About The Song
Faith Hill was raised in the small town of Star, Mississippi, singing in talent shows and gaining inspiration from an Elvis Presley concert at the age of nine. Raised in a devout Christian home, she played Baptist churches and local rodeos in her teens. She moved to Nashville in the late eighties, auditioning as a backup singer for Reba McEntire and eventually becoming a Music Row secretary.
Her talent as a singer led to her doing demos, and being supported by songwriter Gary Burr, who hired her to sing backup at his Bluebird Cafe sessions. She was discovered there and signed to Warner Bros. by Martha Sharp, and the label previewed her debut album with “Wild One.”
“Wild One” is a bright and fresh debut single, with Hill’s youthful exuberance being a perfect match for the material.
That material is sharply written, with some pointed contrasts woven in between how we encourage little girls to dream big (“When she was three years old on her Daddy’s knee, he said, ‘You can be anything you want to be’”) and how we actually react once they start showing independence, which makes “her parent’s dreams go up in smoke.”
Hill hasn’t begun using her lower register yet, so on this early hit, you can really hear the influence of McEntire and Dolly Parton on her singing style. But the edge that would surface in her later material is hinted at already. Though “the battle lines are clearly drawn,” there’s no mistaking whose side she is on – she’s 100% Team Wild One.
Take Me as I Am would keep the hits coming, with two more No. 1 singles on the way from her debut set. We’ll get to them soon.
Video
Lyrics
They said, “Change your clothes”
She said, “No, I won’t”
They said, “Comb your hair”
She said, “Some kids don’t”
And her parents dreams went up in smoke
They said, “You can’t leave”
She said, “Yes, I will”
They said, “Don’t see him”
She said, “His name is Bill”
She’s on a roll, and it’s all uphill
She’s a wild one
With an angel’s face
She’s a woman child in a state of grace
When she was three years old on her daddy’s knee
He said, “You can be anything you wanna be”
She’s a wild one
Runnin’ free
She loves rock and roll
They said, “It’s Satan’s tongue”
She thinks they’re too old
They think she’s too young
And the battle lines are clearly drawn
She’s a wild one
With an angel’s face
She’s a woman child in a state of grace
When she was three years old on her daddy’s knee
He said, “You can be anything you wanna be”
She’s a wild one
Runnin’ free
She has future plans
And dreams at night
They tell her, “Life is hard”
She says, “That’s all right, yeah”
She’s a wild one
With an angel’s face
She’s a woman child in a state of grace
When she was three years old on her daddy’s knee
He said, “You can be anything you wanna be”
She’s a wild one
With an angel’s face
She’s a woman child in a state of grace
When she was three years old on her daddy’s knee
He said, “You can be anything you wanna be”
She’s a wild one
Runnin’ free