Singer/songwriter Clark Paterson’s new album, Are You Lonely Like Me? will be arriving on July 24th, 2026. As the title might suggest, the album was written through some dark years, influenced by “heartbreak, illness, fatherhood, loss, recovery, and reinvention.” And while loneliness is part of the album’s DNA, there’s also the through-line of “resilience” and “warmth” as it shakes off romanticizing life.
Today, we’re very pleased to premier the song and video for “By God” from Are You Lonely Like Me? It’s a special song and a special video, with vocals contributed by fellow singer/songwriter and artist Abe Patridge, who also created the album’s cover art. The video was directed by Will Clark.
The song’s title might suggest this is a Gospel track, but it’s not. Like the use of the phrase “by God” in the song itself, it can take on many meanings, and it’s up to the audience to choose their own path. The song is a kind of hymn, but it’s a hymn to the origins of human life, the jarring aspects of life itself, and the outreach towards connection that we instinctually make, looking for a safe port in life’s storms. Abe Partidge’s recitations both open and close the track, sounding very much like a minister at the beginning and ending of a somber gathering, like a consecration or a funeral service. The closeness of those two realities is also part of the song, which seems to reach backwards towards birth and forward toward’s life’s conclusion. Patridge’s calm, accepting tone suggests an orderliness, a faith in processes that may be beyond our control. The idea of consecration comes in with phrases from Partridge like “bless to me” whereas looking at the transit of life is part of the central body of the song, delivered by Paterson.
The spoken word aspect of the songs fit well with the vocal style that Paterson chooses, and also with the structure of the song itself, which has a certain walking pace to it. This is a rhythmic, repetitive aspect that also ties in with the theme of life’s rhythms and development. The organ complements and enriches this stately pace. Paterson pulls in dichotomies in this existential exploration. How is it that, in life, we can feel both “loved and unloved”, not just by other humans, but by the universe? How is it that life feels both like a hug and like a “punch in the face”? Can we possibly reconcile this enough to understand what it means to be human? It is the idea of outreach, however, that really carries the song’s development, an outreach towards other humans. The song focuses on images like the hands we reach for, shake, and connect with. The phrases “By God we must fight…love…give” are as good a summing up as any for the track. The song acknowledges life’s contradictions and sufferings, but comes to a conclusion. The decision must lie with us. Making a decision about what is meaningful is the appropriate response. It’s a very heartening conclusion that the song shares.
The video for the track makes for an excellent companion to the song, carrying a dream-like atmosphere. We have the juxtaposition of a modern, commercial space, situated right next to a hallowed old cemetary, and footage of Paterson walking there, which ties into the walking pace of the song. We have intercut handycam lo-fi videos of music making, of life, possibly of loved ones. We have a sense of capturing life, but just its surface details, the way we might see in a dream that flows with the drifting of consciousness. The use of lo-fi aspects even suggests the fleeting nature of life and the records that we can keep of it. Memories stay with us, but the reality of those events often seems lost in a haze. But we hold onto the mementos that we do have, because they affect us, and we are really the ones who can testify about the impact that other humans have had on us.
Clark shares about the song and video:
A Poem that my collaborator Mark Cline Bates and I made. It’s the story of life and how your parents have you and then you have your children and you gave them your seat on the boat of life and then the whole time God is the lighthouse directing traffic and encouraging people when they are down and lost. Abe Partridge did a powerful recitation in the beginning. I love collaborating with other artists and it makes for special music. I wanted this song to hit home and give goosebumps to the listener.
On the new album, Clark Paterson is on vocals and guitar, Mark Cline Bates contributes vocals, piano, and guitar, Luella Matthews provides backing vocals, and John Mctigue III is on drums and percussion. They are joined by Billy Contreras on fiddle and piano, Brian Zonn on bass, Ryan Norris on synthesizer, Tony Crow on piano and organ, Eric Mcconell on bass, and Paul Niehaus on pedal steel and dobro. Sierra Ferrell also contributes vocals on “Allergic To Work.” The album was recorded and Produced by Shawn Byrne and Eric Mcconell.
The Production on Are You Lonely Like Me? is intentionally cinematic and atmospheric. It preserves the texture and imperfection that allows it to feel human. Country Soul sounds sit alongside Folk storytelling and Punk spirit.
Written alongside longtime collaborator Mark Cline Bates, the songs explore “memory, mortality, love, isolation, aging, and the uneasy comedy of being alive long enough to watch life humble you a few times.” That includes a fair amount of humor.
The title track embodies the album where, “Are You Lonely Like Me?” asks the main question of the album: “not just whether we’re lonely, but whether we’re still capable of reaching each other through all the noise, damage, history, and hope we carry around.”
