Welcome back to this week’s edition of the Wichitan’s Song of the Week. Still in celebration of Women History Month, this week’s pick is “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song)” by Louisiana-born singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson. Released Nov. 28, 2022, as the twelfth track of her sophomore studio album “Bell Bottom Country,” “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song)” is a heartfelt tribute to her father and a thank you song showing her gratitude for being her father. In the song, Wilson narrates her experience growing up with her father and how much she appreciates and loves him for it. Lainey Wilson defined her album, “Bell Bottom Country” as a state of mind and her goal for the album was to inspire people to live their truths of which she is leading by example as evident in “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song).”

Born in Baskin, Louisiana, Lainey Denay Wilson is an award-winning and nominated country singer-songwriter best known for either her performance alongside other country music artists for the Alan Jackson tribute at the 2022 Country Music Awards or her role as Abby in the fifth season of Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone.” Growing up in a small village in Louisiana, Wilson didn’t have much resources to grow her career as a performer, but she didn’t let that stop her. At the young age of nine, Wilson started performing around her small village and right after high school, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee to start her country music career. At the 2022 Country Music Awards during her acceptance speech for the CMA’s New Artist of the Year Award, she credits her entire career to her parents and she thanks them for helping her discover her voice and love for country music. Her entire discography has always been heavily influenced by her life experiences and “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song)” is a side of Wilson that fans don’t get to see very often.

“Those Boots (Deddy’s Song)” is my favorite song from the album and Lainey Wilson’s discography as a whole. In “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song)” Wilson sings about her love for her father, Brian Wilson. In August 2022 via post on Facebook, she announced that her father was diagnosed with a fungal infection that affected the left side of his face called Diabetic Ketoacidosis. She wrote the song while her dad was battling with the infection as a tribute and reminder of everything he meant to her. She narrates in detail all of her favorite memories with her father. Lainey Wilson has also been very vocal about how much her parents mean to her but in “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song)” she tells the same story with an emotional addition. Finally, Wilson sings about her dad at a time when she thought she was going to lose him. 

As stated in previous editions of the Song of the Week, lyricism is an important aspect of any song and Lainey Wilson understood that when writing “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song).” In “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song),” Wilson utilizes storytelling and pathos to portray her experience growing up and her affection towards her father. My favorite lyric in the entire song is:

“Those boots, they walk right with the Lord

Those boots would only drive a Ford

Those boots made a damn good living

Spun my mama all around the kitchen

Those boots will never go out of style

One day they’ll walk me down the aisle

I pray everyday, one day I will

Find a man to fill

Those boots.”

Father-daughter relationships are an important aspect of any woman’s life.  In “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song),” Wilson gave an account of how influential her father was in shaping how she was. The song is a great listen with a powerful message.