Pierce Pettis’s new album officially releases today. He’s been selling it at his concerts for the last few months, so many of us can attest to its grooviness. As on every Pettis album that I’m aware of, he opens with a cover of a Mark Heard song. That, friends, is not just extremely humble, it is the finest way I can imagine for one songwriter to honor another.
I’ve listened to the album enough to know Pierce has once again delivered excellence, but I haven’t had the time to dig in just yet. The title track alone is worth the price of admission, though. At the Ryman Christmas concert last year, Pierce played “That Kind of Love” and leveled us all. I had a live recording of it from the show, but my computer died last year and I’m just now realizing that’s one of the things that was lost. Instead, please enjoy the album version, then go buy it, either at his website or on iTunes.
(Note from the Proprietor: As of 1:27 am on Tuesday morning, the song samples on iTunes strangely aren’t Pierce Pettis songs. Not sure what to make of that.)
This is the title track:
That Kind of Love
(Pierce Pettis) Slapfight Songs (ASCAP),
admin. by Bug Music
Can’t be bought or sold or faked
That kind of love
Always gives itself away
That kind of love
Wiser than the wisest sage
It’s innocence makes me ashamed
Til I’m not sure I can take
That kind of love
Pride and hatred cannot stand
That kind of love
Greater love hath no man
Than that kind of love
Won’t be kept unto itself
Spreads it’s charm, casts it’s spell
No one’s safe this side of hell
From that kind of love
Love rejected and ignored
Held in chains, behind closed doors
Stuff of legend and of songs
Deep down everybody longs (for)
That kind of love . . . oh, that kind of love
Some people never know
That kind of love
Though it only takes a child to show
That kind of love
Widows smile and strong men weep
Little ones play at it’s feet
Deaf can hear and blind can see
That kind of love
Love triumphant, love on fire
Love that humbles and inspires
Love that does not hesitate
No conditions, no restraints
That kind of love . . . oh, that kind of love
How could anyone deny
That kind of love
Every heart is measured by
That kind of love
Even stars fall from the sky
Everything will fall in time
Except those things that cannot die
That kind of love
Oh, may you be remembered by
That kind of love
Also, Paste Magazine is streaming the entire record on its website, which is pretty cool.
Andrew Peterson is a singer-songwriter and author. Andrew has released more than ten records over the past twenty years, earning him a reputation for songs that connect with his listeners in ways equally powerful, poetic, and intimate. As an author, Andrew’s books include the four volumes of the award-winning Wingfeather Saga, released in collectible hardcover editions through Random House in 2020, and his creative memoir, Adorning the Dark, released in 2019 through B&H Publishing.
20 Comments
Curt McLey
@