“Just tie a golden thread from me to you And we’ll pull you through”
Nashville, TN – December 13, 2024 – Since the beginning of time, artists have turned to creating when they find themselves hurt or sad. In times of love and joy, they’ve penned odes to honor friends or loved ones. In the heartbreaking case of Grammy-nominated songwriter Leslie Jordan’s latest release, “Golden Thread,” it’s both. Out now, “Golden Thread” was written for Jordan’s dear friend Jess Carter as she was battling with stage IV colon cancer at the age of 41.
In a newsletter to her fans, Jordan described her reaction to the news that Carter only had a few months left. “I wept for my friend and then did the only thing I knew how to do. I wrote a song.” Entering a co-write with friend and fellow songwriter Sean McConnell, Jordan shared that she wanted to give Carter her own song, in her words, “One that we could sing to her after all of the years of her singing to us. One to carry her through.” After a couple of hours, their stunning tribute was on the page, full of sweet memories and loving encouragement down to the song’s final verse:
“We both know the chart’s not always right
And these might not be the last days but they also might
So until you ring the bell and end the fight
We’ll keep singing with you”
“The very next day, Jess found out the chemo was no longer working,” remembers Leslie. “She was told that instead of 2-5 months, she in fact only had 1-2 weeks. Within a matter of days, Jess entered hospice and her family and closest friends had made arrangements for a living memorial—and over 120 people showed up to the most heart-breakingly beautiful gathering I’ve ever experienced. I was honored to be able to share this song with Jess and the folks who attended her memorial. And now, I’d like to share it with you.”
Today, “Golden Thread” is available wherever you stream music by visiting this link, but the single can be purchased for a minimum donation of $1 through Jordan’s Bandcamp page. All of the money donated via Bandcamp will go directly to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance in Carter’s name.
This standalone single comes ahead of a new album from Leslie Jordan in 2025. A brief preview can be watched below or here.
About Leslie Jordan: After comprising one-half of the Grammy-Nominated All Sons & Daughters from 2010-2018, Leslie has spent the last seven years writing for and investing in other artists. She has done this primarily through “The Fold,” a non-profit she co-founded in 2017 as a creative community for artists in all genres and walks of life to find safety and belonging through creative writing workshops and retreats. It was that same year when Leslie fostered the desire to return to her Americana roots and began to conceptualize her next album, adapting the lost writings & poetry of her mother’s estranged father who passed away in 1995. Leslie has always been a songwriter and a storyteller, but after combing through decades of her grandfather’s words, she now knows why it courses through her veins. Although Leslie is no stranger to the music, this album marks her debut endeavor into the Folk/Americana world.