Brantley Gilbert Tackles His Personal Story With ‘Man That Hung the Moon’ (Exclusive)

Brantley Gilbert’s duet with Lindsay Ell, “What Happens in a Small Town,” is still climbing the charts, but there’s another song on his upcoming Fire & Brimstone album that is already getting plenty of attention. The song, “Man That Hung the Moon,” was written by Gilbert as a message to his 1-year-old son, Barrett, who might grow up to realize that the father he idolizes had his own share of struggles along the way.

“That song was one of those, I knew I wanted to write it,” Gilbert told PopCulture.com. “Being a songwriter, I’ve written about most of the events of my life. Having a child, of course I was going to make a run at it. I was a little bit worried about it. I will tell you that I’m a perfectionist I feel like when it comes to songwriting, and when it came to write one about my son, it was almost like, it was more difficult because words didn’t deserve him.

“Nothing was really good enough,” he continued. “But I ended up writing a song about just really the reality of the situation, is I’ll have to have some talks with my kids before most dads will, because my kids will find out more than most. As soon as they’re old enough to read or listen to a story, there’ll be privy to some stuff about me that I probably wouldn’t share with them until later in life.”

Gilbert and his wife, Amber, will welcome their second child, a girl, later this year. The singer, who battled addiction for several years before becoming sober more than seven years ago, hopes that both of his children will find solace and a place of refuge in their famous father.

“I hope they’re proud,” Gilbert said. “That story just has some things that, like I said, if I had to call it, I would say they’ll probably hear some stories about me.. At one point in their life, I definitely think it’ll be a great story for them and a reverence. But early in life, there may be some things they’re not ready to hear yet. That’s kind of what it was about. I hope they always look up to me and I hope I’ll live a life that deserves that. That’s my intention.

“But again, I do think it’s important,” he added. “That’s something my parents instilled in me, that when you need more than you, and when you need more than us, that’s where you go. That’s where you look.”

Gilbert’s upcoming Fire & Brimstone album will be out on Oct. 4. More information can be found at BrantleyGilbert.com.

Photo Credit: Getty Images / Alberto E. Rodriguez