Slow Down Summer

Album: Where We Started (2021)
Charted: 43
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This nostalgic song finds Thomas Rhett singing of a high school romance that was doomed to end. The relationship between the two seniors fizzled out once summer turned to fall and they headed to different schools.
  • Rhett wrote the song on an October retreat in Montana with frequent collaborators Ashley Gorley, Jesse Frasure, Sean Douglas and his father Rhett Akins. While in the living room, Rhett noticed the colorful leaves that signaled the transition from summer to fall. When someone said, "I wish summer would slow down," the country star spotted an idea for a song.

    "We kind of just related it to an emotion that I think a lot of us have been through of just getting out of high school or getting out of college, dating somebody and knowing you've got three months to maybe solidify this relationship or it's not going to work," Rhett told The Boot, calling back his own all-too-short teenage summer romance. "I was dating a girl and she went to a different college than me. Right when school started, it was like, 'We're going different ways.'"

    Frasure also co-produced the track with Dann Huff.
  • Rhett first shared "Slow Down Summer" in spring 2020 when he performed an acoustic version during a livestream. He recorded the song for his sixth studio album, Where We Started, releasing it as its lead single on November 5, 2021.
  • The song features a huge, 14-piece string section arranged by Kristin Wilkinson. The other musicians are:

    Acoustic guitar: Ilya Toshinskiy
    Electric guitar: Derek Wells and Dann Huff
    Steel guitar: Paul Franklin
    Bass guitar: Jimmy Lee Sloas
    Sitar: Dann Huff
    Mandolin: Ilya Toshinskiy & Dann Huff
    Drums: Chris Kimmerer
    Piano: Charlie Judge
    Backing vocals: Thomas Rhett, Josh Reedy and Stevie Frasure

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Amy Lee of Evanescence

Amy Lee of EvanescenceSongwriter Interviews

The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

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.