Damn Country Music

Album: Damn Country Music (2015)
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Songfacts®:

  • The title track of Tim McGraw's 14th studio album, the singer said of the song: "When I recorded 'Damn Country Music,' it was one of those electric moments. It speaks to a passion and being at a crossroads in your life when you make that decision to pursue it knowing you might pay a heavy price."
  • Shot in black and white, the video reveals behind the scenes footage of what goes on during a stop on McGraw's tour. We see Shotgun Tour musicians and crew sport white T-shirts that display the song's lyrics. McGraw himself dons the line, "Believe me I know."
  • Asked by The Boot how he would the describe the Damn Country Music album, McGraw replied: "I think it's like a life in passing: It doesn't have a theme, the album itself. One song doesn't necessarily tie into the next song. It's not, like, thematic … Each song tells a story of its own. Each song is like its own little movie."

    "I think what the title track, 'Damn Country Music,' does is, it sort of ties it all together," he added. "It sort of explains and talks about the passion you have for something and what it costs to have that passion, to fight for it and love it, like I do country music, and how I started out in country music, moving to town and all those things. So I think it lays out, 'This is what country music is to me,' and then the album explains it."
  • Riley Green covered this for his 2023 Ain't My Last Rodeo album. Green's heartfelt interpretation slows down the tempo and delivers it with a touch of introspection, quite distinct from McGraw's 2015 rendition.

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