Ten Year Town

Album: The Dream (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Nashville is known as a 10-year-town because that's about how long it takes to make your mark in the city - it's not like New York or Los Angeles where overnight success stories are common. Hailey Whitters had been there 12 years when she wrote the song, and while she'd had some success, including a co-write on the Little Big Town hit "Happy People," she often missed her family back in Iowa and wondered if she could keep sticking it out. The song resonated with anyone who has had their doubts while pursuing their dreams.
  • Whitters wrote this song with Brandy Clark, a Music City veteran whose career also took a while to get going.
  • Whitters had earned impressive credits as a songwriter when she wrote this song, but she wanted to make it as an artist, and it felt like the clock was ticking. "I was feeling very frustrated with my artist's career and wondering if I should just hang that up and just be a songwriter," she said in a Songfacts interview. "I realized I still had things I wanted to say as an artist that weren't being picked up by other artists as a writer, so I felt like there was a voice that still was there that wasn't being heard, and I realized I still wanted to pursue that. I still wanted to make records and I still wanted to perform my own songs. I still really wanted to do the artist thing."
  • Whitters released this song on social media early in 2019; it was her first output since her debut album, Black Sheep, in 2015. Unsigned, she included it on her independent EP The Days in September 2019, then as the first track to her album The Dream in February 2020.
  • This was used in the Netflix series The Ranch in a 2019 episode.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.