Vince Gill’s “Bread and Water” and the Heartbreaking Family Story That Inspired It

From his first No. 1 hit that he wrote after a spousal spat to the tragic accident that inspired “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” Vince Gill has often drawn upon his deeply personal life experiences to create universally relatable songs, and Gill’s “Bread and Water” is no exception.

In a 2011 interview with Nashville Rescue Mission, Gill said he knew “Bread and Water” would hit close to home when he got a lump in his throat after writing the first line, One night, he wandered into that old mission.

Why The First Lines of “Bread and Water” Made Vince Gill Tear Up

The “nicest guy in Nashville” explained that he and his “Bread and Water” co-writer, Leslie Satcher, were brainstorming song ideas when Vince Gill came up with the opening line about a man wandering into a mission. “Immediately, I got a lump in my throat, and Leslie said, ‘What’s wrong?’” Gill recalled. “I said, ‘I don’t know, there’s just something about that line that really made me think of my brother.’”

Gill continued: “He had a car wreck in the late 60s and was in a coma for several months, not expected to live. Never quite came all the way back but did pretty good considering, but they said he would never live. Never could quite hold down a job and struggled mightily and actually had some stretches of life that he would spend in the mission and be out knocking around, kind of hoboing and struggling. So, away we went on this idea.”

Gill and Satcher’s “Bread and Water” introduces a second character in the second verse, a woman who speaks to the homeless man entering the mission. He said, ‘Ma’am, I sure am hungry, and I don’t have a penny to my name. Lord knows I hadn’t worked in a month of Sundays. I’m dirty, dead broke, and so ashamed, Gill sings.

He continues into the refrain: I need bread and water, ma’am, that’s all I need. Bread and water and a place to rest my feet. I ain’t too proud to get down on my knees, for bread and water’s free.

Vince Gill’s Brother Inspired His Activism in the Homeless Community

Gill has translated his love for his brother into his music and his work for various charities assisting unhoused communities. In 2013, Gill helped raise $200,000 for the Mobile Rescue Mission in Mobile, Alabama. He told AL.com, “That is where I get my passion for this. It seems like when [people] come up and hit you up for a buck or this or that on the street, I kind of see my brother’s face.”

Gill is also an avid supporter of similar organizations in his current home state of Tennessee, including the Nashville Rescue Mission he spoke to in 2011. During his interview, Gill said he loved “seeing people reach out and be good community people, help people that are struggling. I love hearing those stories, and I hope this song finds a way to speak to you.”

In 2017, Gill appeared at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium during an installment of the “Tokens Show,” a quarterly live show that explores theology and sociology in addition to providing musical entertainment. “I love this show; it’s so much fun,” Gill said ahead of his set. “When [my bandmate] Jeff Taylor told me all the proceeds tonight were going to [Nashville’s homelessness resource center] Room In The Inn, I said, ‘I’m in.’ I love those people.”

“I suggested to Jeff that since we were doing the fundraising for them tonight, I had this song that I wrote kind of loosely based on my brother. My brother spent a lot of his adult life in places like Room In The Inn. This song is a loose tribute to my brother,” Gill said before playing the opening line that had choked him up all those years earlier.

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