‘Dolly Once Did’
The story behind the song
A song about believing in a dream before there's any proof it's going to happen.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It Started With a Promise
At the beginning of this year, I made a promise to myself.
Somehow, some way, I was going to get to Nashville.
The funny thing was, I had no real plan. No flights booked. No accommodation. No songwriting sessions lined up. Just a dream that had followed me around for years and a feeling that if I didn't start taking it seriously now, I might regret it forever.
The Universe had a plan
Around the same time, I wrote a song called Four by Four using a sample I found on Splice. That song unexpectedly led me to discover an incredible producer Blake Mohler whose work I connected with straight away. Through following his journey, I came across Eager Music and saw they were hosting a songwriting camp in Nashville.
So I put my hand up.
While they were reviewing my application, I started writing a song called Dolly Once Did.
Not because I had been accepted. Not because I had flights booked.
I decided to write from the mindset that I was already going.
Writing Dolly Once Did
The song is really about that moment where you're standing between fear and possibility. The place where you wonder what happens if you leave everything familiar behind and take a chance on yourself.
Why Dolly?
Growing up in the country, Nashville always felt like this faraway place where songwriters went to chase impossible dreams. But when I started looking into the stories of artists I admire, I realised many of them started exactly where I was — small towns, day jobs, uncertainty, cheap hotels and a dream they couldn't ignore.
And who better to inspire that idea than Dolly Parton herself?
The title became a reminder that every artist I look up to was once unknown. They all had a first trip, a first song, a first leap of faith.
Nashville Is Next
Not long after writing the song, I received the news that I'd been accepted into the Eager Music songwriting camp.
A few weeks from now, I'll be flying all the way from Australia to Nashville with my guitar, a notebook full of songs and an open mind.
Whether anything life-changing happens there or not almost feels beside the point.
Because this song was never really about Nashville.
It's about having the courage to believe in something before there's any proof it's going to work.
