Brantley Gilbert on Explaining His Past to His Children: 'I'm Not a Superhero'

Brantley Gilbert has been sober for more than seven years, when he entered rehab to overcome his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Gilbert's life before sobriety is filled with a few dark chapters, including a couple arrests and a near-fatal car accident when he was just 19 years old.

While Gilbert is now clean and sober, and getting ready to welcome his second child with his wife, Amber, the singer knows at some point he will have to explain some things in his past to his children – a conversation he is already dreading.

"As soon as my children are old enough to read or their friends are old enough to tell stories, I'm going to have to have some conversations with my children earlier than most parents will," Gilbert shared with PopCulture.com and other media. "They're going to know sooner than others that I'm not a superhero. I don't have a cape and I can't fly."

Gilbert was thinking of that discussion he would have with his children when he "Man That Hung the Moon" from his upcoming new album.

"I want them to have a song that they can listen to and just know that at one point, you are going to figure out that I'm not a superhero and you're going to need more than me," Gilbert reflected. "Hopefully I've done my job well enough to show you that if when that time comes, that there is a man who really did hang the moon that's got your back now and always will.

While Gilbert admits he will always have a rough edge, he does concede that his new set of tunes will show a softer side of him than what he may have revealed in the past.

"I am proud of this album and it does tell us a cool story," Gilbert acknowledged. "There's a lot of reminiscent souls on there. Because, being married and being a dad now, life's different; the things I'm doing daily are different. So, looking back into a little more of the rowdier side of me, it's still there ... I'm a what you see is what you get guy. And that couldn't be more true. It helps me I don't have to keep up lies and –. I can tell it like it is and you know, that's worked out great for my career."

Download "Man That Hung the Moon" on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Alberto E. Rodriguez