We premiere “Words I Never Heard an Old Man Say” as his new album is released digitally
Singer-songwriter and runner up on The Voice, Ian Flanigan, releases his new album, The Man My Mama Raised, today (Fri, Mar 7th) through Reviver Records. We have the exclusive premiere of “Words I Never Heard an Old Man Say” and interview that Matt Bailey conducted during Country Radio Seminar (CRS) last month in Nashville.
“‘Words I Never Heard an Old Man Say’ takes a unique approach to life advice, focusing on the lessons we learn not through words, but through actions. It’s about the wisdom passed down through experience—the things we pick up just by watching, rather than being told outright. Some of life’s greatest lessons aren’t spoken; they’re understood over time, shaped by the quiet influence of those who came before us.”
Flanigan says the project was inspired by his late mom.
“[The record is] a series of highs and lows in my life, but it’s called The Man My Mama Raised. I lost my mom a little over a year ago,” he says. “And it’s heartbreaking obviously, but she was such an inspiration in my life, just a beautiful woman. I wanted to get a body of work that kind of could be memorialize that in some way. So that this record is a little bit about different chapters of my life and who have come to be musically and personally, but it’s dedicated to her and that year of my life.”
He continues, “It happened really organically. I worked really closely with my producer John Stone and probably wrote 50, 60 songs, and then, sitting back with them, it was very obvious which ones made sense for it. And there’s a couple of fun ones that are just for a good time, but the deep ones just kind of stuff their hand up. Music is therapy. yeah, and the songs are are very much you know, related to it, but also in a universal way. So a lot of them, you wit necessarily know it’s exactly talking about because it’s it’s my experience, but given to the listener in a universal way, for their for their own life.”
Flanigan says he’s supporting the album with a tour that features fellow Voice contestant Jim Ranger and Randall Fowler.
“We’re doing a thing called Southbound Writers Round. It’s me, Jim Ranger and Randall Fowler doing a writer’s round tour all the way from New York down to Florida,” Flanigan tells us exclusively. “We’re doing the entire East Coast, but skipping a few states. We got about 12 dates online right now. We’re excited.”
He said the album represents chapters in his life.
“It happened really organically. I worked really closely with my producer John Stone and probably wrote 50, 60 songs, and then sitting back with them, you just it was very obvious, which ones made sense for it,” he states. “There’s a couple of fun ones that are just for a good time, but the deep ones just kind of stick their hand up… Music is therapy. The songs are are very much related to it, but also in a universal way. So a lot of them, you won’t necessarily know it’s exactly talking about because it’s my experience, but given to the listener in a universal way, for their for their own life.”
Flanigan says the album is a mix between fun uptempo tracks and serious ballads.
“Our latest single is called ‘Evergreen.’ It’s a song I wrote for my wife. It was the first one that I wrote for her after we got married last year,” he shares. “We got a couple really fun uptempo ones and the rest of the record is really that kind of neat into life. There’s a there’s a song ‘Where the Wild Things Were’ and it’s about kind of revisiting your hometown over the years, and after a while, it’s not your home anymore. It’s changed, it’s developed, it’s not the same. There’s ‘Words I Never Heard an Old Man Say,’ which is very much about taking the wisdom that never needed to be spoken with the older role models in your life and just becoming that man on your own. ‘The Man My Mom Raised’ is very much about just trying to always pursue to reach the bar set by your mother, even if you never do, that you just keep trying.”
Flanigan found fame by becoming Blake Shelton’s finalist on NBC’s The Voice, where he was dubbed a “once-in-a-lifetime vocalist” by the country star. Since that time, he has released an album with chart-topping singles and extensively toured with the likes of Trace Adkins and Chris Janson.
