Gretchen Peters: Personal Pain As Universal Truth
Gretchen Peters' new album is Hello Cruel World.
Hear The Music
Purchase Featured Music
- "Woman on the Wheel"
- Album: Hello Cruel World
- Artist: Gretchen Peters
- Released: 2012
Purchase Featured Music
- "Dark Angel"
- Album: Hello Cruel World
- Artist: Gretchen Peters
- Released: 2012
Country Music Award winner Gretchen Peters had an eventful 2010: The BP oil spill washed up on her doorstep, a good friend committed suicide, and her son announced that he's transgender. The last of those in particular, she says, got her thinking about personal conflict.
"[My son] had withheld a very basic and large truth about himself for a long, long time," Peters says. "And I thought, what's the difference here — except a difference of degree — between him and anyone else? I think all of us withhold truths about ourselves that we think would make other people like us less, or accept us less."
That sentiment and others formed the basis of a new album called Hello Cruel World, released last month. True to its title, the album opens on a down note: "Haven't done as well as I thought I would / I'm not dead, but I'm damaged goods / And it's getting late."
"I think that's something that every single one of us can relate to," she says. "I was craving the truth. And I wanted to tell the truth."
More Music Interviews
Music Interviews
How An Author And A Singer Became Musical 'Kin'
Writer Mary Karr and musician Rodney Crowell share more than respect for each other's work.
Music Interviews
Brandi Carlile: Bending Notes Until They Break
The rich-voiced singer-songwriter performs songs from her new album, Bear Creek, in NPR's Studio 4A.
Music Interviews
Chely Wright: From Nashville Star To Outcast Activist
A new documentary, Wish Me Away, follows the country singer's struggle to accept her sexuality.
Comments
Discussions for this story are now closed. Please see the Community FAQ for more information.