Just Close Enough

Album: Chicamacomico (2022)
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Songfacts®:

  • American Aquarium's ninth studio album, Chicamacomico, is largely about finding ways to heal from painful situations. In this heartfelt track, frontman BJ Barham sings from the perspective of a husband who wants to rekindle the romantic spark in his marriage, which died out after years of inadvertently neglecting the relationship.

    "It took love 30 years to let us know that the flower you don't water is the flower that won't grow," he sings.
  • Barham wrote the song with his friend Lori Mckenna, who co-wrote the Little Big Town smash "Girl Crush." He recalled how the tune came together:

    "I got the idea for the song from a text message I sent to a friend when he asked if I could stop by his town for lunch while on my way to another town for a gig. I told him I was 'just close enough to be too far away' and that I'd catch him the next time through. That line stuck with me, and we turned it into a heartbreaking tune about an aging couple that has drifted apart over 30+ years of kids, jobs and life. Life happens and time gets away from us."

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