Sam Grow is gearing up for summer with his debut album, Love and Whiskey, out May 3. Ahead of the album’s release, Billboard premieres an infectious tune called “Battle of the South” where a southern boy finds himself falling for a northern girl.
“Mama I can’t hide it/ And I can’t fight it/ This city girl came along and caught me blindsided,” Grow croons on the catchy track which he penned with Michael Lotten and Taylor Phillips.
“I’m a traditional southern kid raised by a traditional southern mother who would normally like her son to settle down with a nice southern girl,” Grow tells Billboard. “When I ended up falling for a girl from Troy, New Hampshire, way above that Mason Dixon line, I realized this was a new wave ‘Battle Of The South’ where the Yankee girl won. I took the hook to a couple of my buddies and we wrote this one in about an hour.”
The descriptive tune name-drops some of the south’s most notable attributes like Tupelo, Miss., and magnolia trees. “My favorite line is the song is, ‘She’s still got me fallin’ like magnolia off the trees,’” Grow adds.
The singer’s latest single, “Nobody’s You,” is featured on the project as well as previous singles “History” and “Boots.” “On Love And Whiskey I’ve found out who I really am,” Grow adds. “This record allowed me to take all the things I love about country music and music in general and put it all together.”
Listen to the feel-good “Battle of the South” below.