Burnt the Sawmill Down

Album: State I'm In (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • Aaron Lewis recorded this never-before-heard Keith Whitley-penned song for his State I'm In album. The story goes that Whitley, who died in 1989 at age 33 after years of battling alcoholism, had recorded part of the tune in a hotel room, onto a cassette. The recording remained untouched for years until his son Jesse handed the cassette tape on to Lewis to see what he could with it.

    "Keith was in his hotel room when he taped this song, and let's just say that the over indulgences had already taken place," Lewis told Taste of Country. "It was just so pure. I mean, the 12-string guitar he was playing was completely out of tune, but there was something there. We took what he had represented. It was a pretty amazing experience."

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