Always Gonna Be

Album: Bigger Houses (2023)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is a fist-pumping, flag-waving soundtrack to rural communities. Dan + Shay salute kids and brews on country lanes; radio belting out those good ol' tunes; weekend football tailgate parties and driveway kisses that linger. With gritty guitars and fiddle fueling the fire, the duo remind us that some things, well, they're "Always Gonna Be."
  • Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney co-wrote the track with Ashley Gorley, Jordan Reynolds and Jordan Minton for Bigger Houses. The same quintet penned the album's lead single, "Save Me The Trouble."
  • Dan + Shay were on the brink of calling it quits after their 2021 tour. The ride had left Dan Smyers rock-bottom, his spirit crashing harder than a country beat drop. "Came off the road, and I was like, 'Man, I f---ing hate music. I'm ready to quit," he admitted.

    The duo's bond and love for their music were rekindled after a frank discussion. "The moment that it all clicked and we knew we had to keep going was when we reflected on what our music has meant to people," Dan + Shay shared on social media. "When you're running a million miles an hour, sometimes it's hard to see in real time, but right then it had never been more clear."

    "We specifically said things like, 'Dan + Shay is always gonna be a tattoo on somebody's arm.' 'Dan + Shay is always gonna be a first dance at somebody's wedding,'" the pair continued. "We left that night with a fresh perspective on our career, and a genuine closeness in our relationship."

    Fueled by that revelation, they wrote "Always Gonna Be" the very next day.
  • "Always Gonna Be" was the first song Dan + Shay wrote for Bigger Houses. "It will forever hold a special place in our hearts because it was inspired by the very idea that we rebuilt our relationship on. Some things are always gonna be," the duo shared. "When we wrote this song, we didn't even know we were starting an album. We were just two best friends, reunited, and enjoying making music together the way we did 10 years ago."
  • Dan Smyers produced the song with the duo's longtime collaborator, Scott Hendricks. Smyers also played the synthesizer. The other musicians are:

    Paul Franklin: steel guitar
    Derek Wells: electric guitar
    Bryan Sutton: acoustic guitar, resonator guitar, mandolin, banjo
    Jimmie Lee Sloas: bass
    Nir Z: Drums and percussion:
    Gordon Mote: piano, Hammond B3 organ
    Aubrey Haynie: fiddle

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