
It just takes a little faith
Belief is required to achieve any goal
Anything that we want to do we can do now
With determination, we can accomplish anything we desire
There ain't nothing in our way baby
Our love can overcome any obstacle
Nothing our love couldn't raise above
Love is the ultimate force that can conquer all
We can get through the night
We can overcome life's challenges with love and strength
We can get to the light
We will reach our goals through persistence and optimism
Long as we got our love to light the way
Love is the guiding force that will lead us to success
With a little faith just a little trust
Faith and trust are essential components of love and success
If you believe in love
Love is powerful and can help us achieve great feats
Love can move mountains
Love is capable of overcoming tremendous obstacles
Believe in your heart
Sincere and unwavering belief in oneself is crucial for success
And feel, feel it in your soul
The conviction must come from deep within one's soul and heart
And love baby love can move mountains
Love is truly the key to incredible accomplishments and success
Ocean deep and mountains high
No matter how deep or high the challenge may seem
They can't stop us
Our love can overcome anything and nothing can defeat us
Because love is on our side baby
Love is our essential ally in life
We can reach the heavens and touch the sky
We can achieve anything we desire if we have love and determination
Just believe it, believe in you and I baby
Belief in oneself and each other is vital to success
If we got love that is strong enough
Strong and unconditional love can conquer all challenges
We can do anything, make it through anything
With love and resilience, we can overcome anything in life
'Coz through it all love will always
Love will always be our source of strength
Find a way
Love will always find a way to succeed and overcome difficulties
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHARLES STOBO REID, CRAIG MORRIS REID
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joshua Pease
on We Were Too Young
There was no season for your bloom. Red rose you rose up to a desert moon and pretty soon you made your way to town. My dreams, they shined right through your face. Your hair would blow, but it would blow at a slower pace. Slower than the breeze would.
But I guess you blew away with the wind that winter. And I miss the way you laughed in the cold. Like a firefly, your hair would touch the sun then shimmer. Mamma told me love would come.
But We Were Too Young.
Now I’m nothing but a lost West Texas storm. A coin outside, on the ground by the grocery store; tail up, I’ve got no kind of luck to give. And you were the way to make things right. The settle of the wind on a long hot summer night. You were the one for me.
But I guess you blew away with the wind that winter. And I miss the way you laughed in the cold. Like a firefly, your hair would touch the sun then shimmer. Mamma told me love would come.
But We Were Too Young.
I can still taste the smoke on your lips that winter. And I pray to God you’re laughing in the cold. There’s still fireflies, but they’re the only thing around here that shimmers. Mamma told me love would come.
You chase your dreams. I’ll curse the sun.
You chase your dreams. I’ll curse the sun.