Jimmie Allen‘s current single, “Down Home,” could’ve hit country radio a lot sooner, but there’s a specific reason Jimmie wanted to wait on its release.
“Down Home” serves as a message to his late father, James Allen, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 65. The song was originally supposed to be released before Jimmie’s 2021 hit, “Freedom Was a Highway,” but the singer insisted that they hold off until he had time to process his father’s death.
“Jimmie said, ‘I can’t right now…it’s so personal. The wound is still open, and I need some time to heal,’” Jon Loba, president of Jimmie’s record label BBR Music Group, recalls to Billboard.
Jimmie touches on another personal story involving his father on his new album, Tulip Drive, with the track “Habits & Hearts,” which discusses his father’s struggles with addiction.
“Just hearing the song and remembering him wanting to get better and then falling short a few times, I felt like I was in a time and place to sing it now and be honest with it,” the singer describes. “Because even though my dad had his issues, he always reminded me that I shouldn’t do it. He said, ‘I’m telling you, this can cripple you.’”
“Down Home” is currently making its way into the top 40 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It’s also featured on Tulip Drive, which is named after the street Jimmie’s grandmother grew up on in his native state of Delaware.
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