Tacoma

Album: Man Against Machine (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This organ-drenched anthemic ballad about trying to outrun a memory was recorded by Garth Brooks for his Man Against Machine album. The track was penned by Nashville songwriters Bob DiPiero and Caitlyn Smith.

    "'Tacoma' is one of those songs that just came to life when we got in the writing room," Smith recalled to American Songwriter. "When I woke up that morning to go to the write, I was stuck for an idea to bring to my first writing session with this icon of a man. Nothing was coming to me, but when I put in his office address into the navigation on my phone, it took me to a location in Tacoma, Washington. From there the title hit me, and the rest fell into place when we got together in a room. I loved the idea of being so hurt by someone, you will go across the country to escape the pain."
  • Garth Brooks' wife Trisha Yearwood said that she loves this song so much, she wants it on her own record. "It should be mine," Yearwood told The Boot. "It's one of those things where, usually when another artist records a song, you're like, 'OK, it's over,' but even if that's a single, if that's a big hit for him, I'm still going to record that song one day."
  • Caitlyn Smith recorded her own version for her 2017 full-length debut album, Starfire.

Comments: 1

  • Angela Watley from Diana TxI love this song. I would love to hear him sing it live.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.