Colter Wall sings the praises of ranch life with a pair of new singles, “Cypress Hill and the Big Country” and “Let’s All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)”, a Cowboy Jack Clement cover. Both released by surprise on Wednesday, the tracks mark the first new original releases from the Saskatchewan singer-songwriter since his 2020 LP Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs.
Writing from his ranch among the prairies of southern Saskatchewan, Wall is the real deal. No fake pop-country pick-up truck anthems or $1,000 boots without a spot of mud on them. On “Cypress Hill and the Big Country”, Wall celebrates the majesty of his environment while also lamenting the loss of what once was, “You can duck underneath all your trials and troubles for a time / Like a pronghorn underneath the bottom wire / You can sweat and cuss and wonder why they say our West has died / And the folks around Cypress Hill still drag calves to the fire.”
For “Let’s All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)”, Wall resurrects the words of country music icon Cowboy Jack Clement. Those accustomed to Wall’s calm baritone may be shocked to hear the rancher raise his voice to a wail that nearly collapses under itself in the song’s chorus.
Both songs were recorded at Jereco Studios in Bozeman, MT just south of Saskatchewan. They also feature accompaniment from Wall’s longtime friend Patrick Lyons, a member of his backing band The Scary Prairie Boys, who were featured on his 2021 livestream-turned-vinyl-exclusive Live in Front of Nobody.
Wall has remained relatively quiet since Live in Front of Nobody. Aside from appearances at Stagecoach and the Ponoka Stampede Canadian rodeo, the singer-songwriter has kept largely out of sight, sharing the occasional social media post from his ranch. It now appears that Wall is up to much more than rearing livestock in Saskatchewan.
Listen to the new Colter Wall singles “Cypress Hills and the Big Country” and Cowboy Jack Clement’s “Let’s All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)” below or on your preferred platform.
Colter Wall – “Cypress Hills and the Big Country”
Colter Wall – “Let’s All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)” (Cowboy Jack Clement)