Adrian Payne reckons a good song is like stepping into someone else’s boots for a while. “Putting yourself in the shoes of others always helps to craft a lyric,” he says, and you can feel it in his new track, "Molly". It's a slower, simpler kind of country tune that doesn’t shout to get your attention, it just lets you sit and absorb it. The story takes place at a showground, the kind of place you’d find a few rusty side show rides, a dagwood dog van, and a bloke selling cowboy hats no one needs. But it’s not really about the carnival. It's all about Molly.
The song started with Bruce Mackay, Adrian Payne’s lyricist mate. He wrote it while camped at the Gin Gin Showgrounds a few days before the annual show, imagining how the quiet grounds would soon transform into a hive of activity filled with people from all walks of life, like those he’d encountered at country shows over the years. Payne says it was the second verse where the character of Molly really came alive for him. That moment paints her like she’s right there in front of you: “FIXED ON DOIN’ HER NAILS / A SHADE OF MAYBELLINE RED / THE SMOKE BETWEEN HER LIPS / BLUE SINGLET, TATTS ‘N WHISPY HAIR.” It’s not polished or clean or trying to turn her into something she’s not. It’s just Molly, shaped by the sun and time.
That’s why Adrian kept the delivery of the track pared back. No bells and whistles, just enough to let the scene breathe. He says he and Bruce Mackay had a bit of a debate about whether it should lean harder into its slower ballad side. “The ‘country shuffle’ style was about as fast as we wanted to go, given how we both wanted to share the story but not too frivolously,” he says. In the end, they left it where it landed, with enough space to let the words carry the weight.
Adrian Payne's got a knack for this kind of storytelling. His extensive career is equally impressive. He's backed Slim Dusty, sung with Marcia Hines, and even understudied both Jesus and Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar. “One of the times that sticks out for me would be when I was singing with the Tommy Emmanuel Band on a small Aussie tour,” he says. “We did a few gigs in Tamworth that really raised the roof. He was such a joy to work with, and the band was naturally one of the best.”
But when you listen to "Molly", there’s no big names hanging around. The track feels like the opposite of all that. “I think playing live, or recording, touring, even carrying your guitar and amplifier all play a huge part in shaping the way someone writes a song,” he says. It’s the daily grind that sticks with you, the little routines and rhythms that end up woven into the music almost by accident. “Just look at Jackson Browne's song ‘The Road’. That tells the story about all those things, and it probably wouldn’t have come about without each of them being so important."
If he could spend a day at the show, he knows exactly what he’d be watching. “Sheep dog trials and wood chopping, they are quintessentially Australian. As a songwriter and artist, people, encounters, and places are always contributing to your song ideation," says Payne.
"Molly" doesn’t push hard. It’s the sort of song that finds you rather than the other way around. Adrian says the goal wasn’t to oversell anything. It’s more like being told a story by someone who’s actually been there. You're just meant to sit and listen.
Listen to "Molly" now on Local Sounds:
https://www.localsounds.com.au/song/adrian-payne/molly