Featured In: Medium – Anthony Bonnette’s “Lion Tamer” Interview
- Other-Press
- Apr 1, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 17
By: Donna Block
Outlet: Medium
Publish Date: April 1, 2024
Original Link: https://kess11.medium.com/anthony-bonnettes-lion-tamer-the-song-is-a-commentary-on-rough-hardened-manly-men-and-sweet-eabcc14d1152
This is a summary of the Medium interview with Anthony Bonnette discussing his sultry ballad “Lion Tamer.”
Anthony Bonnette shares insight into “Lion Tamer,” a self-penned song that explores the powerful and magical attraction between rough, hardened men and sweet, feminine women — and how the soft can beautifully dominate the tough.
What is Anthony Bonnette's "Lion Tamer" about?
“Lion Tamer” is a sultry country ballad about the dynamic between strong, rugged men and gentle, feminine women. It celebrates how love and softness can tame even the toughest heart in the most unexpected and powerful way.
What inspired Anthony Bonnette's "Lion Tamer" song?
The song was inspired by a memorable line spoken by Robert Duvall’s character in the movie Second Hand Lions: “I’ve won and lost a dozen fortunes, killed many men, and loved only one woman with a passion a flea like you could never begin to understand.”
Anthony shares: “Lion Tamer is a commentary on rough hardened manly men and sweet, feminine girls and the magical thing that happens when you put them together. Strange how the soft can dominate, how the sweet can overpower the tough.”
He adds: “That’s a great line! And I’ve not done any of that except loved one woman my whole life.”
Watch the Official "Lion Tamer" Music Video
The official music video was filmed at El Cerrito Lodge in Diana, Texas, featuring real locals Monty and Alice Stanley in the lead roles.
From the piney woods near Lake O’ the Pines to heartfelt songs that explore real emotion and timeless connection, Anthony continues to create authentic Texas country music his fans can feel proud of.
Stream "Lion Tamer" on all platforms here:
Production Credits
Produced, Engineered & Mastered by: Chad Mauldin at KSIJ Studios, Gladewater, TX
Steel Guitar & Mandolin: Milo Deering
Drums: Jeff Shelton
Bass: Jackson Mauldin
Electric Guitar: Chad Mauldin
Read the full interview on Medium →
Explore more:
Official song page with lyrics & credits → /liontamer
Anthony’s music catalog → /music
Upcoming live shows → /events
Join the mailing list for new releases → /subscribe
More from the article:
From the piney woods of East Texas, near Lake O’ The Pines. Raised in the local church, where your father Tony led worship and your mother Tanya played the piano. You played alongside her, singing during services. Which artists did your parents play in your home growing up?
My parents played BJ Thomas (the gospel albums), Carman, Amy Grant (the gospel albums), and Andrae Crouch. The Carpenters’ records were also played a lot in our house, Karen Carpenter is my all-time favorite singer.
After high school, you got a guitar and started writing songs. Recorded your first two singles, “Every Time It Rains” and “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now,” with a music producer you met in Dallas, Texas. When you returned to Texas from Music City, the music business was slow going. You started your own business in alarms, surveillance, and smart homes. How do you see the construction industry evolving over the next few years?
There’s a lot of different aspects to the construction industry, and so it’s hard to predict the future. It’s a fun market if you’re flexible and able because there is always something for you to do no matter how the overall market evolves. With the continuous advancement of technology, it leaves a lot of room for business growth.
First single released this year was “Hey There Pretty Girl.” Favorite lyric in the song and why?
“Hey There Pretty Girl would you like to take a whirl around this ol dance floor.” It’s easy as a writer to try to overload a song with ideas, with wordy poetic exposition. It’s funny that the lines that actually end up being deep and meaningful are the simplest ones.
Latest single, “Lion Tamer,” is self-penned. The song “is a commentary on rough hardened manly men and sweet, feminine girls and the magical thing that happens when you put them together. Strange how the soft can dominate, how the sweet can overpower the tough.” A quote from Robert Duvall’s character, Hub, in Secondhand Lions was inspirational for the writing of this song. “I’ve won and lost a dozen fortunes, killed many men, and loved only one woman with a passion a flea like you could never begin to understand. That’s a great line! And I’ve not done any of that except loved one woman my whole life.” Do you find it more challenging to write lyrics from very personal experiences or as an outsider, like this song?
I would say that we all are insiders when it comes to the ways of love. We all, whether we can put it into words or not, know the masculine and the feminine. We know the difference between Johnny and June, between Lancelot and Guinevere, Desi and Lucy. We love the spark that happens when these opposites attract, we can’t get enough of it. It’s the pearl of great price in this old world.
When I was a younger man I wrote songs, and they were pretty good songs, about love, but I always found they lacked something, an intimacy if you will. I took an almost 10-year hiatus from writing songs, and when they came back to me, they had the heart-touch, the sweetness, that I’d always wished I could write. I’m definitely older, possibly wiser, and hopefully better at loving than I was then, and I think that has translated into my songs.
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