Singled Out: The National Parks' Wildflower

Keavin Wiggins | 04-06-2020

The National Parks are releasing their new album "Wildflower" on June 19th and to celebrate we asked Brady Parks (lead vocalist/guitarist/songwriter) to tell us about the title track and lead single. Here is the story:

"Wildflower" came at a time when I was writing a lot of softer, singer/songwriter type songs, but in the midst of that, I got the itch to write a really big TNP version of a rock song. I remember going into my room, plugging in my guitar and finding the crunchiest tone I could find. This was new territory for me but just hearing the thickness of the guitar immediately sparked the creative juices and the song started flowing. The main guitar part came immediately and that's when I started diving into the lyrics.

For some reason, the idea of a wildflower kept coming into my head. I couldn't stop thinking about the imagery of it all and the metaphor that I wanted to present. To me, a wildflower is something so beautiful that grows in unexpected places. A wildflower isn't necessarily meant to be looked at in a store or purchased in a shop, it grows underneath the wide-open sky. That idea went along so well with what I had been feeling and going through. A lot of times life doesn't go exactly how we would plan or want it to go. We have to adapt and not let pressures or negativity stop us from blooming and growing like we are meant to. We all have dreams and talents and goals and I think it can be easier at times to walk away from those than to pursue them. But like wildflowers, we are all planted for a reason.

I think out of all the songs we were taking to the studio, "Wildflower" was the one we were most excited to dive into. It was a new world for us. It felt big and exciting and it was definitely a challenge, but watching it come to life was the best feeling. One of my favorite parts of the recording comes towards the end of the song. We did these layered yells that come in as the drums hit and the guitar and piano and violin are blaring. It feels like a celebration to me and that's how it felt when we heard it all back for the first time. It felt like the perfect opening to a new chapter.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the album here