Review by Matt Fortuma

The gritty and muscled face of a new country vanguard, Trent Tomlinson stands alongside Billy Currington and Jake Owen as 30-something singers with a voice and a song to write.

Tomlinson’s new single, “Henry Cartwright’s Produce Stand,” follows “That’s How It Still Oughta Be” from his upcoming second album A Guy Like Me. No stranger to penning original hits, Tomlinson has written for Sara Evans (“Missing Missouri”), George Strait (“Why Can’t I Leave Her Alone”), and multiple songs for Emerson Drive.

A new turn for Tomlinson – who’s past hits include “Drunker Than Me” and “One Wing in the Fire” – “Henry Cartwright’s Produce Stand” is a story-song in the old folk fashion.

The song begins: “He’s got an I Love Jesus fish stuck on his bumper/ With a rebel flag rippin’ like a razor in the wind/ A sign selling watermelons and cucumbers/ And common advice you might need now and then.”

It’s a song about simple people and a simple belief: in prayer and produce. Alternately titled “Henry Cartwright’s Prayer and Produce Stand,” the song is about a man selling fruit, vegetables, hope, and wisdom. The escalating vocals and instrumentation meet a long-winded chorus that builds the dramatic effect into nothing less than a prayer and produce stand.

Featuring a double-tracked chorus and an urge for “what it takes to make a man a man,” the song is nothing if not home grown, and showcases Tomlinson’s under appreciated knack for singing. A may who may not look like a crooner, Trent infuses a simple style into a vocal that breathes life into the character’s spun with his pen.

Often seen in a tank-top T-shirt and a bandana covering a chiseled face, Trent Tomlinson may be the embodiment of the “down home” people he describes in “Henry Cartwright’s Produce Stand,” but this country boy is selling stories and records – along with a little prayer and produce.

Buy Trent Tomlinson "Henry Cartwright's Produce Stand" on mp3

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More on Trent Tomlinson's new single

Roughstock calls it a "slice-of-life vignette" ;  The 9513 says that Cartwright's "introduction is well worth four minutes of our time"

"Henry Cartwright's Produce Stand" Lyrics

He´s got an I love Jesus fish stuck on his bumper
With a rebel flag rippin´ like a razor in the wind
A sign sellin´ watermelons and cucumbers
And common advice you might need now and then

Ya He parks there off the pavement just slightly in a ditch
He´s got a two-tone tattered lawn chair where he smokes his pipe and sits
And when the sun goes down the price goes down and everybody knows
There ain´t one second that´ll tick past seven that he ain´t headed home

But you can come back early in the morning
Get what you need fresh from the garden
A little less ripe if that´s how you like it
If you ain´t tried it you better not knock it
If you didn´t go to church the Sunday before
You can hear all about it and a little bit more
About what it takes to make a man a man
Down at Henry Cartwright´s back home home grown prayer and produce stand

His daddy passed down the ground to raise it
The know how and the plow he used to make it
And when you sink your teeth in it´s a sin to taste it
And if you had to stand in line it´s worth the wait!

Ya He parks there off the pavement just slightly in a ditch
He´s got a two-tone tattered lawn chair where he smokes his pipe and sits
And when the sun goes down the price goes down and everybody knows
There ain´t one second that´ll tick past seven that he ain´t headed home

But you can come back early in the morning
Get what you need fresh from the garden
A little less ripe if that´s how you like it
If you ain´t tried it you better not knock it
If you didn´t go to church the Sunday before
You can hear all about it and a little bit more
About what it takes to make a man a man
Down at Henry Cartwright´s back home home grown prayer and produce stand

Oh you can come back early in the morning
Get what you need fresh from the garden
A little less ripe if that´s how you like it
If you ain´t tried it you better not knock it
If you didn´t go to church the Sunday before
You can hear all about it and a little bit more
About what it takes to make a man a man
Down at Henry Cartwright´s back home home grown prayer and produce stand

We got potatoes vine ripe tomatoes
big yellow squash and oh my gosh
If you need revival he´ll read the Bible
And mend your life to mind the Lord

He´s got an I love Jesus fish stuck on his bumper
With a rebel flag rippin´ like a razor in the wind