Garrett Owen Looks Death in the Eyes in ‘Bleedin’ Through My Shoes [Exclusive Premiere]

Texas singer-songwriter Garrett Owen stares down the inevitable -- death -- in his new song "Bleedin' Through My Shoes." The track is premiering exclusively on The Boot; press play below to listen.

Owen began writing this song after his Aunt Katy was diagnosed with terminal cancer; sadly, she only lived a few more weeks after receiving her diagnosis -- just as doctors had predicted. The chorus, meanwhile, came after he contracted what he believes to have been Lyme disease during a tour and was ill and incredibly fatigued for months after.

"It sounds like it’s about war," Owen explains to The Boot, "but it’s really just about the inevitability of death."

"Bleedin' Through My Shoes" is one of nine songs on Owen's forthcoming new album, Quiet Lives, his sophomore full-length release. He first picked up a guitar at the age of 14, when he was all in on heavy metal; an interest in other genres came later, as he worked to branch out his tastes.

The Fort Worth-based artist is the son of missionaries and grew up in Kenya, Tanzania and Ecuador before his family settled back in Texas. Owen struggled to adjust to life in the United States, but a turn onstage at an open mic night reignited his passion for music and desire to pursue it as a career.

“At its core, all art is based on a 'true story,' and by 'true,' I mean the version we carry in our head and heart -- the one that can lift or crush your spirit with equal capacity," the singer musies. "Some suggest that your upbringing explains quirks of personality ... Maybe I'm not so fatalistic as to believe our earliest experiences necessarily determine the arc of adult life, but my slightly foreign childhood never leaves my music or me."

Quiet Lives is due out on Sept. 18. Fans can get more information about the project and Owen at Garrett-Owen.com.

Listen to Garrett Owen's "Bleedin' Through My Shoes"

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