Vince Gill continues his year-long 50 Years From Home project with the new EP Lonely’s What I Do, a collection of melancholy country songs reflecting the storytelling traditions that shaped Gill’s career.
by Paul Cashmere
Vince Gill has never shied away from emotional storytelling, and his latest release leans heavily into that tradition. The country music legend has released Lonely’s What I Do, the fifth instalment in his ambitious 50 Years From Home EP series, continuing a project marking five decades since he left Oklahoma to pursue a career in music.
The new EP arrives via MCA and presents eight songs that draw from the deeply reflective side of Gill’s songwriting. Across the record, the singer explores heartbreak, memory and the passing of time, themes that have long been central to the country tradition.
For Gill, the emotional tone of the music is intentional. “I love the melancholy in music,” Gill says. “Maybe it goes back to the bluegrass days of the murder ballads. Songs that carry a bit of despair tend to hold more emotion. They tell great stories and paint pictures that take you somewhere.”
Gill’s relationship with sad songs has been evident throughout a career that has produced more than 30 million album sales and a remarkable list of accolades. He has won 22 Grammy Awards, the most of any solo male country artist, alongside 18 Country Music Association Awards and eight Academy of Country Music Awards. He is also a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry, honours reflecting his enduring role in shaping modern country music.
The EP opens with “Nothing Like They Used To Be,” a Texas swing-influenced lament co-written with Sharon Vaughn and Hadlie Jo Pritchard. The song looks back at a fading honky-tonk culture where, as the lyrics suggest, the swinging doors have stopped swinging and the old cheating songs have faded from the jukebox.
Gill says the track draws on memories of early nights spent in real beer joints listening to twangy country bands, the environments that helped shape his musical identity during the 1970s.
Another highlight is “A Million Tears Ago,” written with Mae Estes, who also contributes harmony vocals. Gill says Estes shares a deep appreciation for traditional country music.
“We got together and made up a song and this is what turned up,” he says. “She really loves that old school spirit of country music.”
“How’s The Leaving Going,” written with Lee Thomas Miller and Kameron Marlowe, adds another personal dimension to the project. Gill’s version features harmony vocals from his youngest daughter Corrina, from his marriage to singer Amy Grant. Marlowe has also recorded his own version of the song.
The EP’s title track, “Lonely’s What I Do,” is a gentle ballad written with Sharon Vaughn and Belle Frantz. Gill describes it as a nod to the classic Western swing style associated with Bob Wills, a sound that continues to influence many of his recordings.
“The Last Thing You Left Behind,” written with Tom Douglas, stands out for its simplicity. The song begins with its chorus before moving into a single verse, an approach Gill says felt complete once the core idea had been expressed.
“I said I think we’re done,” he recalls of the writing session. “Think about how many Merle songs had just one verse. Sometimes saying less makes it stronger.”
Another long-waiting composition, “How Lonely Lonely Gets,” finally finds its place on the EP after sitting in Gill’s catalogue for years. He says the track always felt like a late-night song but had never found the right album until now.
Perhaps the most emotionally powerful song on the record is “The Book,” written with Bob DiPiero. The song reflects on the idea of writing a memoir, an idea Gill says people often raise with him. In the story, the concept turns into something much more personal when the narrative confronts the loss of a loved one.
The EP closes with “Pocket Full Of Gold,” originally released in 1991 and one of Gill’s 25 Top 10 hits on the Billboard country chart. Its inclusion connects the new material to the period when Gill became one of country music’s defining voices.
Like the other releases in the 50 Years From Home series, Lonely’s What I Do was recorded at Gill’s home studio in Nashville. He produced the project himself with engineers Matt Rausch and Justin Niebank, joined by a group of trusted collaborators including pedal steel player Paul Franklin, guitarists Tom Bukovac and Jedd Hughes, bassist Jimmie Lee Sloas, keyboardists Gordon Mote, John Jarvis and Jim “Moose” Brown, and drummer Fred Eltringham.
The cover artwork for each EP in the series features instruments from Gill’s personal collection. For this release he selected a Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar given to him by songwriter Paul Kennerly.
Gill’s 50 Years From Home project was launched after he signed a lifetime contract with MCA, the label that has released his music since the late 1980s. The plan is to release a new EP every month for a year, mixing new songs with selected pieces from his long career.
The milestone reflects the journey that began in 1975 when Gill left Oklahoma City to chase a dream that eventually placed him among the most respected musicians in country music. Over the decades he has built a reputation not only as a singer and songwriter but also as a virtuoso guitarist and collaborator, performing with artists ranging from Dolly Parton and Patty Loveless to Kelly Clarkson and Maren Morris.
In recent years Gill has also performed as a touring member of The Eagles, stepping into the band following the death of Glenn Frey. Yet even while performing on some of rock’s biggest stages, Gill has continued to return to the storytelling roots that shaped him.
Tracklisting
“Nothing Like They Used To Be”
“A Million Tears Ago”
“How’s The Leaving Going”
“Lonely’s What I Do”
“The Last Thing You Left Behind”
“How Lonely Lonely Gets”
“The Book”
“Pocket Full Of Gold”
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