Family Tree

Album: If It Wasn’t For You (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Co-written by Caylee Hammack with Gordie Sampson and Troy Verges, this rollicking autobiographical song finds the South Georgia native introducing herself by describing her small-town upbringing and the family who shaped her.

    Sister smoked all the camels in the county last week
    She cleaned out the 7-Eleven, sneaking in, smelling like nicotine
    Mama's burning chicken for the tupperware party tonight
    And daddy's asleep in his chair the TV's blaring the stats for halftime


    Hammack kicks off the quirky tune by describing her home life, which includes a sister, Molly, who hides her smoking habit from Caylee. She explained to Billboard that a few days after she'd discovered Molly smoking, they went to the gas station together and found they were out of Camel Crushes. Caylee said to her sister, "Dang Molly, you must've smoked them out in this county."

    Hammack liked that line, and when went into a writing session with Gordie Sampson and Troy Verges a few weeks later she had it noted down. After sharing it with the other two songwriters, they said, "Wait, that's kind of cool. Tell us about your family." So Hammack started talking about some of the quirks in her family.
  • "Family Tree" was the first song that Hasmmack started working on for her debut record. It's the first song that she'd ever produced myself, and she and her co-producer, Mikey Reeves, spent around 55 hours working on the tune.
  • Not only does Hammack sing about the people she loves the most in "Family Tree," but she purposely made the song with some of her best friends, including co-producer Mikey Reeves. "We only had our friends play on it," she told The Boot. "We only had people we loved play on it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Eagles Lyrics Quiz

Eagles Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Lots of life lessons in these Eagles lyrics - can you match them to the correct song?

Charlie Benante of Anthrax

Charlie Benante of AnthraxSongwriter Interviews

The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Adam Young of Owl City

Adam Young of Owl CitySongwriter Interviews

Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.