Allen Shamblin: The Faith that Built Me

CBN.com Tucked away in his songwriting cabin, Allen Shamblin co-wrote The 2010 Country Music Song of the Year, The House that Built Me.

The award winning ballad, recorded by Miranda Lambert, is Shamblin’s 6th number 1 hit. During his career he’s written songs for legends like: Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, and Bonnie Raitt.

Allen: “When we were at the CMA awards, and an usher, asked me if I was nominated for a song. I said, ‘Yes, Ma’am.’ She said, ‘Well, if it wins, you ain’t gonna cry or nothing are you?’”

Allen’s journey into songwriting started 20 years ago when he decided he wasn’t cut out to be a real estate appraiser.

Allen: “I remember one morning driving in to work in Austin and I was miserable. I was pounding on my dash in my car just saying, ‘No! This can’t be my life.’ About that time, I started asking myself, ‘What am I passionate about?’  And the answer kept coming back ‘Music. Music.’”

“I remember one night I went for a walk, and I said, ‘God, I’ve never asked You this before, but would you help me be a songwriter?’”

“I didn’t hear a voice. I didn’t hear no bells or anything, but I had an instant knowledge in my heart that that was the path I was supposed to take. I began thanking God right there. I said, ‘Thank you for the songs that are going to come.’”

Allen barely played guitar, and didn’t have any songwriting experience or contacts in the music industry.

Allen:  “I was writing words, phrases, things that rhymed. A verse. A chorus. I was filling up notebooks with stuff but no songs had come together.  So I went for another walk and I said, ‘Lord, I thought You told me, You were going to send me songs. I’m going to keep thanking You till they get here.’”

He met a lady at a restaurant that who introduced him to her brother- in-law, legendary fiddle player, Johnny Gimble.”

Allen: “We went out to Johnny’s house, and I’d never in my life sang in any kind of microphone. I’d never performed with anybody, and he put me at ease. I started to play and he said, ‘Whoa, whoa, let me see that guitar.’  He said, ‘Did you realize this thing is tuned about three octaves too high?’ I said, ‘I just wind them till they get tight.’ So he tuned it up for me, and I played guitar and he played fiddle, and we – from start to finish – went through these songs on a very simple recording system.”

Allen sent the demo to Nashville, and soon music executives showed up in Texas to size him up.

Allen: “They were both smiling really big smiles and they said, ‘We love that.’ I said, ‘You do?’  They both encouraged me to move to Nashville.”

It took him two years to get the courage to leave Texas and move to Nashville. He worked odd jobs and wrote songs on the side. But three years went by without any big breaks.

Allen: “I questioned myself more than I questioned God.  I thought, ‘Am I doing the right things? Am I doing everything that I’m supposed to be doing?’”

Allen was about to give up.

Allen: “I got up and I walked to the TV and I hit the ‘on’ button, and I heard somebody behind me say, ‘There’s somebody out there fixing to give up on a dream.’ He said, ‘Don’t give up.  The race always gets toughest before you cross the finish line.’”

“I turned around and I went, ‘Yeah.’” 

Thirty minutes later Allen penned his first big hit, He walked on Water. Randy Travis recorded the chart topping song in 1990. Allen’s prayer was answered. He was a songwriter.

Allen: “He walked on Water just came out of my mouth and I got chills all over my body. The song literally poured out like honey out of a jar.”

Scott:  “That’s a long way from the guy who didn’t know what he’s going to do with his life.

Allen:   “Yes”

Scott:  “Throughout this recitation, this story, you’ve mentioned a number of times, God…”

Allen:   “Yes”

Scott:  “…and prayer,”

Allen:   “Yes”

Scott:  “…and hearing a voice saying…”

Allen:   “Yes, Yes”

Scott:  “…do this.”

Allen:   “Yes”

Scott:  “Where did that side of life come to play?”

Allen: “I was raised in the church. I’m a follower of Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus Christ. I don’t stand on a soap box and wave a big flag. I feel like my life needs to bear fruit, that that’s what I believe, because if I go around talking about it a lot and my life doesn’t affirm what my words say; then my words ring hollow. So at the heart of everything I do is my faith.”

“I want to be an encourager. I see people struggling to hang on to their hope. There needs to be songs born for what’s coming down the road.”

“I pray for ideas, and the path unfolds before me.”

“I feel really fortunate I can be at this farm with nature and horses, and animals, and my family, and my children.”

Scott: “When you look around at where you are now, your wife, your children, all this that you mentioned, and look back on the journey… Gratitude of heart?”

Allen: “Whew! Yeah, I feel a lot of gratitude.”