My Father's Father

Album: Barton Hollow (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The Civil Wars were the duo of Northern California CCM vocalist Joy Williams and Alabama-based country guitarist/songwriter John Paul White. The pair wrote this song not long after they got together on the day Barack Obama was inaugurated. The composed it in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where White lived. He recalled: "I started playing the guitar figure and she starting singing this amazing Appalachian kind of melody, and I'm like, 'Don't even pretend that you're the pop girl and you come out with s--- like that!' I don't know where this stuff is coming from, but she's drawing it from somewhere, and it's amazing."
  • "My Father's Father" is a great example of the musical chemistry between Joy Williams and John Paul White that earned The Civil Wars' debut album, Barton Hollow, widespread acclaim, including a Grammy win for Best Folk Album. They appeared to have romantic chemistry as well, but were married to other people. In 2012, it went downhill for the duo when they set out on a European tour and started work on their second album. Their artistic differences came to a head, and they ended up canceling the tour and completed the album under heavy tension. When the album was released in 2013, White refused to promote it and Williams did her best to explain that it wasn't working out for the duo. The album debuted at #1 in America, but The Civil Wars were over.

Comments: 1

  • Lisa from Eveleth, Mni love the civil wars!!! i sing and rock my three month old son to sleep by them. we both especially love "tracks in the snow" .
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Graduation Songs

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?

Gary Brooker of Procol Harum

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")Song Writing

Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."