Pretty Fine Thing

Album: Soul Of Ferguson (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Brian Owens, a soul singer from Ferguson, Missouri, wrote this playful love song about his wife. The pair met as teenagers and, Owens admits, he wasn't ready for a commitment. "The first time I really saw my wife she was 14, and I wasn't ready for her at 17," he recalled in Songfacts interview. "I didn't really understand who I was and walking in my purpose and I kind of shrugged it off: 'Oh, she's only 14? Oh, no.' Everything in that song is true: 'The blueprint of my dreams that I pray it will come true.' I didn't know when I was looking at her that that's who God was going to bring into my life, when the time was right, when I had come to a place of submission, I was ready to take on the responsibility of being a husband and a father. I didn't know that she was the one that He would bring."

    "It's a playful tune but it's definitely that transition from how I thought when I was a boy to now being a grown man and seeing the transition from her going from being my friend to being my fiancée to being my wife and my lover and now the mother of my children. Those different aspects of what make her a person, it's a powerful thing to see evolve because as she's evolved, it's evolved me – my understanding, in the way I see life, in my relationships, in God."
  • Owens is careful to explain that the song title has nothing to do with objectifying women, rather it's a term of endearment for his wife - and only his wife. "It ain't about no other woman," he says. "So, as long as she's not offended I don't really think that's bad."
  • This was co-written by Owens' longtime friend Jarrett Johnson, who won a Grammy Award for his work as a songwriter, producer and vocalist for Michael Bublé's 2009 album, Crazy Love, which was named Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

U2

U2Fact or Fiction

How did The Edge get his name? Did they name a song after a Tolkien book? And who is "Angel of Harlem" about?

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

Daryl Hall

Daryl HallSongwriter Interviews

Daryl Hall's TV show is a hit, and he's been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - only one of these developments excites him.

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. Televangelists

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. TelevangelistsSong Writing

When televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart took on rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, the rockers retaliated. Bono could even be seen mocking the preachers.