Watch Steve Earle Perform a Stripped-Down ‘Ain’t Nobody’s Daddy Now’
When Steve Earle pulled into Nashville for two sold-out shows at City Winery earlier this month, the hardcore troubadour treated Rolling Stone Country to a pair of performances off his new blues-based album, Terraplane. The first, “Ain’t Nobody’s Daddy Now,” is premiering here today.
Seated on a stool with just his guitar, Earle fingerpicks his way through the deceptively upbeat song, which follows in the grand tradition of “leaving my woman behind” blues numbers. When Rolling Stone Country visited Earle in the studio during the recording of Terraplane last November, “Ain’t Nobody’s Daddy Now” was on the day’s schedule. “Let’s just find a performance where all the weird shit happens at the right place, and that’s our take,” Earle said then, and he seems to follow that mantra in this performance as well.
Filmed between the stacked tables and chairs of the venue prior to his show that night, the video captures the no-nonsense singer-songwriter at his most bare. In a way, it mirrors the stripped-away vibe of the album.
“This song is very much based on what Mance Lipscomb did,” says Earle, referencing the late Texas blues singer. “Mance used to play dances, by himself, on guitar. That song works great with just a guitar.”
Look for another exclusive performance from Terraplane next week.