“I just wanted people to hear the voice of the voiceless,” Nashville songwriter Chris Wallin said of the new country single “I Was Gonna Be,” a powerful pro-life anthem written from the point of view of a baby that never had a chance to be born. “I truly believe this is a God thing that happened.”
Wallin, who has penned hits for some of country music’s biggest stars, including Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, Garth Brooks, Montgomery Gentry, and Kenny Chesney, said the writing process for “I Was Gonna Be” was deeply personal. In an interview with Breitbart News Daily’s Mike Slater on Sirius XM Patriot 125, Wallin said, “I started writing this song for myself. I didn’t think anyone would have the courage to sing this.” But Wallin found his muse. Halfway through the writing of the song, he met an 18-year-old newcomer from Indiana named Rachel Holt. He knew right away that he had found the right singer.
“I played her the song and her first words, she goes, ‘I’m singing that song.” She told Wallin, “I think a lot of the songs that girls my age listen to never talk about real life. And that’s what I want to do.”
But Wallin explained to the young artist that recording a song like this doesn’t come without significant risk. He wanted Rachel to understand that “I Was Gonna Be” isn’t just any song and that “there are people who are going to be visceral about this song — on both sides. Good and bad.” But the teenage singer had a very simple response that confirmed for Wallin that he had found the right artist for the song. She said “I don’t care.”
She went on to say that she fully understood the politically charged conversation abortion brings and how the debate about life is a flashpoint culture war topic, particularly among people her age.
“She’s 18 years old and she’s 100 percent traditional values and she isn’t scared to talk and sing about it,” Wallin told Breitbart. “And that’s so important these days. Everything that’s going on, to have a young woman perform this song is all the more important.”
Country music singer Rachel Holt. (Baste Records)
The release of “I Was Gonna Be” truly exhibits the courage of a young artist who’s not afraid to use her voice and talent to combat the high-profile and powerful messaging of the left that is designed to normalize abortion for young people.
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, megastars like Taylor Swift, Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, Brandi Carlisle, Lizzo, Olivia Rodrigo, Lily Allen, Phoebe Bridgers, and Pink all used their massive social platforms to push pro-choice messages.
I’m absolutely terrified that this is where we are – that after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their own bodies, today’s decision has stripped us of that. https://t.co/mwK561oxxl
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 24, 2022
I’m pledging $500k from my upcoming tour to Planned Parenthood. Live Nation agreed to match— to make it 1 MILLION dollars
— FOLLOW @YITTY (@lizzo) June 24, 2022
olivia rodrigo: “so many women and so many girls are gonna die because of this” no sugarcoating at all! as it SHOULD BE! and then proceeding to call out the 5 members of the Supreme Court!! pic.twitter.com/rv3R6p39Cu
— caro | fan account (@jelousyliv) June 25, 2022
Megan Thee Stallion gets crowd of thousands at the Glastonbury Festival to scream “my body, my motherfuckin’ choice” pic.twitter.com/GDNuHK1uUy
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 26, 2022
Alexa, play Loretta Lynn’s “The Pill.” 💊
— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) June 24, 2022
“I Was Gonna Be” Lyrics:
Some don’t believe I’m a living soul
Just a bad mistake that needs to go
If my mama coulda just seen my face
Maybe she woulda had me anyway
There are those who speak for me
Who fight for lives that they can’t see
But there are some who only mourn?
This life of mine if I were born?
All I wanted was a chance
To learn to love and laugh and dance
But I was gone before I arrived
Sent back to heaven on a starlight flight
Yeah I was gonna change the world
I was gonna be a girl
The first thing I was gonna do
Was breathe and fall in love with you
But a couple weeks before I saw the light
Mine flickered out when you changed your mind
All I wanted was a chance
To learn to love and laugh and dance
But I was gone before I arrived
Sent back to heaven on a starlight flight
I was gonna have some pretty curls
Yeah I was gonna be a girl
I’m more than just some one night stand
Or some burden that you think I am
And there ain’t no man ever gonna be
What I was gonna be
Some don’t believe I’m a living soul
Just a bad mistake that needs to go
Wallin, who serves as head of A&R for Baste Records (a Nashville based label whose slogan is the Counter-Culture Music Company) knows releasing a single about abortion from a pro-life perspective was never going to be easy. He had no commercial expectations for “I Was Gonna Be” when he started out but he forged ahead anyway.
The label knew they wanted to release the single on the first day of National Celebrate Life Weekend which is just days ahead of the anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. But Wallin said he faced many obstacles, including finding promotional sponsors. “We did not leave one stone unturned when it came to calling up and talking to pro-life groups. None of them would get on board with us with this at the end,” Wallin said. Eventually, he found a partner in Patriot Mobile.
LISTEN TO CHRIS WALLIN’S FULL INTERVIEW
“It took a mobile company that is pro-life over pro-life companies to actually get involved.”
Wallin said the difficulties made it clear to him that conservatives need to do a better job fighting the culture wars.
“We need to stick together because that’s what the left is doing,” he said. The left’s omnipresence in the entertainment world “is huge in a young person’s mind — that’s a huge influence, and we need to combat that.”
He said one way the right can win is to prioritize artistic excellence — “make great music first that just happens to say what we believe.”
“I Was Gonna Be” is available for streaming and purchase today.