Chatting Through Steel

Album: The Confluence (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, Cole Gallagher takes a walk in the shoes of an immigrant crossing the United States border from Mexico. The title, "Chatting Through Steel," doesn't show up in the lyric but implies that the family has been separated at the border. The song looks at the hardships and impossible choices these immigrants face.
  • David Hidalgo of Los Lobos sings with Gallagher on this track and also plays the accordion. After Gallagher wrote the song, he could imagine Hidalgo's vocal, and was thrilled when he was able to get him.

    "He came to the studio with a guitar and an accordion, and his only request was a Jack Daniel's and a Coke to warm up his voice," Gallagher said. "I'm so honored that he's on my record."
  • "Chatting Through Steel" was Gallagher's first single. He made a name for himself playing in the Pasadena, California area before heading to Nashville, where he recorded the song with producer Vance Powell. The single was released in 2021 and was included on Gallagher's EP The Confluence in 2023.
  • Along with Gallagher and Hidalgo, these musicians plays on the track:

    Chad Gamble - drums
    Sadler Vaden - guitar
    Barry Billings - guitar
    Jon Eldridge - keyboards
    Jimbo Hart - bass

    Hart, Vaden and Gamble are all members of Jason Isbell's backup band, The 400 Unit, but Gallagher didn't know much about them at the time. "I was just a kid," he said on the Songfacts Podcast. "I knew who Sturgill Simpson was and some other guys in that vein of music like Nathaniel Rateliff."

    "I knew of Pink Floyd, I knew of the CCR, big names in rock and roll," he added. "Any country bone I had came from like Johnny Cash, and that was it, that was my understanding of country music beyond like CCR - a bunch of dudes from, Lodi, California. And Lynrd Skynrd, The Rolling Stones."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.