Larry Lovestein has released his first song, “Away,” a country track centered on the long stretches of separation that can come with oil-field work.

Lovestein said the song draws from his experience growing up in a small Texas town, where his father worked in the oil field and could be gone for weeks at a time. He described a rhythm familiar to many families in that line of work: time away to earn a living, a short period at home, then another departure.

“My old man was always gone working in the oil field, sometimes up to 3 weeks at a time,” Lovestein said. “He would get to come home for one week, then back to the patch.”

He said the song recognizes both the commitment of parents trying to provide stability and the missed moments that accompany the work. In his view, pride and hurt are not competing emotions in those households; they often arrive together.

“Hurt comes with pride, most times,” Lovestein said. “I don't see a world where you can have one, without the other.”

For children whose parents work away from home, the absence can show up at school events, games and ordinary family routines. Lovestein recalled seeing fathers who had little time to make it to their children’s activities, sometimes arriving directly from work in oil-stained clothes. He said those families often make difficult choices in communities where employment alternatives can feel limited.

The message he hopes listeners take from “Away” is not that those choices are easy, but that families living through them are not isolated. “I want them to feel like they aren't alone,” he said. “Shed a tear. Pick yourself back up. Carry on.”

Lovestein also framed the song as a reminder that support can be practical and close to home. He urged neighbors to look out for families while a parent is away, whether that means mowing an overgrown lawn, checking in, or showing up for a child at a school sports event.

“Help your neighbor,” he said. “We are a small knit community. We need to act us such. Lend out a helping hand.”

That focus on small gestures is central to what Lovestein sees as meaningful community support. He said help should not be offered for recognition or personal gain, but because a neighbor needs it.

As he begins performing “Away” live, Lovestein said he wants his shows to be welcoming places where people of different ages can gather and connect. He said he would make time to speak with anyone who approaches after a performance to share how the song affected them.

At the same time, he noted that his broader sound extends beyond country. Lovestein described his music as Texas country rock, or “Y’all-ternative,” and said some material may include coarse language. Families attending shows, he said, should be aware that the performances can carry elements of rock and grunge alongside the country influence heard in “Away.”

With the release, Lovestein is putting a personal family story into a wider local conversation: how communities can acknowledge the sacrifices behind long work schedules and offer support to the people carrying them.