From songs about relationships to tunes inspired by Lonesome Dove, teacher-turned-country star Summer Dean is showing the world her truth with her new album The Biggest Life.
Not many folks look forward to a career change when they’re 39, but for Summer Dean the pivot was welcomed with open arms. Born into a blue-collar ranching family northwest of Dallas, the 43-year-old Dean has always had a gritty but charming demeanor and unrelenting work ethic, all traits that made her an exceptional teacher for over a decade. As it turns out, those skills also make one helluva songwriter.
The reigning Honky Tonk Woman of the Year at the Ameripolitan Music Awards makes her case as one of the Lone Star State’s brightest musical talents on The Biggest Life, which documents her journey from the ranch to the classroom and concert hall through 13 deeply vulnerable and cheeky tracks. The project touches on everything from mulling single life in your 40s to fantasizing about farm tools to appreciating life’s simple moments. Dean leaves no stone unturned in documenting the latest chapter of her musical journey on her own terms, proving it's never too late to chase your dreams.
According to Dean, each of the new songs was originally written in a songwriting group she shares with the likes of Matt Hillyer (Eleven Hundred Springs), Zac Wilkerson, Josh Weathers, Courtney Patton, and Jason Eady, among others. The group keeps an active text chain with ideas, advice, and encouragement, with the one requirement for membership being to write one new song every week. Dean credits the group for pushing her to stay motivated and disciplined as a songwriter, ultimately leading to a collection of songs she couldn’t be more proud of.
“There’s been a lot of people come through the group, but not everybody lasts very long,” says Dean. “Not every song I’ve written in it has been good, but it all helps with accountability, practice, and repetition. Like with anything in life, you can’t get better if you’re not constantly working at it, and failure is a part of that process.”
And it wasn’t just Dean satisfied with the songs, but her idol Bruce Robison as well. After recruiting Dean for a video session, he inquired about recording her new songs for his Next Waltz label, which she gleefully accepted. Captured in a fully analog setting, the tracks are steeped in traditional Texas honky-tonk and Western swing. The result is a raw and nostalgic sound meshing seamlessly with Dean’s emotional storytelling. It's evidence that in a world of endless options in recording, less can still be more.
“Every decision we made was to serve the song and the stories within,” says Dean. “It was never about what would sound good live or what was the grooviest. It was all about serving the lyrics and songwriting, and Bruce was the perfect producer to do that with.
Arguably one of the album’s simplest songs, “Baling Wire” is also one of its most entertaining. Written from a prompt in her songwriting group with the word “wire”, the tune expands on the unassuming object by mapping out its various uses like roasting marshmallows to fish stringer and even a makeshift wedding ring (“if you love me enough you can get down on one knee / tie some around my left finger”). A nerve-racking endeavor to collect in one take, Dean says the song sees her wax nostalgic about being a kid back on the farm again watching her grandfather at work.
“I had this image of being in our barn as a little kid and watching him at work while sitting atop feed sacks, just like the song says,” explains Dean. “There was always baling wire everywhere, from rolls to tiny pieces, so the song is very nostalgic for me in addition to being light-hearted and fun.”
A fondness for simple times is also present in “The Biggest Life Worth Living Is The Small.” Inspired by Dean’s love for Larry McMurtry’s 1985 Western novel Lonesome Dove, the song charts the ambitions of the character Lorena to get to San Francisco where she anticipates her worries will wane upon arrival. However, she’s quickly reminded that big hope and big plans often lead to big disappointment. From there an emphasis is put on cherishing life’s little moments, like a cup of coffee, a friendly face in the sunshine, and a biscuit with the perfect rise. Lessons like that are what keep drawing Dean back to the McMurtry classic and make for such a heartwarming song.
“To me Lonesome Dove is like The Godfather,” says Dean. “It’s got things in it that I live my life on. When I get stressed out I make sure to stop and do something I love because it puts me right back into the present moment and brings my gratitude back. It’s my secret to everything.”
Speaking of stress, one recurring source of it throughout The Biggest Life is relationships. While songs like “She’s In His Arms But I’m In The Palm Of His Hand” and “Clean Up Your Act If You Wanna Talk Dirty To Me” approach this from a sassy and empowering perspective, others like “She Ain’t Me” and “Lonely Girl’s Lament” come at it from a much more helpless space.
For instance, the latter instead comes from a place of isolation and borderline desperation as Dean questions what went wrong to get her to this point. She says the song originally came to her while dining alone back home and yearning for a massive country-fried steak before realizing she had nobody to share it with.
“‘Lonely Girl’s’ came completely from my guts and every vulnerable place I have,” says Dean. “I immediately knew something was happening with the song because people would come up to me after shows crying about how they relate to the lyrics. It's about how real, grown women feel and not just chick country about a girl keying the truck of the guy who cheated on her. It’s been interesting to hear from so many people about what the song means to them.”
No matter where she draws her inspiration from, The Biggest Life sees Dean’s music in its most grand and elevated form yet. It’s living proof that good songs are good songs, no matter how they’re recorded, by whom, when, or where they come from. It also serves as a reminder to never let your age hold you back from doing what you love.
“You don’t have to know how to do it to do it,” says Dean. “[Music] has taught me that I’m more capable than I ever imagined I was and that if you’re honest with yourself, stay grateful, and focus your intent you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to. You don’t have to understand how it all works, but you do need to have the guts to start. These past few years have taught me that we’re all more capable than we give ourselves credit for. We can all surprise ourselves, which has been an amazing thing to figure out at 43.”
Photography: Scott Slusher
You can check out the music of Summer Dean via Spotify or Apple Music.
