Hannah Ellis and her husband, fellow singer-songwriter Nick Wayne, channel their love for one another as well as the passionate journey of late country music icons, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash in their new duet, “Waiting To Die.”
The heavy nature of the song’s title is a reflection of the powerful storyline illustrated by the harmonies of the couple who feels every lyric they sing to their core. Together, they pay tribute to one of the greatest love stories in country music while reflecting on their own journey and the thought of having to face the unimaginable – living without their other half.
The Inspiration Behind The Story
While sitting down with Country Now, Hannah Ellis shared that the idea for “Waiting To Die” came to her following the passing of Nick’s grandmother a few years ago.
“His grandparents had been married for 67 years. And so it just kind of starts those conversations of what would that look like if that were us? And I remember having this thought of, ‘man, I’d just be waiting to die.’ And so I wrote it down, like the good songwriter that I am, and I took it in to Nick and our friend Eric, and I said, ‘I know this might be morbid or a little heavy, but what do you guys think about this?’ And they’re like, ‘we think that would be a beautiful love song.’”
From there, Ellis, Nick and Eric Arjes went to work writing a song based around that somber thought. They didn’t set out to create a duet at first, but a few weeks later they came to terms with the fact that it made more sense to deliver such an emotive love song with both halves of the relationship present. And who better to be join Ellis on a song as personal and heartfelt as “Waiting To Die” than her own husband?
“We kind of started having those conversations. It’s like, man, this could be actually really fun. I think it’s a good time to do something like this and see what happens,” Nick chimed in to explain.
Paying Tribute To Late Lovebirds Johnny & June
Later, the story was made complete when Nick offered up the idea to add the Johnny and June references. He recalled stumbling upon a video labeled as Johnny Cash’s last performance that took place shortly after the death of June Carter.
At the start of the clip, pure sadness rumbles through Cash’s voice as he acknowledges how he can feel the spirit of his late wife in the room with him that day. Seeing that video and then learning that Cash died only about four months after his wife due to a broken heart left a deep impression on Nick.
“It is just amazing…he just has the voice of God, but he’s just speaking aloud saying, ‘I just want to thank God tonight for letting June be here with us and letting us borrow her for the next few hours.’ And I mean, the way he says things, it’s like you don’t even have a choice but to believe what he’s saying. And I think the timing of that just was living in my mind. I’ve always been haunted by that video in the most beautiful way. So yeah, I don’t know. That just kind of popped up in the dome,” he explained.
Heartfelt New Music Video
When shooting the haunting music video in the setting of a graveyard, the couple found it relatively easy to feel comfortable on set as they were singing about a story that’s true to their real-life and relationship.
“I feel like I loved watching my performance back because I’m like, oh, I don’t even have to think about, ‘Hey, make sure you’re really feeling these words’ because I’m singing at the person about whom I would say these words. So it felt extremely easy for me to just go look at Nick and sing this the way you mean it. And I do feel like we did capture that with the video. I feel like both of us live in that space.”
Hannah And Nick’s Love Story
Hannah and Nick’s love story began over 10 years ago when they lived across the hall from each other. The songstress recalls seeing Nick for the first time while attending a neighbor’s house party. She was brand-new to Nashville, had just moved into the apartment complex and was eager to meet the “really cool guy” that she had been hearing about.
“That really cool guy was Nick,” the Kentucky native said with a laugh. “And so Nick walks in and I’m like, oh man, this guy must be a big deal. And you kind of have to know Nick from 2013, but he was very fresh in the music industry, so he was kind of more observant. He wasn’t super overly chatty. We get introduced and he just kind of keeps moving on and I was like, ‘that guy thinks he’s better than me.’ Just FYI. He did not think that at all.”
Nick went on to point out that he is “very different” from Hannah in the sense that he did not feel sparks fly the instant they met. Instead, their love blossomed over time as they continued to get to know each other and write songs over the next six months.
“It kind of grew into what it is. I mean, it just keeps blooming in very cool ways. But yeah, I was the guy in 109, Hannah was the girl in 102,” he shared humbly. “Hannah was certainly at the beginning more into it than I was. I was just kind of being patient, calm. I was trying to be very driven in the music industry. I really never dated. I only had one girlfriend before, so I was just probably extremely awkward and scared about the whole thing. And especially her living across the hall, that could be the best or worse situation.”
They eventually leaned into the clear fact that they were more than friends and never turned back. The pair tied the knot at Reba McEntire’s former home, the Estate at Cherokee Dock, in Lebanon, Tennessee, in May of 2021 and have continued to celebrate their love each day since.
First Original Collaboration
“Waiting To Die” marks the first time Ellis and her husband have recorded an original duet together. Over the past 10 years, they’ve collaborated on their own respective projects by singing background vocals on each other’s work and offering guidance, but this time they are doing it all as a unit and it’s turned out to be the best experience for them both.
“It’s definitely the first time that we’re doing these types of things together, interviewing and making videos together and doing a music video and things like that. So it’s been actually very fun. I’m surprised how fun it’s been,” Nick shared before Hannah admitted that it “felt a lot less like work.”
The couple will perform their collaboration live for the first time this weekend at the 2025 American Heart Association’s Heart Gala in Nashville. Then, they will deliver a special show at The Listening Room on Valentine’s Day.
What’s In Store For 2025?
The new song also gives fans a taste of the new music in store from Hannah Ellis, who teased that she has “so many things” in the works.
“I can’t tell you anything right now, but literally I had a meeting in this room yesterday with my whole team at the label because we have so many irons in the fire for this year that we cannot wait to share with you guys,” she hinted.
Meanwhile, Nick will continue to write songs for other artists in addition to releasing some music of his own.
The post Hannah Ellis And Husband Nick Wayne Pay Tribute To Johnny & June In Heartfelt Duet, ‘Waiting To Die’ appeared first on Country Now.
