Morgan Wallen Shares Heartfelt Story Behind “Superman,” the Honest Song He Wrote for His Son

Morgan Wallen has never run from his high-profile mistakes, and country music fans consistently forgive him. The East Tennessee native has 18 No. 1 country radio singles and has spent more than 170 weeks at the top of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart — the most in country music history. And while Morgan is grateful for the grace and continued support from fans, he wants to make his 4-year-old song Indigo proud of him more than anything.

In his new song “Superman” that’s out today, Wallen vulnerably shares he’s worried that he won’t.
Wallen wrote the up-tempo ballad with Ryan Vojtesak, John Byron, Blake Pendergrass, James, and Maddocks.

“I’ve tried so many times to write a song like that for him, and it always fell flat,” Wallen says of “Superman” on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend. “I also didn’t want to write a song to him that was all sappy and slow, and just what you would expect a dad’s son song to be. That song has been written plenty enough.”

Lyrics include: One day you’re gonna see my mugshot/ From a night when I got a little too drunk/ Hear a song about a girl that I lost/ From the times when I just wouldn’t grow up/ And when you ain’t a kid no more/ I hope you don’t think less of me/ I try to hide my falling short/ But you’re gonna see

Morgan Wallen Didn’t Want a “Sappy and Slow” Song for Indigo

In the chorus, Wallen is honest about his struggle with alcohol and decision-making when he’s had too much. He admits he can be his own worst enemy. However, he promises Indigo that he’ll always try to be the best version of himself for the little boy.

Wallen sings: I do the best I can, but Superman’s/ Still just a man sometimes, oh, sometimes

“I wanted it to keep a little bit of my sound and my swag, and just to be honest,” Wallen told Von. “And I feel like we accomplished that when we wrote it.”

In Wallen’s identifiable prose, the following verses warn Indigo that life will challenge him, but he should face the hardships head-on, and that as his dead, he’ll face them with him.

“One day we’ll say where’d the years go,” he sings. “But I hope I’m always your hero.”

“Superman” is from Wallen’s new 37-song album “I’m the Problem,” which will be available May 16. The album’s cover art is a realistic illustration of Wallen’s side profile. He’s wearing a white, collared shirt and appears serious.

Wallen says “Superman” would be the last song he shares ahead of the album’s release.

Hearing “Superman” Made Morgan Wallen Cry

“It’s special to me for obvious reasons,” Wallen said on social media. “I wanted it to have its own moment, and hopefully that’s what this will accomplish.”

“Superman” was the last song that made “I’m the Problem” because Wallen was determined to ensure it was right. He first teased “Superman” in February and said that while he doesn’t consider the song perfect, he’s very proud of it. He gives Pendergrass credit for the idea, but says the hook was different.

“I don’t remember what the hook was exactly, but I was just singing it, and it was like, ‘I know, I know what it is,’” Wallen says. “I changed the hook, and it made it. It was like, ‘There it is.’ Then on the way home, I listened to it and started crying. That was the first time that had happened with a song for him, so I knew.”

Wallen co-wrote 22 of the 37 songs on his album. In total, I’m the Problem includes 49 songwriters creating a tracklist that, in the vein of “Superman,” is personal and introspective. Always a lover of collaborations, Wallen included tracks with Post Malone and Tate McRae, along with his dear friends Eric Church, ERNEST and HARDY for the album. He recorded at least 50 songs and then narrowed the list of titles down to 37.

“I Tried to Dig Deeper”

“I tried to dig deeper,” Wallen told Von of I’m the Problem, his fourth album. He says he thought he’d already explored most song angles that could include drinking whiskey and didn’t want to go there again. “A lot of the guys that I write with, at least with me when I was writing, we all just had a good sense of what we were shooting for and just trying not to say the same things I said before and incorporate new things.”

Wallen admitted he had to work harder on this album because he wanted to dig deeper, but he didn’t want to go too far, either.

“Even if it’s just subtle changes,” Wallen says. “On my last album, I had plenty of trap beats, but this time I was like, ‘Let’s tone that back a little bit. I’m tired of hearing it, and if I’m tired of it, they’re probably tired of hearing it.’ You can still get that swagger without doing the same thing.”

I’m The Problem Tracklist (songwriters in italics):

I’m The Problem (Morgan Wallen, Grady Block, Jamie McLaughlin, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak)

 

I Got Better (Morgan Wallen, Blake Pendergrass, Chase McGill, Ryan Vojtesak, Ernest Keith Smith, Michael Hardy)

 

Superman (Morgan Wallen, Ryan Vojtesak, John Byron, Blake Pendergrass, James Maddocks)

 

What I Want (feat. Tate McRae) (Morgan Wallen, Tate McRae, John Byron, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Ryan Vojtesak, Joe Reeves)

 

Just In Case (Morgan Wallen, Ernest Keith Smith, John Byron, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Ryan Vojtesak, Josh Thompson, Blake Pendergrass, Alex Bak)

 

Interlude (Morgan Wallen, Ryan Vojtesak, John Byron, Blake Pendergrass, Rocky Block)

 

Falling Apart (Morgan Wallen, Blake Pendergrass, Josh Thompson, Ryan Vojtesak)

 

Skoal, Chevy, and Browning (Joe Fox, Chase McGill, Josh Miller)

 

Eyes Are Closed (Morgan Wallen, John Byron, Blake Pendergrass, Ryan Vojtesak)

 

Kick Myself (Morgan Wallen, Rocky Block, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak, James Maddocks)

 

20 Cigarettes (Chris LaCorte, Chase McGill, Blake Pendergrass, Josh Miller)

 

TN (Morgan Wallen, John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Chase McGill, Taylor Phillips, Ryan Vojtesak, Geoff Warburton)

 

Missing (Morgan Wallen, Chase McGill, Josh Thompson, Blake Pendergrass, Ryan Vojtesak, Luis Witkiewitz)

 

Where’d That Girl Go (Morgan Wallen, Rocky Block, John Byron, Ryan Vojtesak, Blake Pendergrass, Joe Reeves, Geoff Warburton)

 

Genesis (Morgan Wallen, John Byron, Rocky Block, Jacob Durrett, Blake Pendergrass, Ryan Vojtesak, James Maddocks)

 

Revelation (Trannie Anderson, Rodney Clawson, Nicolle Galyon, Chris Tompkins)

 

Number 3 and Number 7 (feat. Eric Church) (Rocky Block, Blake Pendergrass)

 

Kiss Her In Front Of You (John Byron, Jaxson Free, Taylor Phillips, Ashley Gorley, Ryan Vojtesak)

 

If You Were Mine (Chris Tompkins, Jessie Jo Dillon, David Garcia, Geoff Warburton)

 

Don’t We (Morgan Wallen, Ryan Vojtesak, Ashley Gorley, Rocky Block, Blake Pendergrass, John Byron)

 

Come Back As A Redneck (feat. HARDY) (Morgan Wallen, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak, Michael Hardy, James Maddocks)

 

Love Somebody (Morgan Wallen, John Byron, Shaun Frank, Nicholas Gale, Ashley Gorley, Yaakov Gruzman, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Elof Loelv, Steve Francis Richard Mastroianni, Martina Sorbara, Ryan Vojtesak)

 

Dark Til Daylight (Rocky Block, Chris Tompkins, Jimmy Robbins)

 

The Dealer (feat. ERNEST) (Blake Pendergrass)

 

Leavin’s The Least I Could Do (Morgan Wallen, Michael Hardy, Josh Miller, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak)

 

Jack and Jill (Jacob Hackworth, Jared Mullins, Ned Cameron)

 

I Ain’t Comin’ Back (feat. Post Malone) (Morgan Wallen, Louis Bell, Michael Hardy, Austin Post, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak)

 

Nothin’ Left (Josh Miller, Greylan James, Matt Jenkins)

 

Drinking Til It Does (Josh Thompson, Jimmy Robbins)

 

Smile (Morgan Wallen, Rocky Block, John Byron, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak, Luis Witkiewitz)

 

Working Man’s Song (Morgan Wallen, Ryan Vojtesak, Josh Miller, Blake Pendergrass, Rocky Block)

 

Whiskey In Reverse (Morgan Wallen, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak, Michael Hardy)

 

Crazy Eyes (Chris Tompkins, Josh Miller, Jessie Jo Dillon, Daniel Ross)

 

LA Night (Chris Tompkins, Travis Wood, Josh Miller)

 

Miami (Morgan Wallen, Ryan Vojtesak, Ernest Keith Smith, Blake Pendergrass, Chase McGill, Michael Hardy, Dean Dillon, Hank Cochran, Royce Porter)

 

Lies Lies Lies (Jessie Jo Dillon, Josh Miller, Daniel Ross, Chris Tompkins)

 

I’m A Little Crazy (Michael Hardy, Smith Ahnquist, Hunter Phelps, Jameson Rodgers)

Photo by Spidey Smith