NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — What was it like for you?
The first time you looked into the eyes of this tiny human you brought into this world? You became responsible for the most precious thing in life, but it came with no instructions.
Still, it can be the most rewarding gift that comes with life. I'm not a parent, but a night at The Listening Room helped give me a glimpse of what goes through the mind of those becoming a first-time parent.
I heard Jeb Gipson play on a weeknight in April. I had never heard his music before. If you haven't been to The Listening Room, it's a small and intimate atmosphere. This is where you hear the songwriters behind what could be your next favorite hit. I heard one of his songs and I turned to the people at my table (fellow journalists) and said "that would be a great story." The song is called "Kinda Man."
So this is where the story really begins.
"I'd love to play here more, to be honest," said Gipson told me nearly a month after I heard him play for the first time.
We talked about his relationship with his dad.
"My dad played Bluegrass music, still does," Gipson said. "That was kind of my first — my first love was kind of the Mandolin. I started playing Bluegrass with him."
Gipson grew up in a small town in northeast Georgia. Like so many, Nashville became the destination to see if he could make it as an artist.
"This is kind of one of them that obviously is special to me," Gipson said about this song.
It's where thoughts turn to lyrics. Those lyrics, become maybe a one day lullaby.
"I'm not rich," he said. "My mom still helps me get by sometimes. So I was being super honest."
He was honest about the type of parent he wants to be. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He hopes to be the father to his son, Jones Noble Gipson, like Jeb's dad was to him.
"I say it's about him (baby), it's really about myself," Gipson said. "It's really about me getting ready to be a dad and trying to be the best version of myself by the time my son gets here."
Eager to hear pieces of the song? Watch the video in the player above. The song is officially released at the end of the month.
"Keep it a little tender-hearted and like, be a message hopefully to be son and one day will hear this song and be like my dad was tryign to be a good guy," Gipson said.
A good guy — where that apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
"He's great dad and I owe him everything and that's just kind of what I hope to be to my son," Gipson said.
Gipson says he's grateful for those who wrote this song with him.
Oh, and when is Jeb's son going to be born? It should be any day now.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
