Ned Hill Searches For Hope With New Song, “Wake Me Up”

Ned Hill sifts through wreckage like his life depends on it. A pillar in the Americana and blues-rock scene, the craftsman observes a relationship’s burning out and seeks for any kind of cure he can find. With “Wake Me Up,” premiering today, Hill touches upon unimaginable loneliness and the once-vibrant intimacy and desire that all but eludes him now. “Where do we go from here?” he ponders with the raw opening line.

“When there’s no one left to keep us in our home?” he continues. Hill proposes such inquiries as much to himself as his significant other, searching deep within himself. There may never be a right answer, but his quest for truth is at least out in the open. “The kids are grown and left us all alone to stare / What we’ve left behind, a loving garden caught up in the weeds,” he sings, blending rich poeticism with frank, unavoidable pain. “Smothered by a frantic life / And buried underneath the years.”

“Wake Me Up” samples Hill’s second solo effort, By the Light of the Radio (pre-order here), landing this Friday (October 2) on WhistlePig Records. “And I remember the first time you put me in my place,” he sings. With strings wailing beneath him, adding a visceral, high-stakes energy, he recalls the past as a way to possibly mend the brokenness. Perhaps the correct medication is right before his eyes.

“Sometimes a passionate, loving marriage can take a turn when the couple becomes a family and priorities change. The love and care for the children can be at the expense of the couple, if left unattended,” Hill tells American Songwriter over email. “The flame can be blown out, leaving the husband or wife looking for a match. Connection is one of the themes on this record, and this song delves into one that is broken, looking to be remedied.”

In his impressive career, firmly rooted in Nashville for the last 20 years, Hill is most known for performing in Ned Van Go and The Cowards, alongside collaborative work with Michael Webb (John Prine, Hank Williams Jr.). He first stepped out as a soloist with 2018’s Six Feet Above Ground.

With By the Light of Radio, produced by Bunky Hunt, Hill assembled quite a roster of musicians. Those include Tina Simpson (violin, viola), Jeffrey Perkins (percussion), The Coal Men’s Dave Coleman (lead/rhythm guitar), Ralph Friedrichsen (bass), and Laur Joamets (lead guitar, rhythm). Hunt also joins on acoustic guitar.

Listen to “Wake Me Up” below.

Photo by Scott Willis