Letting Go

Album: Aces (1991)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about the mixed feelings a mother feels when her child goes off to college. There's pride, but also tears because it's never easy letting go. The lyric takes us into her mindset: she tells herself how great it will be to get more time in the garden and read some books, but she's really not ready to watch her child leave home.

    On the Songfacts Podcast, Suzy Bogguss said: "I had to fight with the record label because at the time they thought it was too pop for the record that I was making, but it ended up being a big hit for me and giving me some great stories from folks that identified with this song through the years."
  • Bogguss' husband, the musician/producer Doug Crider, wrote this song with Matt Rollings, who has played keyboards on tracks by Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Shania Twain and many others. Bogguss and Crider got married in 1986; they met in Nashville when she was a demo singer and he was a recording engineer.
  • At the time, Bogguss didn't have any children, but she did experience the sentiments in this song when her son, Benton Crider, graduated from DePauw University in Indiana in 2017.
  • Landing at #6 on the Country chart, "Letting Go" is one of Bogguss' most popular songs. It was released as a single from her third album, Aces, which sold over a million copies in America. The album was produced by Jimmy Bowen, who was an artist in the '50s but switched roles in the '60s to produce acts like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Later in his career, he worked with a number of country acts, including Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire.
  • The music video was directed by Deaton Flanigen, whose credits include "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock and "Eight Second Ride" by Jake Owen. In the clip, we the mother going through an emotional blender as her daughter heads to college.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?

Michelle Branch

Michelle BranchSongwriter Interviews

Michelle Branch talks about "Everywhere," "The Game Of Love," and her run-in with a Christian broadcasting network.

Gary LeVox

Gary LeVoxSongwriter Interviews

On "Life Is A Highway," his burgeoning solo career, and the Rascal Flatts song he most connects with.

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"They're Playing My Song

The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which.