How I Got to Be This Way

Album: Justin Moore (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is the opening track on Country music artist Justin Moore's self-titled debut album.
  • This was co-written by the country music songwriter Rivers Rutherford, whose résumé includes the #1 country song of 2001, Brooks & Dunn's "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You." Moore told Great American Country about their collaboration: "Rivers has more hits than I will have in the next 30 years as a writer and it was cool to write with him. That was the only time we've written. When you get in these rooms with folks you've never written with before, you kind of B.S. for a while and learn about each other."
  • Moore told Great American Country about how he and Rutherford came to write this autobiographical song: "He was just asking me how I grew up and what kind of kid I was. I said, 'I was a pretty good kid. I mean, I did some stupid stuff like any other kid does, but for the most part I was pretty good.' I said something like, 'I guess that's how I got to be this way,' and he said, 'Right there. What was some of the stuff you did?' I told him I totaled my dad's truck on Dixonville curve when I was in high school, and we went from there. The first line says, 'I rolled my dad's truck off the Dixonville curve after drinking my fifth beer.' That's a pretty true song. Most of the stuff that happened in it actually happened. There's a pretty funny line in the song that says something about getting kicked in the face by a horse. Everybody is always like, 'No way.' I said, 'That's my excuse for why my face looks like this.'"
  • This was a last minute addition to the Justin Moore album. Moore explained to The Boot: "I had about everything done for the album [when] I found the demo for that song in my iPhone when I was on my radio tour. I was with a guy from the label, and I said, 'Man, listen to this song... I just found it. I had kind of forgotten about it.' He goes, 'Dude, we've got to put this on the album!' You know me, I'm kind of laid back and nonchalant. I was like, 'alright... whatever.' So I'm glad we put it on there."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Charlie Benante of Anthrax

Charlie Benante of AnthraxSongwriter Interviews

The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.

Adam Young of Owl City

Adam Young of Owl CitySongwriter Interviews

Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.