Tony Martin: Country Songs Written By a Seminary Teacher

Tony Martin, a Nashville songwriter who has written 16 #1 country music hits, is a believer as a songwriter that anything you’re immersed in will show up in your writing. So, when you know that Martin has been called to be a seminary teacher three times and has taught Sunday School, it comes as no surprise that religious themes have, at times, snuck into the country songs he writes for a living. But on this week’s episode, Martin talks about writing deliberately spiritual songs for the first time.

2:55- ‘Just What My Dad Did’
6:37- A Songwriter’s Process
12:40- Writing From Experience and Imagination
15:40- Criticisms and Evolution of Country Music
20:37- ‘I Believe Him’
23:47- The Book of Mormon—An Addition
25:18- ‘Old Man Said He Saw a Tree’
29:36- Jacob’s Ladder and Working Out Your Own Salvation
33:03- The Horn Player
35:05- God Needs Drummers
38:56- The Lord Speaks To Everyone Differently
41:30- Giving Something Away For Nothing
45:31- What Does It Mean To Be All In the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Witness: A Nashville Tribute to The Book of Mormon
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• Deseret Book