Hardy drew inspiration from his real life to create the story of “wait in the truck.”
The song about a man who comes across a battered and bruised woman one night while driving in his truck is inspired by how Hardy anticipates he would react if his fiancee, Caleigh Ryan, were to find herself in a similar situation.
“The inspiration for the song came from my fiancee Caleigh having a non-physical altercation with a guy at a party. I got really fired up and basically thought ‘I wish I knew where he lived.’ I would tell Caleigh to get in the truck with me, find his house and tell her to wait in the truck,” Hardy explains. “We decided to make a really deep story-song as opposed to ‘I’m going to kick your a** and be right back.’ We wanted to get as dark as we could; I think that’s what pulls the emotion out of people.”
Hardy’s duet partner, Lainey Wilson, also drew from a personal place while shooting the video. In recent months, Lainey shared that her father is experiencing health issues and was admitted to the ICU the day they shot the video. She expressed her grief on camera.
“The part I was playing was emotional, so I let myself feel all the things I was feeling and channeled them the best I could to fit how we wanted my character to come across,” she says.
Hardy and Lainey will perform “wait in the truck” at the CMA Awards, airing November 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
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