Jenna Paulette & Ashley McBryde Share 'The Prophet (Grandaddy's Song)' Duet

06-21-2025

(EBM) When cowgirl and songstress Jenna Paulette released her sophomore album, Horseback, last September, the 13-track project featured one song in particular that held a special place in the Texan's heart. "The Prophet (Grandaddy's Song)," written by Ashley McBryde, Matraca Berg and Lori McKenna, was dedicated to Paulette's grandfather, and encapsulates the reverence felt toward the patriarch who shaped her life.

Today, Paulette is teaming up with McBryde for a special collaboration version of the track, as the pair release a duet of the song. "I grew up in a ranching family on the Texas/Oklahoma line in Thackerville, Oklahoma," Paulette reflected on her upbringing at her recent Opry appearance, sharing the inspiration behind the song. "I'd be listening to Don Williams, Eddie Arnold and George Strait in my grandad's ranch truck as we checked cattle, and I just thought to myself, 'well, if they can sing about what they're living, maybe I can too.' That Grandaddy that took me with him to check cows made a huge impact on me.

"This song was sent to me by the A&R from my label, and was written by Ashley McBryde, Matraca Berg and Lori McKenna," she added. "When it was sent to me, I asked 'do you think they would mind if I put my grandad into these lyrics?" I thought, I just want to put him all the way in it, and I want my daughter, who is 7 months old, to be able to know my grandaddy because of this song. And they said yes, very graciously. So I put it on my record that came out a month before she was born, and Ashley McBryde actually said yes to putting out a duet version including her own lyrics to this song."

"The Prophet (Grandaddy's Song)" was originally released as a solo track on Horseback on Sept. 6, 2024. Upon its release, Paulette remarked that Horseback "is a culmination of perspectives I have of myself-to the things my family instilled in me, the men and women I grew up with and the ones I am blessed to be surrounded by where we live in a small town in West Texas. A window into the way so many of us feel and the things we value."