Ben Burgess’ debut album, Tears the Size of Texas, is out on Friday, September 30, but he is hardly a newcomer to the music world. The Dallas native has already had a lot of success as a songwriter, penning songs for artists like the Jonas Brothers, Morgan Wallen, Pat Green, Dierks Bentley and more. He has also had songs in shows like Grey’s Anatomy, and commercials for Major League Baseball, Xbox and Lexus, among others.

For all of his success, of which there is plenty, having Tears the Size of Texas out is the fulfillment of a dream that Burgess has been carrying, for years.

“It’s a long time coming, and the more I listen to the album, the more I’m just as excited as I could be about it,” Burgess tells Everything Nash. “I feel like we haven’t missed one step.”

Burgess’ guiding light for creating Tears the Size of Texas is a slogan he heard from his brother, which is “Slow down. We’re in a rush.” The mentality, of taking your time to make it the best it can be the first time, stuck with Burgess in a profound way.

“I feel like we did that with this album,” Burgess states. “We took our time, crossed every t and dotted every i, especially when it comes to production. I’m excited.”

Burgess came to Nashville via Los Angeles, a winding road that led him to exactly where he believes he was supposed to be, in the right timing, even if his path sometimes felt like it was filled with delays and detours.

“When one door closes, a window might be open,” Burgess says. “I feel like I’ve always looked for that window. I never gave up. My dad was a songwriter and a singer. He never caught a break, so he was a fireman for the city of Dallas for 33 years. But he instilled in me a lot of work ethic, and taught me about songs from a young age. I feel like he raised me to be a song and dance man, from a young age. And so, there really was no other option other than continuing to write songs, and living in that world. As many times as I heard no, I knew I’d hear yes. And so, this is the product of just keeping going. And I’m just honestly pinching myself about it.”

Burgess teamed up with plenty of hit Nashville songwriters to co-write all 11 songs on Tears the Size of Texas, including Brandy Clark, Ashley Gorley and Josh Kerr, with Burgess and Kerr co-writing the album’s title track.

“When I got offered the record deal, it was the first song I wrote the day after I got offered the deal,” Burgess recalls. “I actually saw tears the size of Texas come out of the lady I was with at the time. I think maybe because she knew she was gonna lose me in that moment, or it wasn’t gonna work and she knew or something. We’re no longer together, but I saw the tears, and then instantly went and wrote it. I have to take risks and do certain things that maybe I wouldn’t have done if I was writing it for Morgan or Ernest or somebody else. Maybe I would have done it differently. So I think it’s magical that that’s the first song and the title track, because that was the song I wrote when I really knew I was gonna have a shot at being an artist and be able to sing my own words, and put my own story out there.”

After years of telling other people’s stories, Burgess hopes that, with all of the tracks on Tears the Size of Texas, listeners will be able to know mow about who he really is this time.

“I want people to take away part of my story, which is to never give up, to keep forging along,” Burgess shares. “And even if it breaks your heart, something beautiful will come from it, like a crack in the sidewalk. Sometimes there’s a crack in it, and something beautiful pops up from it, like a flower. And you’re like, ‘How did that get there?’  I feel like some of these songs are that. Through the heartbreak, there is some healing, and I hope people can hear themselves in it … What I want to represent, what I want people to get is how to be a good person, and how to be their best selves, and to be able to relate to other people. So maybe the world can hopefully become a better place, and we can maybe be a role model to inspire the next young Morgan Wallen.”

Tears the Size of Texas is available at TheBennyBurgess.com.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Big Loud Records / Chris Hornbuckle