Good Old Nashville Days

Send us Fan MailThis week's episode features one true-story song and two tall tales—you can decide which one stretches the truth the most.The true story, "Nashville Summer Evenings," recalls my childhood in postwar Nashville. My parents, both World War II veterans, made sure my sister and I never forgot our Tennessee farming roots. Weekend trips to visit our grandparents, listening to the Grand Ole Opry on WSM, and exploring an abandoned railroad bed behind our house became memories that inspired the song years later.The first tall tale, "Dottie's Come Back Home," grew out of my Baptist upbringing. Because we were always in church, I missed many classic TV shows—including The Wizard of Oz. When I finally saw it in college, I interpreted it as an unlikely allegory for the 1960s counterculture and turned that idea into a calypso song.The final song, "UFO at the VBS," imagines a 1950s Vacation Bible School interrupted by visitors from another world. Inspired by a sermon about how churches might respond to the discovery of extraterrestrial life, it's a humorous reminder that sometimes the most unbelievable stories ask the biggest questions.© 2026 David Ray Skinner/Electric Quilt Music, BMI