"Nashville Songwriters: Sarah Harralson and The Women Behind the Lyrics"

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Nashville songwriters Sarah Harralson, Wendy Moten, Judy Pastor, and Delaney Ann—four of the talented women featured in “The Women Behind the Lyrics” documentary. In this episode, we explore the stories and creative journeys of these accomplished Nashville songwriters who have shaped the sound of Music City.

Sarah Harralson, Wendy Moten, Judy Pastor, and Delaney Ann share their experiences navigating the competitive Nashville music scene, the craft of writing hit songs, and what it means to be part of the “Women Behind the Lyrics” project. Discover the untold stories of female Nashville songwriters who have penned some of country music’s most memorable songs, yet often remain unknown to the audiences who love their work.

From Music Row studios to the heart of Nashville’s songwriting community, this episode celebrates the artistry, resilience, and creativity of these incredible women who write the lyrics that move us.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
M Taking a Walk Nashville.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Hi, I'm Sarah Harrelson, your host of Taking a Walk Nashville. Today,
I get to interview the three other ladies that I
am a part of an upcoming documentary with called Women
Behind the Lyrics. It features myself, Wendy Molten, Judy Pastor,
and Delaney Anne. The documentary shines a light of what

(00:23):
it's like to be a woman in the music industry
and on the road. Wendy Moulton is the twenty first
season runner up of the Voice and is currently on
tour with Vince Gill. Delaney Anne is an eighth generation
Texas country singer songwriter, and Judy Pastor is a Nashville
based Americana artist originally from Pennsylvania. Join me as we

(00:49):
discuss our upcoming documentary. We are here at the sag
Aftra office in the Genie Silly Studio on Music Road Today.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Welcome to Taking a Walk Nashville with your hosts singer
songwriter Sarah Harrelson.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Can all of you ladies tell me what made you
want to get involved with The Women Behind the Lyrics documentary.

Speaker 4 (01:15):
Hi, my name is Wendy Moten, and it seemed like
an amazing opportunity to share my story and my journey
of my musical career. And so here was a great
opportunity to do that and to share and learn from
other some of our other divas. That's a part of
the show. And you know, you know, life is about experiences,

(01:37):
and this is another one of those great experiences.

Speaker 5 (01:39):
I love that my name is Delaney and I really
wanted to be a part of Women Behind the Lyrics
because I just feel so inspired by women in music.
I think it's just an amazing thing to be a
woman in music. It's honestly such an honor to be
a part of this industry and to be able to
do what we love. And I thought that this could

(02:00):
be a great way to help inspire other young artists
and just women that maybe want to get involved in music.

Speaker 3 (02:07):
Absolutely, and what about you, Judy.

Speaker 6 (02:09):
I wanted to connect with all of you ladies. I
wanted to be able to write with the women together
like what we're doing sing and just just have that
like female camaraderie.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, And I think this documentary is great to shine
a light on what it's like to be a female
in the music industry, because it's not all glitter. You know,
sometimes we're doing our makeup and gas stations. And there's
a lot more to consider being a female in the
music industry, like safety on the road that I think
people get insights into and kind of speaking along those lines,

(02:46):
can any of you talk about maybe struggles you have
face being a woman in music.

Speaker 4 (02:51):
Well, I've been in this game longer than most, and
I would have to say there's struggles no different than
in every day life for any woman in the world.
The goal is to stay true to yourself, have some boundaries,
and in the music industry you still have to know
what you're gonna do and what you're not gonna do.

(03:12):
And so I've always known that, and I think that
my musical journey has been one that I'm happy that
I've lived through. And I can still look in the
mirror over the choices that I've made in my musical career.
So you know, that's it. It's a journey.

Speaker 6 (03:29):
I would say, just there have been times where I
felt like I've auditioned or done something where it was
like the guy was more favored, I guess you could say,
But at the same time, personally, I've just kept on,
Like Wendy said, and I like where I am, and
I like who I am. So I'm just I'm actually

(03:51):
very grateful. I think we all are to be women.
And I mean, you don't, you know, you just make
the best of whatever the times and the situations are.

Speaker 5 (04:00):
Yeah, And I think, you know, we look around at
these writers rounds in Nashville and usually we are the
only woman on stage. I mean, I can't tell you
how many times it's me and three other guys. It's
pretty much the most common way it goes. But I
think there's something really beautiful about being the only woman
up there and being able to represent women. And it

(04:21):
can be hard to look around and go, you know,
we're kind of walking different journeys with a lot of
the people in the music industry, but it's also beautiful.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
I think this documentary will show some of the struggles
we have faced being a woman in music, but also
how powerful it is being a woman in music. And so,
what are all of your biggest female influences and music
some females you look up to?

Speaker 4 (04:45):
Well, I've loved I love so many different genres, probably
like the rest of you. And so I grew up
my main source of inspiration was the greater Wreatha Franklin.
But I also you know, and I'm a lot older
than you guys, So I love the London Ronstats and
the Barbara Streissen's and the Dion Waricks because they were
just amazing, classic, beautiful singers who had amazing abilities and

(05:12):
a great quality. So that quality was always important to me.
What I'm singing, how I'm going to deliver, and the
message that I want to to offer to the world.
That always mattered. So the journey has been amazing, and
I'm continuing this with these beautiful ladies, this continued journey
of great music, song and the message that we want

(05:34):
to leave to the world.

Speaker 5 (05:36):
Yeah, I love that so much. I was very inspired
early by Taylor Swift. Of course, she's just such an
amazing songwriter and amazing at her business, and I mean,
her success speaks for itself. So she was the first
one that I really heard and was like, wow, I
want to do that. Honestly, when I was young, I
think I was doing this just to try to meet
Taylor Swift one day.

Speaker 6 (05:58):
I was dreamly inspired as a child by like seventies
singer songwriters because I have an older brother that would
play them and also would play like Linda Ronstad and
a lot of classic rock and country rock and it
just kind of blew me away. But specifically the songwriters,
Like I heard the Joni Mitchell songs or Carol King

(06:21):
songs and I was like, wow, like songs, but I
was like eight, you know what I mean. So it
was like I wasn't like cognizant that I'm going to
do that one day, but I remember how they made
me feel right, and that kind of started it.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Yeah, and our new single paved the way, kind of
shines a light on all of the women who have
influenced us and how will continue paving the way for
other artists. And so a couple more questions left for
you ladies. What is some advice for young women who
are wanting to pursue music. What would you tell them?

Speaker 5 (06:56):
Get a good lawyer.

Speaker 4 (07:00):
Absolutely right, yeah, get a good lawyer. You know, own
all your music, and you know it's important to own you.

Speaker 6 (07:10):
I would say, stay true to your voice. Finding your
voice is so important because you're in a sea of voices. Yeah,
so when you look out, like Wendy and I were
talking about the other day, it can really like mess
up your whole perspective. So you really have to find
out what's inside of you and then let that voice

(07:33):
come out.

Speaker 5 (07:34):
And I think you have to love it. If you
don't love it, it's just not going to happen. I
think you have to come from a place of this
is my gift, this is my passion, and this is
what I want to do forever.

Speaker 3 (07:46):
Yeah, especially in an age where you're seeing a bunch
of artists on social media everywhere, it's so important to
know that it's your passion and to find your voice.
So I think that's all great advice. And lastly, since
we are on taking a walk Nowshville, I always ask
people on the show, where is your favorite place to

(08:06):
take a walk in Nashville? Delaney, I know you're in
Texas now, but maybe you have a favorite place like
in Clarksville or somewhere.

Speaker 6 (08:12):
I can say. I like, well, I don't want to
say where I live, but it's in Hermitage and I
live on a circle, So I walk the circle all
the time and just to get my steps in and
I just love it.

Speaker 5 (08:23):
Yeah, I'm gonna just go Centennial Park. I would take
my dog down there and she loves to walk up
the steps and like, yeah, I'm gonna go Centennial Park.

Speaker 4 (08:32):
Well, you know, I'm spoiled. I don't do that much walking. However,
if I'm in town, I'm gonna move forward. I go
down Broadways. Tons of food and tons of great music.

Speaker 3 (08:41):
Not a bad place to take a walk unless it's
a Saturday night in Nashville. My favorite place is always
the Percy Warner Park near Bellevue. Thank you, ladies for
being on Taking a Walk Nashville today. Be sure to
check out our new single Paved the Way and the
Women Behind the Lyrics compilation album on a platforms. Follow

(09:01):
at Women Behind the Lyrics and Womenbehind the Lyrics dot
com to stay up to date on hour, documentary and
tour dates.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
Thanks for listening to Taking a Walk Nashville with singer
songwriter Sarah Harrelson, and check out our other podcasts, Music
Save Me, Comedy Save Me, and Taking a Walk Available
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts