Flora-Bama

Album: The Big Revival (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was inspired by the Flora-Bama bar on Perdido Key in Florida. It was penned by Kenny Chesney with David Lee Murphy (Thompson Square's "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not"). "It's a very specific song about a very specific place, but it's also a song for anyone who has somewhere they go to let their mind unwind," said the singer. "It's about bein' easy, but bein' engaged. Because — as I've said — places like the Flora-Bama are what life is all about."
  • The song was given away free to fans who pre-ordered Chesney's The Big Revival album.
  • Chesney came up with the idea for the song after a friend told him about spending an entire afternoon in the Flora-Bama bar. "He'd just ducked in for a beer," said the country star, "and six hours later, he'd emerged with a bunch of new friends, a great time and the sort of memory you keep going back to."
  • Chesney said of the Flora-Bama lounge: "This place is so many things to so many people. It has been for a long time because they've shared life here. Friendships were born here. Relationships were born here. Every place you look, there's 50 years of memories. Lovers have written their names on the wall, they've declared their love for each other on the wall of this place."

    "That kind of stuff lives forever in the thread, in the heart and the soul of a place like this," he continued. "I feel like the people that come to this bar really do represent my audience and everything that we've built No Shoe Nation to be."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.