Country singer-songwriter Deric Ruttan explains the idea behind his hit single, "Main Street, 1979." Ruttan will perform the song during the 2012 CCMA Awards, airing Sunday, September 9 on CBC.
"Main Street, 1979" started with me picking up my guitar during a quiet moment, sitting by myself at home. It started with that guitar part and a mood, and the song came slowly. I'd pick it up and put it back down periodically, working at it over the course of a few months. Even though I thought the idea of writing a song about the things kids see from the backseat of their parents' car was a pretty relatable idea, at some point I made the decision to write the song "just for me," meaning I wasn't writing it from a standpoint of wanting it to be "commercial" necessarily.
It is the most personal song I've ever written and chosen to record – there is a lot of specific detail in it that is true to my life – literal places and people that populated my life in Bracebridge, Ontario, as I was growing up. When I recorded it, I had no intention of it being a single, it was just a song that meant something to me that I thought deserved to be heard. I've been flattered that so many who've heard it have heard their own stories reflected in the lyrics – in my opinion, there is no greater compliment for a songwriter.
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posted by
Brad Frenette
on May 14, 2012