The follow up to Jelly Roll’s first #1 Country hit, “Son Of A Sinner,” is an equally stunning, powerful song that’s the embodiment of a “one listen record.” In “Need A Favor,” the song’s narrator speaks directly to God, first acknowledging that his shaky spirituality finds him praying only when he needs something. In the first verse, he cops to his shortcomings, singing, “I know ‘Amazing Grace,’ but I ain't been livin' them words / Swear I spend most Sundays drunk off my ass, than I have in church / Hard cover King James only been savin' dust on the nightstand / And I don't know what to say by the time I fold my hands.” But while noting “who am I to expect a savior,” he asks for a miracle anyway, singing to God in the bridge, “I owe you more than one, and beggars can't be choosers / But I'll pay for all I've done, just please don't let me lose her.” Written by Jelly Roll, Austin Nivarel, Joe Ragosta and Rob Ragosta, the lyrics will make listeners lean in to follow the story, then rock out and sing along by the end, as Jelly sings, “Hangin' in there, just barely / Throwin' up prayers, like Hail Marys / If you're still there, Lord, spare me / Oh my God, oh my God, hail Mary” and the succession of “amens” that follow. Jelly says the song is “about talking to God in that darkest moment. That moment that we've all had where we've hit our knees and asked him for the biggest favor of our life knowing that we haven't talked to him in a while.” In an interview with Audacy’s Rob & Holly, he jokingly explained its choice as his second single, saying, “I didn’t want to come back to Country radio with another sad, slow song, So I came back with a sad, mid-tempo song.” He laughed before teasing that he might make it to a “sad, uptempo tune” by the end of the year. The 38-year-old Nashville native is currently working on his debut Country album, which will feature both “Son of a Sinner” and “Need A Favor” and is expected in the spring.
Impacting: Monday, February 13th
By: Phyllis Stark