Be Your Man is the new single from Nashville singer-songwriter D.L. Rossi, who is set to release his latest LP A Sweet Thing on April 12th.
Rossi has weathered the unimaginable, including a bout with testicular cancer and a failed marriage, and those crippling yet necessary experiences have only equipped him with the resolve to take his brokenness and make damn good music. His new album A Sweet Thing is a cathartic emission of everything he thought he knew about life, himself and what it meant to process such overwhelming heartache. The heaviness in his heart spills out onto the record in spades, but is never overwrought or too grim. Rather, it’s as much an emotional release for the listener as it is for Rossi.
“Be Your Man” is a laid-back folk ballad carried by layers of piano and electric guitars awash in reverb. It details a failed romance in which both partners are unable to let go, still texting and communicating on regular basis while both knowing full well that there’s no hope for a long-term romance.
He shared the following on the song:
In it’s simplest form “Be Your Man” is just a love song, but what makes it unique is the perspective. In my experience, I come from a world where the idea of love was highly idealized. Growing up home-schooled in an evangelical environment I was taught to be “pure” and “wait” so that I wouldn’t become someone or something that was the opposite of “pure.” It created a lot of anxiety in my life. After my divorce and walking away from that old way of thinking I realized I still carried those ideas but I was projecting them towards myself now. I have always dealt with depression and not liking who I am as a person. But, with “Be Your Man” I’m able to give myself a break and say, “Yeah, I’m super fucked up and broken and not ok. But, that doesn’t mean I can’t love someone and be loved back.” For me, that’s a super difficult thing to believe most days.
I was listening to a lot of Willie Nelson and Tom T. Hall when I wrote this one and I think that’s why the heart of the tune feels so raw. It’s an “I know I messed up, take me back” song that those guys were masters at writing.
A Sweet Thing was recorded live at The Echobase in East Nashville, TN. and is out on April 12th.
Pre-Order via Bandcamp: https://dlrossi.bandcamp.com/album/a-sweet-thing
Photo Credit: Reuben Bidez