Wynonna Judd’s newest ballad is an emotional, deeply vulnerable letter to the late father she never knew.

Judd wrote “Girl Who Could Sing” with her husband, Cactus Moser, plus Clara Calaway, Melissa Forrette, and Brant Colella. The song is a “deeply personal track serves as a letter to Wynonna’s late father and finds her at her most raw and vulnerable. Wynonna, who never knew her father, was inspired to write ‘Girl Who Could Sing,’ after his family discovered a drawer filled with newspaper articles and clippings of her, after his passing,” according to a press release issued Tuesday morning (August 25). “At its core, the song sits with loss, acceptance, and the ache of knowing that some answers are not to be found, only felt.” The video features Judd “holding the exact press clippings her father had kept.”

“Before you left, I didn’t quite get your last name/ Did you hear the same lies/ That kept us away/ Two worlds apart/ Ten miles too far/ Who I was to you is still a mystery to me/ Was I ever really your daughter/ Or just a girl who could sing”

“I was 30 years old when I learned the truth, that the man I called ‘Dad’ my entire life, was not my biological father,” Judd said in a statement. “It changed everything I thought I knew about who I was. By the time I was ready to meet him, he was gone. I never got to hear his voice, look him in the eyes, or ask him why. I’ll carry those unanswered questions with me for the rest of my life. ‘Was I ever really your daughter, or just a girl who could sing?’ is the question that hurts the most—because I’ll never get to hear his answer. What do you do with the questions you’ll never have answers to? My answer is simple… I sing about it.”

“Girl Who Could Sing” is the latest song to arrive from Judd’s 11-track solo record, The Hard Truth. So far, she’s released “Kentucky Queen” and “Am I Missing Out” from the upcoming record, produced by Moser. The press release issued Tuesday morning states that the first half of The Hard Truth will open up about Judd’s “bittersweet relationship” with her late mother and The Judds duo partner, Naomi Judd, “and the struggle to find herself.” The second half of he album will look “at the life and the self that Wynonna has world to build on her own.”

1. Prelude (All Downhill From Ashland)

2. All Downhill From Ashland

3. Everything (feat. Patterson Hood)

4. Am I Missing Out

5. Broken And Blessed

6. Hear Me Now (feat. Iron & Wine)

7. The Hopeful Lie (feat. The War And Treaty)

8. Kentucky Queen

9. Girl Who Could Sing

10. Drive

11. Love Ain’t Got The Best Of Me

“I’ve spent a lifetime singing about heartbreak, healing, faith, and survival, but I’ve never made a record like this one,” Judd said when she announced The Hard Truth. “These songs tell the truth about where I’ve been, what I’ve lost, what I’ve overcome, and who I’ve become. This album asked me to be brave enough to tell the truth—even when my voice shook. It challenged me to let go of perfectionism and embrace the beauty of honest emotion.”

Moser said in a recent statement of his own, “being a part of this record and helping bring these songs to life as its producer, has been the most important work I've known. We started with nothing but a feeling and emotion and ended up with an entire album that captures Wynonna’s story with a level of honesty she's never experienced in her career. It's the kind of record that makes a difference and reminds you why music exists in the first place."

Judd spoke with iHeartCountry earlier this year. She said at the time, “music is such a healer. It really brings people together in a way that’s really necessary today in our country.” For Judd, music is about connection and community, and listeners can sense when something is real (“people know BS when they see it and hear it, and they don’t want it anymore”).

Judd will connect with people on “The Hard Truth Tour,” which kicks off shortly after she releases the album. She said when she announced the 15-date run of shows, “The Hard Truth holds some of the most honest moments I've ever put to music. It's about the things that shape us, break us, heal us, and keep us moving forward. Bringing these songs to the stage feels like inviting you into that journey with me."

See the dates below, and listen to “Girl Who Could Sing” here. The Hard Truth will arrive on October 2.

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