Jul. 25—A sinister song about an ill-advised walk around Possum Kingdom Lake is the second single to be released from a collection of Lone Star music compiled to support Texas parks.
"Yeah, it's a dark song," Walker Lukens said of "Possum Kingdom," a standout hit for the Fort Worth-based band, Toadies in 1994.
Lukens, who grew up in Houston, produced "Texas Wild," which will be out in full in October. For its cover of "Possum Kingdom," he found swampy country singer Ryan Bingham.
Yes, Yellowstone fans — that Ryan Bingham.
"The thing about Ryan is he really loves rock 'n' roll even though that's not what he does, fundamentally," Lukens said, after describing the text he received alerting him that Bingham wanted to cover a Toadies tune. "We were like, wow — that was not expected."
"Possum Kingdom" is a first-person invitation to a watery grave, with Toadies' lead singer Todd Lewis plaintively asking an unnamed woman for a walk "around the lake tonight."
Trouble is, the singer's true intent is clear as his promise to "treat you well, my sweet angel" morphs into a vow she will stay beautiful "with dark hair and soft skin forever — Forever."
That Bingham text arrived thanks to The Texas Gentlemen, a combo already working on the album and Bingham's backup band who accompanies on the tract.
The Texas Gentlemen cover Lyle Lovett's "(That's Right) You're Not from Texas" on Texas Wild.
Lukens' next move was to contact the Toadies' manager.
"She basically said the Toadies are so excited," he recalled. "And I think it's so cool they wanted to cover a (Fort Worth native) Kelly Clarkson song in Dallas."
Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" is covered by Toadies — who describe themselves as, "the Pixies meet Metallica" — for the album's closing tract.
Clarkson calls Toadies "probably my favorite band of all time" in the April 22 issue of Billboard, recalling "crowd surfing, sweaty and singing/screaming" at their shows before her 2002 breakout on American Idol.
The Bingham/Lukens cover of "Possum Kingdom" is less metallic than the original. Lukens described it as more swampy, with reimagined instrumentation including Texan Richard Bowden's fiddle.
"They kind of give the song a second life," he said. "It's Americana, but it's funkier. The original doesn't have slide guitar on it. It doesn't have fiddle. So, this one feels a little more like a bar band than a garage band."