“Ain’t no big deal, it’s just Armageddon,” Travis Tritt flippantly sings in his bluesy, Southern rock-flavored new single, “Ghost Town Nation.” It’s a fun-loving retelling of Hank Williams Jr.‘s “A Country Boy Can Survive,” focusing on all the ways that country folks can thrive during uncertain times.
The song invites listeners to leave a troubled society behind, heading out into the woods to enjoy the simple, self-sustaining good life. “Keep a fire burning, rotisserie turning / Pass a jug around and smoke one down / Making the best of a bad situation / Getting by fine in a ghost town nation,” Tritt sings in the chorus.
“Ghost Town Nation” was penned by songwriters Aaron Raitiere and JB Strauss. Tritt says he was originally drawn to the song because of its timely lyrical message.
“I loved the overall groove of the song when I first heard the demo, but what really hooked me was the lyrics,” he recounts. “At a time when so much of the country was on pandemic lockdown, I think the idea of escaping to a secluded spot in the woods was very appealing for a lot of folks.
“It reminded me of a ‘country folks can survive’ theme,” adds Tritt. “I personally know a lot of folks that still do this regularly.”
The country stalwart’s newest single is the first taste fans have gotten of an upcoming new album from Tritt, which was produced by Nashville mainstay Dave Cobb. The pair first announced that they were working on a project together in March, after Tritt inked a new deal with Big Noise Music Group.
It’s the singer’s first standalone single release in quite a while, though already in 2020, Tritt was a guest artist on the Hot Country Knights‘ “Pick Her Up” and the Cadillac Three‘s “Hard Out Here for a Country Boy.”
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