How Jackson Dean Brought New Life to an Antiquated Phrase with 'Heavens to Betsy'

Language, like music or fashion, evolves — and as a result, using certain words or phrases makes it sound like the speaker doesn't have it.

“Groovy,” “makin' whoopee,” and “the cat's meow” had their day, and even earlier, so did “Heavens to Betsy,” an exclamation associated with older Southern ladies that seems more appropriate for the Roaring 20s from the 2020s. . Etymologists aren't sure who Betsy is or when it first arrived in the dictionary, though the phrase has been traced back to the 19^u century. So word nerds can be forgiven for being skeptical of Jackson Dean's new single, “Heavens to Betsy,” which sounds dated to anyone familiar with the title.

But the phrase is also old enough that many listeners may not have heard it before. Dean didn't when the title first came up during a songwriting session in March 2021. “That line was never used around me growing up or anything,” Dean notes. “I took it literally.”

“Heavens to Betsy” appeared during a March 2021 songwriting session with Benjy Davis (“The Painter”, “Made for You”) and Driver Williams (“Smoke a Little Smoke”, “Hang Tight Honey” ) at Little Louder Music in Nashville. Williams titled it “Heavens to Betsy,” figuring they could give it a classic twist.

“My initial thought was more country and lighter,” Williams recalls. “In the matter, it was more like, you know, this girl named Betsy doesn't need all the finer things in life. All she needs is a home and a good man. That would be Heaven for Betsy.'

This only worked, however, if they could shave the 's' off 'Heavens', but without that one letter, it no longer referred to the original phrase. Dean's literal interpretation took it in a different direction – he depicted a father in Heaven communicating with his daughter, Betsy, via radio or CB radio. Everyone found this idea interesting.

“It had to be dark,” Williams says, “because whoever was in Heaven, you know, is obviously dead. And they're just like, “Man, how dark can we get with this?” And we went dark with it.”

The title became the first line. Davis began strumming a guitar as the father reveals enough in the first verse to inform a first-time listener that the protagonist is communicating with someone about a drinking problem that “put you through hell.” This scornful stanza then opens into a brighter chorus that fully reveals that the man is reaching out from the afterlife.

“I feel like the lyrics are the apology,” Davis says. “The chorus is like redemption, trying to get it.”

Verse 2 gave even more character clues, recalling a memory of Betsy when she was “on the knee” – another dated phrase that was new, this time, to Davies. He dropped a line about pink rain boots that made this verse even more alive, drawing from his own past.

“I was living next door to a family with a couple of kids, and one day, Dad's truck stopped showing up,” Davis recalled. “Over time, it became apparent that they had some kind of problem. But [pink rain boots], this is a really, really specific picture. But that's how I was.”

Dean relates father abandonment from his own experience. “Both of my best friends growing up slept on my couch for probably two years, and they pass out,” she says. “I remember Dylan's dad was never in the picture until we were 16, 17, so I had this little relationship with him. And I've seen so many situations like that.”

“Heavens To Betsy” came together quickly, although it took longer for the sound to fully develop. They cut a tape of guitar/vocal work that day. Dean would later bring the song to Boy Named Banjo banjoist Burton Davis, who brought an undercurrent to bluegrass. Dean later reworked it with his band, which gave it a grittier sound that Williams compares to Kings of Leon.

Dean's rendition of “Betsy” on the 2023 album Live at the Ryman performed on SiriusXM's The Highway and emerged as a fan favorite. So as Dean went to work on his next album – In the back of my dreams, due September 6 – Big Machine Label Group president/CEO Scott Borchetta suggested he record a studio version. Producer Luke Dick (Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town) gathered a group of players to re-cut it last fall at Nashville's Blackbird Studios, aiming to maintain the same slow-paced spirit of Ryman release.

“I had worked loosely with Jack on the live record,” says Dick. “I was familiar with the cover, and when they said they wanted to record it, I felt the cover had an energy that I didn't want to stray too far from or rethink what it should or shouldn't be. It already had movement that I liked.”

After trying it first with a metronome-like track, they dropped that crutch and let drummer Fred Eltringham carve out the beat and rhythm along with Dean's vocals. The piece gets just a hair faster as it progresses, reflecting the tension as Dean and the musicians worked together.

“I love when Jack is in a booth with a song he's played a lot, a song he knows in his bones,” says Dick. “This allows him to emote the day and communicate with the band without speaking. That's what I feel was the most exciting thing about recording this song is that Jack was able to put his visceral energy into the song. It's what you shoot for as a producer.”

The final product merges parts of this recording with previous versions. Studio guitarist Rob McNelley's slide guitar solo was merged with a solo previously played by Dean's road guitarist Brandon Aksteter. Dean recorded his final vocal this spring, emphasizing the distinctions between the heavy mystery of the lyrics and the hopeful promise of the chorus.

“I wanted the changes to be not only noticeable, but drastic,” he says. “You get right after the first chorus and you get to the hold and then you're straight into the second [verse], is a completely different dynamic change. And then you get to the construction, I mean, all these changes affect you physically.”

Big Machine released “Heavens To Betsy” to country radio via PlayMPE on August 2nd with an August 19th addition date to high expectations. Dean edited it for the broadcasters, cutting a reflexive end so that it ends cold on a rising high note. It's an audible cliffhanger, reflecting the dramatic uncertainty in the plot of “Betsy.” It's a twist that, unlike fashion or language, rarely gets old.

“Every PD in the country that I've ever come in contact with has heard that song and knows it and has asked me about it,” says Dean. “It seems like a no-brainer: Just give them what they want and see what that does for people.”