I'm not gonna lie - I liked the "sheen" and production of the Nashville version. There were bits that seemed a better match in the Nashville version, like the climb into the first chorus.

Plus, louder is always better, right? wink

But... your vocals sold the song to me in a way the demo didn't, pulling harder on the heartstrings. And that's the most important part, because (to me) the really good songs evoke a strong emotional response.

There may be any number of reasons Reba passed on the song, but listening to both versions, I think lyrically the song tips a bit more to the male perspective. From the start:

the day you came into this world
was the proudest of my life

seems a bit more like something a guy would say. "Proud" isn't a word I've heard a mom use to describe childbirth.

Similarly,

i prayed to god to help me
teach you wrong from right

sounds (to me) like a dad sort of thing.

The POV just seemed a better fit with a male singer.

Then again, I'm from California, so what do I know about traditional values? grin

Love the story, excellent song. Thanks for posting this!

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?