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[banging]
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- This is gonna be the
hard part--
- [Man] Quiet in the room
3
00:00:22,500 --> 00:00:25,500
[light piano music]
4
00:00:26,875 --> 00:00:28,083
- [Director] Can you sneak
a little bit this way?
5
00:00:28,125 --> 00:00:29,750
That's cool, thank
you, that's better.
6
00:00:29,791 --> 00:00:32,958
[light piano music]
7
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:34,375
- That was the demo.
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00:00:35,666 --> 00:00:36,958
Yeah, this is a Fazioli.
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00:00:38,083 --> 00:00:41,000
The only one in the
south, actually.
10
00:00:43,041 --> 00:00:43,916
Isn't that pretty?
11
00:00:45,166 --> 00:00:47,208
- I did the spray
tan this morning.
12
00:00:47,250 --> 00:00:48,041
- I look so white.
13
00:00:48,083 --> 00:00:49,625
Do I look too white?
14
00:00:49,666 --> 00:00:52,750
- Uh, let's see what I got here.
15
00:00:52,791 --> 00:00:53,708
Grab a guitar?
16
00:00:57,875 --> 00:01:00,083
- [Director] You write most
of your stuff in this bunker?
17
00:01:00,125 --> 00:01:03,375
- Well, when I'm, when I'm, yes.
18
00:01:07,916 --> 00:01:09,875
- [Director] Take a position
you feel super comfortable in,
19
00:01:09,916 --> 00:01:11,708
maybe, you know, to play music.
20
00:01:11,750 --> 00:01:13,750
- [Musician] That
was back at home.
21
00:01:13,791 --> 00:01:16,041
[laughing]
22
00:01:20,416 --> 00:01:23,666
- Called me at like noon,
on Tuesday, it was a Tuesday.
23
00:01:29,541 --> 00:01:31,458
- Okay, wrong song.
24
00:01:34,541 --> 00:01:38,041
[people chatting]
25
00:01:38,083 --> 00:01:41,875
- [Man] I'm good, how are you?
- [Man] I'm good, good to see
you!
26
00:01:41,916 --> 00:01:45,791
[piano music drowning out words]
27
00:01:45,833 --> 00:01:47,833
- That's what I do.
28
00:01:47,875 --> 00:01:51,458
[music drowning out words]
29
00:01:52,958 --> 00:01:55,583
[dog barking]
30
00:01:55,625 --> 00:01:56,791
I've been fortunate.
31
00:01:56,833 --> 00:01:59,416
I've had about 500
of my songs recorded.
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00:01:59,458 --> 00:02:02,250
I've had 42 Top 20 singles.
33
00:02:02,291 --> 00:02:05,791
And 25 of those songs
ended up being Number Ones.
34
00:02:05,833 --> 00:02:10,250
Which means nobody knows
who the [beep] I am.
35
00:02:10,291 --> 00:02:12,875
[lively music]
36
00:02:17,291 --> 00:02:20,125
- I'm the guy that
wrote Try for P!nk.
37
00:02:20,166 --> 00:02:22,250
- You Give Love a Bad
Name, Livin' on a Prayer,
38
00:02:22,291 --> 00:02:23,541
Livin' La Vida Loca.
39
00:02:23,583 --> 00:02:24,916
- Pontoon.
- Faithfully.
40
00:02:24,958 --> 00:02:26,208
- Like I'm Gonna Lose You.
41
00:02:26,250 --> 00:02:27,666
- Grenade, Party in the USA.
42
00:02:27,708 --> 00:02:28,833
- Nobody Wants to Be Lonely.
43
00:02:28,875 --> 00:02:30,291
- Stay.
- Mama's Broken Heart.
44
00:02:30,333 --> 00:02:31,833
- The Climb.
45
00:02:31,875 --> 00:02:32,791
- A Little Less Conversation.
- Live Like You Were Dyin'.
46
00:02:32,833 --> 00:02:34,291
- Have a Little Faith in Me.
47
00:02:34,333 --> 00:02:35,541
- Change the World.
48
00:02:35,583 --> 00:02:36,708
- Thousand Years,
Because of You.
49
00:02:36,750 --> 00:02:37,875
- The River.
- Whiskey Lullaby.
50
00:02:37,916 --> 00:02:39,125
- What Hurts the Most.
51
00:02:39,166 --> 00:02:40,208
- I'm the guy that wrote
Jesus Take the Wheel.
52
00:02:40,250 --> 00:02:41,958
Well, I should say it this way.
53
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,708
I'm one of the three people
that wrote Jesus Take the Wheel.
54
00:02:49,083 --> 00:02:50,666
- [Chip] We gonna talk first,
you want me to play first,
55
00:02:50,708 --> 00:02:52,333
what would you like to do?
- [Director] Let's talk first.
56
00:02:52,375 --> 00:02:53,625
- [Chip] Sure, good.
57
00:02:53,666 --> 00:02:54,416
- [Director] Why is
Nashville this like
58
00:02:54,458 --> 00:02:56,291
bastion of creativity?
59
00:02:56,333 --> 00:02:59,000
And when it comes to
songs, right, this is it.
60
00:02:59,041 --> 00:02:59,833
Why Nashville?
61
00:03:02,125 --> 00:03:04,125
- I've often thought a
lot about why Nashville,
62
00:03:04,166 --> 00:03:08,000
why is this place, this place.
63
00:03:08,041 --> 00:03:10,250
You know, most of the real
reasons are mysterious
64
00:03:10,291 --> 00:03:11,708
as to why this place.
65
00:03:11,750 --> 00:03:13,708
But I'm not usually
one for these,
66
00:03:14,833 --> 00:03:15,666
for the more,
67
00:03:17,250 --> 00:03:19,875
new age-y explanations
of there's just a vibe
68
00:03:19,916 --> 00:03:21,208
or there's just an energy.
69
00:03:23,041 --> 00:03:25,583
But there's a vibe,
there's an energy.
70
00:03:25,625 --> 00:03:27,750
I don't know what that is.
71
00:03:27,791 --> 00:03:29,416
But I guess one of
the biggest reasons is
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00:03:29,458 --> 00:03:31,541
that the antenna
73
00:03:33,125 --> 00:03:34,666
that sent out the Grand Ol' Opry
74
00:03:34,708 --> 00:03:37,333
to far-flung areas
all over this country
75
00:03:37,375 --> 00:03:40,333
at a time when everybody
listened to radio.
76
00:03:40,375 --> 00:03:45,000
It was almost like the Bat
Light into the night saying,
77
00:03:45,041 --> 00:03:47,916
you know, come here, this
is where this happens.
78
00:03:47,958 --> 00:03:51,041
[gentle music]
79
00:03:51,083 --> 00:03:52,625
- [Announcer] Johnny Cash.
80
00:03:52,666 --> 00:03:54,000
- [Announcer] Patsy Cline
with another one of her--
81
00:03:54,041 --> 00:03:54,916
- [Announcer] Dolly Parton.
82
00:03:54,958 --> 00:03:56,625
- Artists came to Nashville who,
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00:03:56,666 --> 00:03:59,375
once they made it on
the Grand Ol' Opry,
84
00:03:59,416 --> 00:04:03,000
they were in their cars
driving from Birmingham
85
00:04:03,041 --> 00:04:06,208
to Minneapolis to play a show.
86
00:04:06,250 --> 00:04:09,708
So they came back on Friday
and Saturday night to perform
87
00:04:09,750 --> 00:04:11,000
on the Grand Ol' Opry.
88
00:04:11,041 --> 00:04:12,541
And when they came back in,
89
00:04:12,583 --> 00:04:16,500
those artists who stayed
at home in Nashville
90
00:04:16,541 --> 00:04:19,208
would greet them at the
backstage door and say,
91
00:04:19,250 --> 00:04:21,833
"Hey, I wrote a song,
I got a song for you."
92
00:04:21,875 --> 00:04:26,583
So an industry was born
out of entertainers
93
00:04:26,625 --> 00:04:29,041
being out on the road and
not having enough time
94
00:04:29,083 --> 00:04:30,416
to write songs.
95
00:04:30,458 --> 00:04:34,083
And that's how Nashville became
96
00:04:34,125 --> 00:04:38,166
this epicenter of
songwriting in the world.
97
00:04:38,208 --> 00:04:42,291
["16th Avenue" by Thom Schuyler]
98
00:04:44,458 --> 00:04:47,041
♪ From the corners
of the country ♪
99
00:04:47,083 --> 00:04:50,083
♪ From the cities
and the farms ♪
100
00:04:50,125 --> 00:04:53,083
♪ With years and
years of living ♪
101
00:04:53,125 --> 00:04:56,583
♪ Tucked up underneath
their arms ♪
102
00:04:56,625 --> 00:04:59,083
♪ They walk away
from everything ♪
103
00:04:59,125 --> 00:05:02,083
♪ Just to see a
dream come true ♪
104
00:05:02,125 --> 00:05:05,500
♪ So God bless the boys
who make the noise ♪
105
00:05:05,541 --> 00:05:10,000
♪ On 16th Avenue
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00:05:10,041 --> 00:05:12,750
♪ With a million dollar spirit
107
00:05:12,791 --> 00:05:16,125
♪ And an old flat-top guitar
108
00:05:16,166 --> 00:05:19,083
♪ They drive to town
with all they own ♪
109
00:05:19,125 --> 00:05:22,166
♪ In a $100 car
110
00:05:22,208 --> 00:05:25,208
♪ 'Cause one time
someone told 'em ♪
111
00:05:25,250 --> 00:05:28,416
♪ About a friend of
a friend they knew ♪
112
00:05:28,458 --> 00:05:31,250
♪ Who owns, you know, a studio
113
00:05:31,291 --> 00:05:34,291
♪ On 16th Avenue.
114
00:05:34,333 --> 00:05:36,416
I just sort of fell
in love with this,
115
00:05:36,458 --> 00:05:38,958
the idea that the entire
country music industry
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00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,791
took place on about
four square blocks
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00:05:41,833 --> 00:05:44,208
of this quiet little town.
118
00:05:44,250 --> 00:05:47,000
And most, except for
the record companies,
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00:05:47,041 --> 00:05:49,291
everything took place in a house
120
00:05:49,333 --> 00:05:51,208
that was converted
into an office.
121
00:05:51,250 --> 00:05:54,333
[light guitar music]
122
00:06:21,916 --> 00:06:23,916
- There's so much, there's
so much brilliance,
123
00:06:23,958 --> 00:06:26,250
so much brilliance in this town.
124
00:06:26,291 --> 00:06:28,666
That's why people come
from all over the world
125
00:06:28,708 --> 00:06:29,541
to write here.
126
00:06:31,375 --> 00:06:35,250
I've written with and seen
some of the best on the planet
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00:06:35,291 --> 00:06:37,166
come to Nashville and
say, "Well, this is where
128
00:06:37,208 --> 00:06:39,125
"great songwriters
come to write songs."
129
00:06:39,166 --> 00:06:41,583
- I'm moving to
Nashville in two months.
130
00:06:41,625 --> 00:06:43,208
I've been in LA for
the last 15 years.
131
00:06:43,250 --> 00:06:44,125
I've been coming to Nashville
132
00:06:44,166 --> 00:06:45,541
for probably five or six years.
133
00:06:45,583 --> 00:06:48,708
There's 10 people that I
work with all the time in LA.
134
00:06:48,750 --> 00:06:51,041
And here, I feel like it's
a pretty unlimited amount
135
00:06:51,083 --> 00:06:53,041
of folks that I can
kind of be writing with.
136
00:06:53,083 --> 00:06:56,166
- Oh, Nashville is ridiculous.
137
00:06:56,208 --> 00:06:57,958
It's like a fruitcake.
138
00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,541
It's densely packed with talent.
139
00:07:01,583 --> 00:07:03,375
You can go to any one
of these buildings.
140
00:07:03,416 --> 00:07:06,125
There's probably somebody
in there that's a badass.
141
00:07:06,166 --> 00:07:09,208
♪ I'd catch a grenade for ya
142
00:07:09,250 --> 00:07:11,375
♪ So I'm gonna love you
143
00:07:11,416 --> 00:07:13,458
♪ Damn country music
144
00:07:13,500 --> 00:07:16,416
♪ Thank you, Lord
145
00:07:16,458 --> 00:07:18,333
♪ How could I ask for more
146
00:07:18,375 --> 00:07:23,166
♪ Tell me baby, do
I get one more try ♪
147
00:07:23,208 --> 00:07:28,208
♪ Have a little faith in me
148
00:07:28,958 --> 00:07:31,125
♪ For better or worse
149
00:07:31,166 --> 00:07:32,291
♪ For better or
150
00:07:32,333 --> 00:07:34,083
♪ Darling don't be afraid
151
00:07:34,125 --> 00:07:38,333
♪ I have loved you
for a thousand years ♪
152
00:07:38,375 --> 00:07:42,000
♪ Ah, it's all the same thing
153
00:07:42,041 --> 00:07:46,250
♪ Girls chase boys chase girls
154
00:07:46,291 --> 00:07:48,166
- I can promise you there's
100 songs being written
155
00:07:48,208 --> 00:07:51,416
right now in this
town, this very second.
156
00:07:51,458 --> 00:07:54,041
And it makes Nashville
a very unique place.
157
00:07:54,083 --> 00:07:55,458
- You go get a pizza,
158
00:07:57,125 --> 00:07:58,708
they're gonna have
a songwriters' night
at the pizza place.
159
00:07:58,750 --> 00:08:02,708
This is the only town I've
ever known where banks
160
00:08:02,750 --> 00:08:04,250
have a stage in the bank.
161
00:08:05,833 --> 00:08:08,708
They literally have stages in
some of the banks around here.
162
00:08:08,750 --> 00:08:10,416
Songwriters will get up.
163
00:08:10,458 --> 00:08:13,375
Every waiter that waits on you,
164
00:08:13,416 --> 00:08:16,666
every person that
valet parks your car
165
00:08:16,708 --> 00:08:21,708
is a world-class gifted
musician or songwriter.
166
00:08:22,333 --> 00:08:24,416
[gentle music]
167
00:08:27,125 --> 00:08:29,458
- Kind of what I always tell
people is for six months,
168
00:08:29,500 --> 00:08:31,166
don't worry about the business.
169
00:08:31,208 --> 00:08:33,291
Just worry about becoming a
member of the music community.
170
00:08:33,333 --> 00:08:35,250
Go see how competitive
it is here.
171
00:08:35,291 --> 00:08:37,416
Go to every writers'
night you can go to.
172
00:08:37,458 --> 00:08:39,041
Shake the hands of
every songwriter
173
00:08:39,083 --> 00:08:40,291
you would ever wanna meet,
174
00:08:40,333 --> 00:08:41,750
because they're gonna
be available to you.
175
00:08:41,791 --> 00:08:43,333
They're gonna be nice to you,
176
00:08:43,375 --> 00:08:45,833
because they were in your shoes.
177
00:08:45,875 --> 00:08:47,333
- Move here.
178
00:08:47,375 --> 00:08:49,500
Start livin' here, start
being a citizen here.
179
00:08:49,541 --> 00:08:51,166
They take you in, man.
180
00:08:51,208 --> 00:08:53,000
- I used to friend
people on Facebook
181
00:08:53,041 --> 00:08:55,291
that I knew were in
the music industry.
182
00:08:55,333 --> 00:08:58,458
And I would post
demos or videos of me
183
00:08:58,500 --> 00:09:00,750
at Writers' Nights or whatever.
184
00:09:00,791 --> 00:09:03,291
And I would just
hope that someone
185
00:09:03,333 --> 00:09:05,625
would stumble across
it, and someone did.
186
00:09:05,666 --> 00:09:08,000
And I went in wanting to learn,
187
00:09:08,041 --> 00:09:10,083
but never asking
for a record deal
188
00:09:10,125 --> 00:09:11,333
or never asking for
a publishing deal.
189
00:09:11,375 --> 00:09:12,666
I was like, "Hey,
my name's Kelsea.
190
00:09:12,708 --> 00:09:13,708
"I'm from Knoxville.
191
00:09:15,166 --> 00:09:18,541
"I'm 15, and I really want
you to listen to what I do
192
00:09:18,583 --> 00:09:20,000
"and tell me how
I could be better.
193
00:09:20,041 --> 00:09:22,000
"Or tell me who I should
be with to make me better."
194
00:09:22,041 --> 00:09:23,750
And people took the meetings
because they didn't think
195
00:09:23,791 --> 00:09:26,375
that I was trying to get
anything, except for advice.
196
00:09:26,416 --> 00:09:30,000
- Songwriting may be the only
profession I've ever seen
197
00:09:30,041 --> 00:09:33,416
where every songwriter
genuinely is trying to teach
198
00:09:33,458 --> 00:09:36,333
the person that's gonna
be their competition.
199
00:09:36,375 --> 00:09:38,708
- That's something Nashville has
200
00:09:38,750 --> 00:09:42,541
that so few industries
still have that,
201
00:09:42,583 --> 00:09:45,458
where you can learn
from the masters,
202
00:09:45,500 --> 00:09:49,916
where you can sit in a room
and the gods of this field
203
00:09:49,958 --> 00:09:52,541
will tell you their
stories and let you in.
204
00:09:52,583 --> 00:09:54,208
- I went to my first
Writers in the Round
205
00:09:54,250 --> 00:09:56,416
at the Bluebird Cafe.
206
00:09:56,458 --> 00:09:59,166
It was an epiphany,
it was religion.
207
00:09:59,208 --> 00:10:03,041
It was, I'd never
seen anything like it.
208
00:10:03,083 --> 00:10:06,416
[acoustic guitar music]
209
00:10:08,125 --> 00:10:10,583
- To be so close to
somebody that you can feel
210
00:10:10,625 --> 00:10:13,583
their foot in the carpet while
they start to sing a song,
211
00:10:13,625 --> 00:10:15,750
not only that they wrote
maybe 15 years ago,
212
00:10:15,791 --> 00:10:18,500
but you've heard on
your radio 10,000 times,
213
00:10:18,541 --> 00:10:20,166
and has become a
part of your life.
214
00:10:20,208 --> 00:10:21,375
It made me want to
be so much better.
215
00:10:21,416 --> 00:10:22,875
It made me feel horrible.
216
00:10:22,916 --> 00:10:25,041
It made me feel like every
song I'd written before
217
00:10:25,083 --> 00:10:26,875
was gone, and I'm
not using that.
218
00:10:26,916 --> 00:10:29,583
It's about, it's what
happens from here on out.
219
00:10:29,625 --> 00:10:32,875
- I remember trying
out for the open mic,
220
00:10:32,916 --> 00:10:37,208
and like 90 people tried
out, and 30 people made it.
221
00:10:37,250 --> 00:10:38,458
And I made it.
222
00:10:38,500 --> 00:10:40,125
- It's in a little
bitty strip mall.
223
00:10:40,166 --> 00:10:42,000
It seats 99 people.
224
00:10:42,041 --> 00:10:45,250
And it launched just about
every songwriter career
225
00:10:45,291 --> 00:10:46,791
in this town.
226
00:10:46,833 --> 00:10:49,791
Artists from Keith Urban to
Taylor Swift to Garth Brooks
227
00:10:49,833 --> 00:10:51,375
were discovered at The Bluebird.
228
00:10:52,500 --> 00:10:55,083
- This is a place
where dreams come true.
229
00:10:56,708 --> 00:10:58,166
- [Director] Changed your life.
230
00:10:58,208 --> 00:11:00,833
- Sure changed mine, yeah.
231
00:11:00,875 --> 00:11:03,250
Sure changed mine, changed
my children's lives.
232
00:11:03,291 --> 00:11:06,166
Changed my children's
lives I didn't have yet.
233
00:11:06,208 --> 00:11:08,750
- The Bluebird Cafe,
we help songwriters.
234
00:11:08,791 --> 00:11:11,041
I always wanted to get it
printed as a bumper sticker.
235
00:11:11,083 --> 00:11:12,333
We help songwriters.
236
00:11:12,375 --> 00:11:15,166
- And it's all about the song.
237
00:11:15,208 --> 00:11:17,458
Even more about the song
than it was the songwriter
238
00:11:17,500 --> 00:11:19,416
think it'd be possible.
239
00:11:19,458 --> 00:11:22,541
- On my own tombstone,
it's just gonna say, Shh,
240
00:11:24,250 --> 00:11:26,458
because that's just the
shortest way to say,
241
00:11:26,500 --> 00:11:28,333
there's something
important going on here.
242
00:11:28,375 --> 00:11:29,625
Shut up and listen to it.
243
00:11:30,750 --> 00:11:35,500
["Jesus Take the
Wheel" by Brett James]
244
00:11:35,541 --> 00:11:37,000
♪ It was still turning colder
245
00:11:37,041 --> 00:11:38,375
♪ When she made it
to the shoulder ♪
246
00:11:38,416 --> 00:11:41,291
♪ And the car came to a stop
247
00:11:41,333 --> 00:11:44,375
♪ She cried when she saw
that baby in the back seat ♪
248
00:11:44,416 --> 00:11:47,000
♪ Sleepin' like a rock
249
00:11:47,041 --> 00:11:50,500
♪ And for the first
time in a long time ♪
250
00:11:50,541 --> 00:11:53,083
♪ She bowed her head to pray
251
00:11:53,125 --> 00:11:56,125
♪ She said I'm
sorry for the way ♪
252
00:11:56,166 --> 00:11:59,500
♪ That I've been
living my life ♪
253
00:11:59,541 --> 00:12:01,875
♪ I know I've got to change
254
00:12:01,916 --> 00:12:06,583
♪ So from now on tonight
255
00:12:06,625 --> 00:12:09,833
♪ Jesus take the wheel
256
00:12:09,875 --> 00:12:11,916
♪ Take it from my hands
257
00:12:11,958 --> 00:12:16,958
♪ 'Cause I can't
do this on my own ♪
258
00:12:17,750 --> 00:12:19,708
♪ I'm letting go
259
00:12:19,750 --> 00:12:22,541
♪ So give me one more chance
260
00:12:22,583 --> 00:12:27,583
♪ And save me from
this road I'm on ♪
261
00:12:28,458 --> 00:12:31,291
♪ From this road I'm on
262
00:12:33,750 --> 00:12:36,625
- Four writers just playing
their incredible songs.
263
00:12:36,666 --> 00:12:38,208
Some were hits, some were new.
264
00:12:38,250 --> 00:12:40,041
It changed my life,
265
00:12:40,083 --> 00:12:42,375
because that night I
thought, you know what,
266
00:12:42,416 --> 00:12:43,875
that's what I'm going to do.
267
00:12:43,916 --> 00:12:44,916
I'm going to buckle down
and be the best songwriter
268
00:12:44,958 --> 00:12:46,375
I know how to be.
269
00:12:46,416 --> 00:12:48,166
So I went up and down
these streets of Nashville
270
00:12:48,208 --> 00:12:51,708
trying to get a publishing
deal, a record deal, anything.
271
00:12:51,750 --> 00:12:52,791
And I couldn't get arrested.
272
00:12:52,833 --> 00:12:56,125
- Songwriters spend years,
273
00:12:56,166 --> 00:12:59,708
years waiting for
that one break.
274
00:12:59,750 --> 00:13:01,416
They live on credit cards.
275
00:13:01,458 --> 00:13:06,375
They wait to have
babies, because they
have to write songs.
276
00:13:07,875 --> 00:13:11,375
- It took about five years
of just nonstop grinding.
277
00:13:11,416 --> 00:13:14,250
I would record anywhere, in
the closet or in the bathroom.
278
00:13:14,291 --> 00:13:15,750
- One of my funnier,
279
00:13:15,791 --> 00:13:17,250
I love this.
280
00:13:17,291 --> 00:13:19,583
So my mom, this is back
in the velour days, right.
281
00:13:19,625 --> 00:13:23,291
So I had this, she gave me
this robe for Christmas.
282
00:13:23,333 --> 00:13:25,625
So I had this black
velour robe that I'd wear.
283
00:13:27,083 --> 00:13:29,416
And I had a little hook on
the back of my bathroom door
284
00:13:29,458 --> 00:13:30,916
I hung my robe upon.
285
00:13:30,958 --> 00:13:32,833
And I'm in my bathroom one
day, sitting on the commode,
286
00:13:32,875 --> 00:13:35,833
and I started lookin',
and I can see the door
287
00:13:35,875 --> 00:13:37,458
through parts of the robe.
288
00:13:37,500 --> 00:13:42,333
And I realized, I've worn
the ass out of this robe
289
00:13:43,500 --> 00:13:46,166
from sitting down there
working in my studio.
290
00:13:46,208 --> 00:13:48,166
I'd literally just
worn the ass out.
291
00:13:48,208 --> 00:13:49,666
And all I could
think of was like,
292
00:13:49,708 --> 00:13:51,791
the pizza dude must think
I'm totally hittin' on him,
293
00:13:51,833 --> 00:13:55,166
'cause when I get the
door and I turn, you know,
294
00:13:55,208 --> 00:13:59,041
to walk back inside, and
he's just lookin' at my ass,
295
00:13:59,083 --> 00:14:01,291
just my thinly veiled,
296
00:14:01,333 --> 00:14:03,375
literally my thinly veiled ass.
297
00:14:03,416 --> 00:14:04,333
I was like [sighs].
298
00:14:05,708 --> 00:14:08,291
- And then somebody says,
"Okay, you're ready.
299
00:14:08,333 --> 00:14:09,625
"I'm gonna sign you
to a publishing deal,"
300
00:14:09,666 --> 00:14:11,958
and pays him $20,000 a year,
301
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,791
which is not enough to live on.
302
00:14:13,833 --> 00:14:15,458
- Oh gosh, I mean,
I've been a bartender,
303
00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:17,125
cater waiter, valet.
304
00:14:17,166 --> 00:14:19,250
I used to sell pagers.
305
00:14:19,291 --> 00:14:21,916
- When I first started out,
you know, this guy told me,
306
00:14:21,958 --> 00:14:23,166
wrote with Bob Dylan, he said,
307
00:14:23,208 --> 00:14:25,125
"You know, you ain't
got any mud on you."
308
00:14:25,166 --> 00:14:26,333
I said, "What do
you mean by that?"
309
00:14:26,375 --> 00:14:27,500
He said, "Well, you
ain't got any mud.
310
00:14:27,541 --> 00:14:30,041
"You've been loved and coddled.
311
00:14:30,083 --> 00:14:31,000
"You've got no mud.
312
00:14:31,041 --> 00:14:32,208
"You've got no rejection.
313
00:14:32,250 --> 00:14:34,625
"Your mommy and dad
love you, buh buh buh."
314
00:14:34,666 --> 00:14:37,166
And he goes, "You're gonna
need to get some mud."
315
00:14:37,208 --> 00:14:39,375
- They call Nashville
a 10-year town,
316
00:14:39,416 --> 00:14:41,208
but I dropped out of ninth grade
317
00:14:41,250 --> 00:14:44,333
and started touring
when I was 14,
318
00:14:44,375 --> 00:14:47,625
and had 10 years before
I came to Nashville,
319
00:14:47,666 --> 00:14:49,875
of like losing record deals,
320
00:14:49,916 --> 00:14:52,458
promoters stealing
your money on tour.
321
00:14:52,500 --> 00:14:54,166
- It's a beautiful town.
322
00:14:54,208 --> 00:14:56,166
It can make all your
dreams come true.
323
00:14:56,208 --> 00:14:59,875
But it can also be
such a bitch of a town.
324
00:14:59,916 --> 00:15:01,333
It can be so hard.
325
00:15:01,375 --> 00:15:04,500
You're putting your heart
out on the line daily
326
00:15:04,541 --> 00:15:06,541
and getting it smashed
because it doesn't sound
327
00:15:06,583 --> 00:15:08,958
like the radio or no one
will ever record that song
328
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,083
'cause it's too
sad, or something.
329
00:15:11,125 --> 00:15:13,666
So this is This
Town Is Killing Me.
330
00:15:13,708 --> 00:15:18,708
["This Town Is Killing
Me" by Caitlyn Smith"]
331
00:15:23,666 --> 00:15:27,208
♪ I pour my heart out
332
00:15:27,250 --> 00:15:30,666
♪ Three minutes at
a time on a J-45 ♪
333
00:15:30,708 --> 00:15:33,833
♪ And no one's listenin'
334
00:15:33,875 --> 00:15:37,375
♪ They're too busy drinking
on the company tab ♪
335
00:15:37,416 --> 00:15:40,916
♪ I scream my lungs out
336
00:15:40,958 --> 00:15:44,625
♪ Confess my secrets,
all my sins ♪
337
00:15:44,666 --> 00:15:47,750
♪ But they don't give a damn
338
00:15:47,791 --> 00:15:52,791
♪ 'Cause if it don't sound
like the radio, pass ♪
339
00:15:53,583 --> 00:15:58,416
♪ Nashville, you win
340
00:15:59,791 --> 00:16:03,791
♪ Your steel guitars and
broken hearts have done me in ♪
341
00:16:05,500 --> 00:16:10,458
♪ I gave you my soul
342
00:16:11,958 --> 00:16:16,958
♪ 'Cause I wanted it so bad
and now I just wanna go home ♪
343
00:16:18,041 --> 00:16:21,791
♪ This town is killin' me
344
00:16:21,833 --> 00:16:25,333
♪ This town is killin' me
345
00:16:28,875 --> 00:16:30,625
- It's a no business.
346
00:16:30,666 --> 00:16:32,125
You're gonna hear no.
347
00:16:32,166 --> 00:16:33,750
No is usual.
348
00:16:33,791 --> 00:16:35,166
You're gonna write
a lot of songs,
349
00:16:35,208 --> 00:16:36,958
and they're gonna
pass on most of them.
350
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,625
So you're gonna have
to want it bad enough
351
00:16:39,666 --> 00:16:41,833
to deal with failure.
352
00:16:43,250 --> 00:16:46,333
Because when they finally
say yes, it's amazing.
353
00:16:46,375 --> 00:16:49,541
- There was a turning
point where I thought,
354
00:16:49,583 --> 00:16:52,458
I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna
have to do something else.
355
00:16:52,500 --> 00:16:54,875
I'm not going to be able to
support a family like this.
356
00:16:54,916 --> 00:16:58,708
And I went to be the assistant
357
00:16:58,750 --> 00:17:00,000
to this big real estate agent.
358
00:17:00,041 --> 00:17:02,500
I put a suit on,
borrowed a suit.
359
00:17:02,541 --> 00:17:07,333
And I was sitting in this big
glass lobby of this building
360
00:17:07,375 --> 00:17:09,916
and all these guys kept
walking through in their suits
361
00:17:09,958 --> 00:17:12,000
with their briefcases.
362
00:17:12,041 --> 00:17:14,916
And I just had a panic attack.
363
00:17:14,958 --> 00:17:17,500
I just started
breathing really hard.
364
00:17:17,541 --> 00:17:19,000
I was sweating.
365
00:17:19,041 --> 00:17:22,291
And I just realized, I was
gonna have to do music,
366
00:17:22,333 --> 00:17:24,125
no matter what.
367
00:17:24,166 --> 00:17:26,500
And if I never made money,
368
00:17:26,541 --> 00:17:28,416
then I would just continue
doing those odd jobs
369
00:17:28,458 --> 00:17:30,500
that I'd been doing
all those years.
370
00:17:30,541 --> 00:17:31,916
And that was
371
00:17:33,875 --> 00:17:36,375
two months before
I got my first cut.
372
00:17:36,416 --> 00:17:38,666
- I mean, it knocks
you down 50 times,
373
00:17:38,708 --> 00:17:39,875
hoping you won't get back up.
374
00:17:39,916 --> 00:17:43,000
And if you do, that's
the time it works.
375
00:17:43,041 --> 00:17:45,000
- It was a title my
father had given me.
376
00:17:45,041 --> 00:17:48,375
I was calling him
about money, again.
377
00:17:48,416 --> 00:17:51,125
He said, "No, you're
not coming home, John.
378
00:17:51,166 --> 00:17:53,208
"Lose that idea,
don't stop believing.
379
00:17:53,250 --> 00:17:54,791
"I mean it, don't
stop believing."
380
00:17:54,833 --> 00:17:57,875
And I scribble in this
thing, and there it is.
381
00:17:57,916 --> 00:18:02,250
["Don't Stop
Believin'" by Journey]
382
00:18:09,250 --> 00:18:12,500
♪ Just a small town girl
383
00:18:12,541 --> 00:18:16,166
♪ Livin' in a lonely world
384
00:18:16,208 --> 00:18:21,208
♪ She took the midnight
train goin' anywhere ♪
385
00:18:22,583 --> 00:18:25,875
- I remember I hadn't
released any music yet,
386
00:18:25,916 --> 00:18:29,375
and finally got to
release my first record.
387
00:18:29,416 --> 00:18:34,416
And I was at the grocery
store, just came out,
388
00:18:35,541 --> 00:18:36,958
and was standing on the
corner with my bags.
389
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,166
And this car came and
pulled up at the stoplight
390
00:18:40,208 --> 00:18:41,666
and the windows
were rolled down,
391
00:18:41,708 --> 00:18:45,791
and she was listening
to my song on the radio,
392
00:18:45,833 --> 00:18:47,583
and singing.
393
00:18:47,625 --> 00:18:49,166
And it was the coolest feeling.
394
00:18:50,333 --> 00:18:52,875
So I had a friend with
me and he was like,
395
00:18:54,541 --> 00:18:55,375
"That's you!"
396
00:18:55,416 --> 00:18:56,916
I'm like, "That's me!"
397
00:18:56,958 --> 00:19:00,416
And he's like, "That's her,'
tellin' the girl, "That's her!"
398
00:19:00,458 --> 00:19:02,750
And she's driving, she's like.
399
00:19:02,791 --> 00:19:05,125
- I'm sitting right there
400
00:19:06,500 --> 00:19:08,958
when a guy named Tony
Arata's onstage one night.
401
00:19:10,750 --> 00:19:12,000
He sings these songs.
402
00:19:12,041 --> 00:19:13,625
Tony's a great writer.
403
00:19:13,666 --> 00:19:16,166
- Garth was sitting
right back over there.
404
00:19:16,208 --> 00:19:18,000
He was doing construction
and selling boots.
405
00:19:18,041 --> 00:19:21,291
And I was loading trucks at UPS.
406
00:19:21,333 --> 00:19:25,791
It was me, Garth, Liz Hengber,
who was a waitress here,
407
00:19:25,833 --> 00:19:27,750
and Mark Irwin, who
was the bartender.
408
00:19:27,791 --> 00:19:29,458
And that was not only
who was performing,
409
00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:31,041
it was pretty much the crowd.
410
00:19:31,083 --> 00:19:33,666
But we each took
turns playing songs.
411
00:19:33,708 --> 00:19:36,250
- And then here comes this
song called The Dance.
412
00:19:36,291 --> 00:19:38,916
And it was the last song he
played. I went up to him.
413
00:19:38,958 --> 00:19:41,125
I said, "Dude, surely
that's gotta be on hold
414
00:19:41,166 --> 00:19:42,333
"or somebody's cut that."
415
00:19:42,375 --> 00:19:45,125
He goes, "No, it's
been here a while."
416
00:19:45,166 --> 00:19:46,541
Took it to Allen Reynolds.
417
00:19:46,583 --> 00:19:48,666
And Allen Reynolds
told me, he said,
418
00:19:48,708 --> 00:19:49,916
"If you don't cut The Dance,
419
00:19:49,958 --> 00:19:52,041
"it'll be the biggest
hit you never had."
420
00:19:52,083 --> 00:19:53,750
["The Dance" by Garth Brooks]
421
00:19:53,791 --> 00:19:57,041
♪ Lookin' back
422
00:19:57,083 --> 00:20:01,250
♪ On the memory of
423
00:20:01,291 --> 00:20:04,750
♪ The dance we shared
424
00:20:04,791 --> 00:20:08,333
♪ 'Neath the stars above
425
00:20:08,375 --> 00:20:12,041
♪ For a moment
426
00:20:12,083 --> 00:20:15,750
♪ All the world was right
427
00:20:15,791 --> 00:20:19,458
♪ But how could I have known
428
00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:23,625
♪ That you'd ever say goodbye
429
00:20:23,666 --> 00:20:25,916
♪ And now
430
00:20:25,958 --> 00:20:29,458
♪ I'm glad I didn't know
431
00:20:29,500 --> 00:20:33,333
♪ The way it all would end
432
00:20:33,375 --> 00:20:38,250
♪ The way it all would go
433
00:20:38,291 --> 00:20:41,041
♪ Our lives
434
00:20:41,083 --> 00:20:44,500
♪ They're better
left to chance ♪
435
00:20:44,541 --> 00:20:48,125
♪ I could've missed the pain
436
00:20:48,166 --> 00:20:53,125
♪ But I'd have had to miss
437
00:20:53,666 --> 00:20:56,458
♪ The
438
00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:58,458
♪ Dance
439
00:21:05,166 --> 00:21:08,333
- I wrote Stay with a
guy named Justin Parker,
440
00:21:08,375 --> 00:21:11,875
and he and I were both
super broke at the time,
441
00:21:11,916 --> 00:21:13,291
met at a coffee shop.
442
00:21:13,333 --> 00:21:16,458
I was almost too hungover to go.
443
00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:18,000
I was nearly gonna cancel.
444
00:21:18,041 --> 00:21:21,791
And showed up anyway,
laid on the couch
445
00:21:21,833 --> 00:21:24,083
with like an orange
juice and a sandwich.
446
00:21:24,125 --> 00:21:26,291
And he started
playing these chords.
447
00:21:26,333 --> 00:21:28,125
And I said to him like,
448
00:21:28,166 --> 00:21:31,208
"Well, man, I think I
have something for that."
449
00:21:34,458 --> 00:21:39,208
♪ It's not much of a
life you're livin' ♪
450
00:21:39,250 --> 00:21:41,083
♪ Oh no
451
00:21:41,125 --> 00:21:46,125
♪ It's not just something
you take, it's given ♪
452
00:21:48,750 --> 00:21:53,750
♪ Oh 'round and around and
around and around we go ♪
453
00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:02,000
♪ Oh now tell me now, tell me
now, tell me know you know ♪
454
00:22:05,541 --> 00:22:09,833
♪ Yeah, not really sure
how to feel about it ♪
455
00:22:09,875 --> 00:22:13,875
♪ Something in
the way you move ♪
456
00:22:13,916 --> 00:22:18,041
♪ Makes me feel like I
can't live without you ♪
457
00:22:18,083 --> 00:22:21,208
♪ Yeah, it takes
me all the way ♪
458
00:22:21,250 --> 00:22:24,666
♪ And I want you to stay
459
00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:36,666
[light yet forceful
guitar music]
460
00:22:53,875 --> 00:22:56,333
- [Director] Songwriting
is, uh, is like what?
461
00:22:57,833 --> 00:22:59,583
- Mark Huhta described
it perfectly to me.
462
00:22:59,625 --> 00:23:02,500
He said it's like hopping
in a little spaceship
463
00:23:03,708 --> 00:23:04,916
and taking a trip, you know.
464
00:23:06,416 --> 00:23:08,000
That's what songwriting
feels like to me,
465
00:23:08,041 --> 00:23:09,500
because it's almost
like, you know,
466
00:23:09,541 --> 00:23:12,125
I'm just kinda steering,
but not really.
467
00:23:12,166 --> 00:23:15,166
- Writing a song is,
uh, it's like a drug.
468
00:23:16,791 --> 00:23:17,791
- [Director] Writing
a song is like?
469
00:23:17,833 --> 00:23:20,083
- Writing song is like flying.
470
00:23:21,333 --> 00:23:22,541
- [Director] Writing
a song is like?
471
00:23:22,583 --> 00:23:24,333
- Writing a song is
like getting beat up.
472
00:23:26,083 --> 00:23:27,541
- [Director] Writing
a song is like?
473
00:23:27,583 --> 00:23:30,625
- Writing a song is like
having your heart broken
474
00:23:30,666 --> 00:23:31,791
over and over and over.
475
00:23:33,416 --> 00:23:34,625
- [Director] Writing
a song is like?
476
00:23:34,666 --> 00:23:37,250
- Writing a song is
like your first memory
477
00:23:37,291 --> 00:23:38,875
of a birthday party.
478
00:23:38,916 --> 00:23:40,833
- Songwriting is like therapy.
479
00:23:40,875 --> 00:23:43,208
It's like you're
writing this great movie
480
00:23:43,250 --> 00:23:44,625
that's going on in your mind.
481
00:23:44,666 --> 00:23:46,500
And if you get it right,
482
00:23:46,541 --> 00:23:50,375
the rest of the world gets to
see the movie in Technicolor.
483
00:23:50,416 --> 00:23:52,250
- Songwriting is prayer.
484
00:23:54,416 --> 00:23:57,541
You know, you open
yourself up to receive.
485
00:23:57,583 --> 00:23:59,083
And however you do that,
486
00:23:59,125 --> 00:24:01,708
whether you do that
with a couple of joints
487
00:24:01,750 --> 00:24:03,125
and a shot of whiskey,
488
00:24:03,166 --> 00:24:05,250
or if you do that by literally
getting on your knees
489
00:24:05,291 --> 00:24:07,500
and praying for inspiration,
490
00:24:07,541 --> 00:24:09,333
that's what prayer is.
491
00:24:09,375 --> 00:24:12,125
It's opening yourself
up to the possibility
492
00:24:12,166 --> 00:24:14,708
of something that doesn't exist.
493
00:24:14,750 --> 00:24:19,750
As a songwriter, it's
like clairvoyance.
494
00:24:21,166 --> 00:24:22,500
- You have your good days,
and you have your bad days,
495
00:24:22,541 --> 00:24:25,375
and you have your days
that it's almost like
496
00:24:25,416 --> 00:24:27,916
you don't even remember feeling
it come through your body
497
00:24:27,958 --> 00:24:30,250
and down on paper.
498
00:24:30,291 --> 00:24:34,125
So pretty amazing thing
that we get to do.
499
00:24:34,166 --> 00:24:35,333
You like that?
500
00:24:36,791 --> 00:24:39,000
- [Man] I like it.
501
00:24:39,041 --> 00:24:42,291
["Try" by Luke Bryant]
502
00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:47,791
- A little instrumental
session and then
503
00:24:47,833 --> 00:24:50,250
♪ Bah bah bum
504
00:24:50,291 --> 00:24:51,083
♪ Bah bah bum
505
00:24:51,125 --> 00:24:52,625
You know like?
506
00:24:52,666 --> 00:24:54,125
- My favorite song is possibly
my most successful to date,
507
00:24:54,166 --> 00:24:55,958
which would be Try for P!nk.
508
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,041
People talk about
509
00:24:58,083 --> 00:24:59,625
you kinda hear
tapping into something
510
00:24:59,666 --> 00:25:01,125
and there's something
bigger than you
511
00:25:01,166 --> 00:25:02,625
kind of vibe, you know.
512
00:25:02,666 --> 00:25:04,125
That song was literally,
513
00:25:04,166 --> 00:25:06,166
I woke up with that
chorus on my head.
514
00:25:06,208 --> 00:25:08,750
Like I've never had that.
515
00:25:08,791 --> 00:25:11,416
95% of what you can
hear on the radio
516
00:25:11,458 --> 00:25:14,458
was literally like, oh,
517
00:25:14,500 --> 00:25:15,625
♪ Where there is desire
518
00:25:15,666 --> 00:25:16,625
What is this?
519
00:25:16,666 --> 00:25:18,041
This is interesting.
520
00:25:18,083 --> 00:25:19,583
And I grabbed my
phone, recorded it,
521
00:25:19,625 --> 00:25:21,041
worked on it for a second.
522
00:25:21,083 --> 00:25:23,375
And then I called my buddy
Ben later on and said,
523
00:25:23,416 --> 00:25:25,000
"Hey, why don't you
come on the Friday
524
00:25:25,041 --> 00:25:27,375
"and we'll work
on that Try song."
525
00:25:27,416 --> 00:25:30,250
["Try" by Busbee]
526
00:25:32,208 --> 00:25:33,666
I love this tune.
527
00:25:33,708 --> 00:25:36,791
Should the second verse be
more about her and them?
528
00:25:36,833 --> 00:25:39,291
And then that last verse is
our current second verse?
529
00:25:39,333 --> 00:25:41,833
♪ Are you just gettin' by
530
00:25:41,875 --> 00:25:43,333
♪ Are you just
531
00:25:43,375 --> 00:25:44,416
You know?
- Dude.
532
00:25:45,791 --> 00:25:48,666
♪ Have you wondered
'bout what you're doing ♪
533
00:25:48,708 --> 00:25:50,333
- Um, yeah, yeah.
- This is sick.
534
00:25:50,375 --> 00:25:53,708
[clapping and cheering]
535
00:25:55,083 --> 00:25:58,875
♪ Where there is desire
there is gonna be a flame ♪
536
00:25:58,916 --> 00:26:03,500
♪ Where there is a flame,
someone's bound to get burned ♪
537
00:26:03,541 --> 00:26:08,083
♪ But just because it burns
doesn't mean you're gonna die ♪
538
00:26:08,125 --> 00:26:13,041
♪ You gotta get up
and try, try, try ♪
539
00:26:13,083 --> 00:26:17,500
♪ Gotta get up and
try, try, try ♪
540
00:26:17,541 --> 00:26:21,583
♪ Gotta get up and
try, try, try ♪
541
00:26:24,541 --> 00:26:26,083
So it was pretty,
542
00:26:26,125 --> 00:26:28,208
it was pretty amazing when
you could see that story
543
00:26:28,250 --> 00:26:29,708
of how a song comes to be.
544
00:26:29,750 --> 00:26:31,833
It's almost like
an act of God, man.
545
00:26:31,875 --> 00:26:34,541
[tuning guitar]
546
00:26:42,125 --> 00:26:44,458
[chuckling]
547
00:26:49,458 --> 00:26:52,083
- Stranger you met on a plane.
548
00:26:52,125 --> 00:26:53,166
Wrong number.
549
00:26:55,500 --> 00:26:57,833
A ring of keys and
none of them work.
550
00:26:57,875 --> 00:26:59,208
Yesterday's beer.
551
00:27:05,708 --> 00:27:06,500
Oh man.
552
00:27:07,708 --> 00:27:09,125
So I'm supposed to make
a song out of this?
553
00:27:09,166 --> 00:27:10,625
- [Director] Yeah.
554
00:27:14,541 --> 00:27:18,083
♪ A ring of keys and
none of them work ♪
555
00:27:18,125 --> 00:27:21,333
♪ Wrong number
556
00:27:21,375 --> 00:27:24,208
[mumbling lyrics]
557
00:27:27,833 --> 00:27:29,541
Yeah, I don't know where
this is goin', you know.
558
00:27:29,583 --> 00:27:32,958
It would take me a,
take me a minute.
559
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,166
♪ Nothing to say,
she's gone away ♪
560
00:27:38,500 --> 00:27:41,208
It just seems like
trying to paint a picture
561
00:27:42,250 --> 00:27:44,750
of a missed
connection, basically.
562
00:27:44,791 --> 00:27:46,625
Not in the Craigslist way, but,
563
00:27:46,666 --> 00:27:48,333
or maybe in the Craigslist way.
564
00:27:50,458 --> 00:27:53,291
[mumbling lyrics]
565
00:27:59,166 --> 00:28:02,958
♪ Ring of keys and
none of them work ♪
566
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,958
♪ A wrong number,
what could be worse ♪
567
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,958
♪ A stranger he met on a plane
568
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:15,208
♪ Oh Lord, what did he say
569
00:28:15,250 --> 00:28:19,166
♪ Conversation, it
came with ease ♪
570
00:28:19,208 --> 00:28:23,166
♪ She was just so
easy to please ♪
571
00:28:23,208 --> 00:28:27,458
♪ Touchin' down, they
went their own way ♪
572
00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:32,500
♪ Yesterday and now
nothing's left to say ♪
573
00:28:34,500 --> 00:28:38,750
♪ She's gone away
574
00:28:38,791 --> 00:28:42,625
♪ He's over the moon
575
00:28:42,666 --> 00:28:45,833
♪ Lost in her perfume
576
00:28:49,625 --> 00:28:51,333
Yeah, that could be good.
577
00:28:51,375 --> 00:28:53,083
Then it becomes a story song.
578
00:28:53,125 --> 00:28:54,583
- [Director] That's
very interesting. Is
that the way it is?
579
00:28:54,625 --> 00:28:56,541
Like there's all these scraps
lying around in your brain
580
00:28:56,583 --> 00:28:58,208
or in the universe
and you're like?
581
00:28:58,250 --> 00:29:00,250
- Yeah, I've gotten to
the point where my writing
582
00:29:00,291 --> 00:29:01,416
has become more,
583
00:29:02,666 --> 00:29:05,958
I guess abstract, for
lack of a better word.
584
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:07,166
I don't know, it's
like approaching it
585
00:29:07,208 --> 00:29:09,083
like an abstract painting,
586
00:29:09,125 --> 00:29:13,458
instead of like with
a title or, you know,
587
00:29:13,500 --> 00:29:15,458
a hook, or something like--
- Really?
588
00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:16,666
- Yeah.
589
00:29:16,708 --> 00:29:20,291
So I just kinda float
around, you know,
590
00:29:20,333 --> 00:29:23,916
with my daughter, watching
over her with the guitar,
591
00:29:23,958 --> 00:29:28,041
or take her on a walk
and recite the lyrics
592
00:29:28,083 --> 00:29:31,708
and see what kinda edits itself.
593
00:29:31,750 --> 00:29:33,458
So this is very similar.
594
00:29:36,291 --> 00:29:37,916
- [Director] How is it that
you put together a song?
595
00:29:37,958 --> 00:29:38,833
What's your deal?
596
00:29:39,958 --> 00:29:42,333
- I wish I knew how
to write a song.
597
00:29:42,375 --> 00:29:43,791
I mean, no, I'm serious.
598
00:29:45,333 --> 00:29:49,500
I know there's craftsmen in
town who can write on a dime.
599
00:29:49,541 --> 00:29:50,958
And I'm not one of those.
600
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,583
I have a habit of playing
the guitar every day.
601
00:29:54,625 --> 00:29:59,083
And within that habit, I
hope that something comes up.
602
00:29:59,125 --> 00:30:00,666
But it doesn't always.
603
00:30:00,708 --> 00:30:03,958
A lot of younger writers have
come up to me over the years.
604
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,541
And the only advice I can
give is to write songs.
605
00:30:06,583 --> 00:30:07,625
You just have to do it.
606
00:30:07,666 --> 00:30:09,291
- Professional
songwriting in Nashville
607
00:30:09,333 --> 00:30:10,625
is not what people think it is.
608
00:30:10,666 --> 00:30:12,500
Most people think
songwriters smoke weed
609
00:30:12,541 --> 00:30:15,458
and walk around the streets
and hope that inspiration hits.
610
00:30:16,958 --> 00:30:19,791
That's sort of a good way
to be a poor songwriter.
611
00:30:19,833 --> 00:30:22,375
You know, you have to treat
it like a job, you really do.
612
00:30:22,416 --> 00:30:24,291
You know, Nashville has
bit of a tradition of that
613
00:30:24,333 --> 00:30:25,791
that started in the '70s.
614
00:30:25,833 --> 00:30:27,458
Before then, it
was more like that.
615
00:30:27,500 --> 00:30:29,208
It was just, let's
wait on inspiration.
616
00:30:29,250 --> 00:30:30,625
And then a few guys kinda said,
617
00:30:30,666 --> 00:30:31,958
"You know what, I'm
gonna keep office hours."
618
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:34,625
- In the 1950s and
'60s and into the '70s
619
00:30:34,666 --> 00:30:36,000
and through the '70s, really,
620
00:30:36,041 --> 00:30:38,875
I wrote virtually everything
I wrote by myself.
621
00:30:38,916 --> 00:30:40,500
I thought you had
to go lock yourself
622
00:30:40,541 --> 00:30:43,208
in a dark room somewhere, pull
down the shades at midnight,
623
00:30:43,250 --> 00:30:45,458
and sit there until three
or four in the morning
624
00:30:45,500 --> 00:30:47,083
and see how miserable
you could get
625
00:30:47,125 --> 00:30:48,625
and write a sad country song.
626
00:30:48,666 --> 00:30:51,125
Then I discovered a
thing called cowriting.
627
00:30:51,166 --> 00:30:52,666
- You go in.
628
00:30:52,708 --> 00:30:54,791
You write either with a
friend that you know well
629
00:30:54,833 --> 00:30:56,416
or someone you've never met.
630
00:30:56,458 --> 00:30:59,250
And your job is to
let your guard down
631
00:30:59,291 --> 00:31:01,000
and just be honest with them.
632
00:31:01,041 --> 00:31:02,958
- I think it's interesting
that songwriting
633
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,041
is one of the only mediums
where you shape things together.
634
00:31:06,083 --> 00:31:07,833
Like nobody starts a painting
635
00:31:07,875 --> 00:31:10,333
and hands it to
someone else to finish.
636
00:31:10,375 --> 00:31:12,000
But I love that
about songwriting
637
00:31:12,041 --> 00:31:15,333
because some of
my favorite ideas
638
00:31:15,375 --> 00:31:18,166
would never have come along
if I didn't have his brain
639
00:31:18,208 --> 00:31:19,666
or someone else's
brain in the room.
640
00:31:19,708 --> 00:31:21,833
- The most amazing thing
about what I do is,
641
00:31:21,875 --> 00:31:24,375
you know, Monday
through Friday is I go
642
00:31:24,416 --> 00:31:26,083
and I sit in little
rooms on Music Row
643
00:31:26,125 --> 00:31:29,125
with other songwriters,
and I have for 20 years.
644
00:31:29,166 --> 00:31:30,750
And we all do life together.
645
00:31:33,041 --> 00:31:37,000
- I'm like in a bit of a weird
mood. I'm like super pumped
646
00:31:37,041 --> 00:31:38,333
to be here.
647
00:31:38,375 --> 00:31:40,500
I had a big fight with
Raleigh, of course.
648
00:31:40,541 --> 00:31:44,000
I feel like I've been
- Oh no. in this cycle before.
649
00:31:44,041 --> 00:31:46,583
So I'm like juggling
that in my brain.
650
00:31:46,625 --> 00:31:48,125
- Pain and beauty.
651
00:31:48,166 --> 00:31:50,708
- And all of it is like I was
just an asshole this morning
652
00:31:50,750 --> 00:31:52,708
is basically what
it comes down to.
653
00:31:52,750 --> 00:31:54,041
That's the truth.
654
00:31:54,083 --> 00:31:56,875
And so like, trying
to deal with that.
655
00:31:56,916 --> 00:31:57,916
- That's what we do all morning.
656
00:31:57,958 --> 00:31:59,208
You know, we're drinking coffee.
657
00:31:59,250 --> 00:32:01,625
We're talking about what
happened last weekend
658
00:32:01,666 --> 00:32:03,041
or last night.
659
00:32:03,083 --> 00:32:05,250
And then you start
talking about song ideas.
660
00:32:05,291 --> 00:32:08,166
[gentle strumming]
661
00:32:11,500 --> 00:32:13,500
- I love this line. I don't
remember where I heard it,
662
00:32:13,541 --> 00:32:17,208
but like a building's
rooms I've never explored.
663
00:32:17,250 --> 00:32:18,541
- Ooh.
664
00:32:18,583 --> 00:32:20,708
- I think it's beautiful.
665
00:32:23,291 --> 00:32:25,583
- I got this kinda dumb idea.
666
00:32:25,625 --> 00:32:27,208
- [Caitlyn] I like dumb ideas.
667
00:32:27,250 --> 00:32:31,250
- It's called It Ain't
a Lie If It's the Truth.
668
00:32:31,291 --> 00:32:32,458
- [Woman] If It Ain't a Lie?
669
00:32:32,500 --> 00:32:33,625
- It Ain't a Lie
- It Ain't a Lie.
670
00:32:33,666 --> 00:32:35,791
If It's the Truth.
671
00:32:35,833 --> 00:32:37,166
♪ If ain't a lie
672
00:32:37,208 --> 00:32:41,541
♪ Ain't a lie, it's
the truth, yeah ♪
673
00:32:42,708 --> 00:32:45,083
- It's just this
ping-pong process
674
00:32:45,125 --> 00:32:47,250
of song idea, song
idea, song idea.
675
00:32:47,291 --> 00:32:49,250
And then all of the sudden,
someone says something
676
00:32:49,291 --> 00:32:51,375
that rings a bell.
677
00:32:57,875 --> 00:33:01,708
♪ Baby you're my lighthouse
678
00:33:01,750 --> 00:33:05,083
♪ La la la la lighthouse
679
00:33:05,125 --> 00:33:07,416
- Did you say, "Baby,
you're my lighthouse?"
680
00:33:07,458 --> 00:33:11,250
♪ Baby, you're my lighthouse
681
00:33:11,291 --> 00:33:13,791
♪ Oh my lighthouse
- I love something like that.
682
00:33:13,833 --> 00:33:17,000
- I don't know what
it is. [humming]
683
00:33:19,083 --> 00:33:21,791
- At the end of the day,
we're all making it up.
684
00:33:21,833 --> 00:33:24,625
It's just, it is truly a mess.
685
00:33:24,666 --> 00:33:26,916
And it isn't as
scientific as you think.
686
00:33:26,958 --> 00:33:28,958
And it's like no, it's not
right, no it's not right.
687
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,666
I don't know, more
of a milkshake sound.
688
00:33:30,708 --> 00:33:33,291
And then suddenly you've
got something that's great.
689
00:33:33,333 --> 00:33:36,333
♪ When I'm lost on
a world and sea ♪
690
00:33:36,375 --> 00:33:40,958
- Oh, I like that, when I'm
lost on a world and sea.
691
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,791
- I'd love to like,
692
00:33:42,833 --> 00:33:45,208
so that's kinda like a
bit more like abstract.
693
00:33:45,250 --> 00:33:47,500
I'd like to bring it into
- Real world?
694
00:33:47,541 --> 00:33:48,625
like some real like.
695
00:33:48,666 --> 00:33:50,500
♪ You're my lighthouse
696
00:33:50,541 --> 00:33:54,000
♪ Shining on a silver sun
697
00:33:54,041 --> 00:33:56,166
♪ Baby you're the only one
698
00:33:56,208 --> 00:33:57,125
- I love that.
699
00:33:57,166 --> 00:33:58,833
♪ Make me feel the way I do
700
00:33:58,875 --> 00:34:00,125
- I don't know.
701
00:34:00,166 --> 00:34:01,916
I like that.
- I love that.
702
00:34:01,958 --> 00:34:05,208
- Now, we need a hit chorus,
703
00:34:05,250 --> 00:34:07,625
and we need two verses.
704
00:34:07,666 --> 00:34:09,500
It needs to be simple,
705
00:34:09,541 --> 00:34:12,625
but it needs to be
profound, you know.
706
00:34:12,666 --> 00:34:14,541
We need to be brief.
707
00:34:14,583 --> 00:34:16,333
But when you start
getting into those things,
708
00:34:16,375 --> 00:34:18,458
this is a different
part of your brain
709
00:34:18,500 --> 00:34:21,125
from the part of the heart
that made you think of the idea
710
00:34:21,166 --> 00:34:22,125
in the first place.
711
00:34:23,375 --> 00:34:27,750
♪ And when you lay
down next to me ♪
712
00:34:27,791 --> 00:34:32,666
♪ I can see everything clearly
713
00:34:32,708 --> 00:34:34,333
♪ Baby you're my lighthouse
714
00:34:34,375 --> 00:34:36,541
- Oh.
- Because we've only been
715
00:34:36,583 --> 00:34:38,416
singing the back half.
- Yes.
716
00:34:38,458 --> 00:34:40,166
- And I think that
- Right.
717
00:34:40,208 --> 00:34:41,708
makes it enough.
718
00:34:41,750 --> 00:34:44,208
And it's like any
trouble rolls away.
719
00:34:44,250 --> 00:34:46,208
♪ Any trouble rolls away
720
00:34:46,250 --> 00:34:47,083
- Yes, yes.
721
00:34:49,125 --> 00:34:50,666
- Do I know if you're
gonna like the song?
722
00:34:50,708 --> 00:34:52,166
I have no idea.
723
00:34:52,208 --> 00:34:53,958
You may not even understand
what we're talking about.
724
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,541
And I've completely miss
the point altogether.
725
00:34:56,583 --> 00:34:59,833
But if I can get done and
I can look at it and say
726
00:34:59,875 --> 00:35:01,541
I believe this is a hit idea
727
00:35:01,583 --> 00:35:04,916
and I think we wrote it as
well as we possibly could've,
728
00:35:04,958 --> 00:35:07,333
then I think the
song is finished.
729
00:35:07,375 --> 00:35:10,083
- Okay, I'm gonna
play it from the top.
730
00:35:10,125 --> 00:35:15,125
♪ I got yesterday's problems
settling in my head ♪
731
00:35:17,333 --> 00:35:19,541
♪ And it's so damn loud
732
00:35:19,583 --> 00:35:24,583
♪ That I don't even
wanna get out of bed ♪
733
00:35:25,791 --> 00:35:28,750
♪ But when you lay
down next to me ♪
734
00:35:28,791 --> 00:35:33,166
♪ I can see everything clearly
735
00:35:33,208 --> 00:35:36,875
♪ Baby, you're my lighthouse
736
00:35:36,916 --> 00:35:40,416
♪ Shining like a silver sun
737
00:35:40,458 --> 00:35:43,583
♪ Baby, you're the only one
738
00:35:43,625 --> 00:35:47,458
♪ With the power I need
739
00:35:47,500 --> 00:35:50,916
♪ Baby, you're my lighthouse
740
00:35:50,958 --> 00:35:54,416
♪ Any time I see your face
741
00:35:54,458 --> 00:35:57,958
♪ Yeah, you drive
the blues away ♪
742
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:02,208
♪ Oh, it just rolls
out to the sea ♪
743
00:36:04,583 --> 00:36:05,416
Yeah.
744
00:36:08,833 --> 00:36:12,333
- Anybody who's made a career
as a writer will tell you,
745
00:36:12,375 --> 00:36:15,833
really in some ways, it's
not even the end product.
746
00:36:15,875 --> 00:36:18,625
It's the process
that's most important.
747
00:36:18,666 --> 00:36:20,125
- The best writing rooms, to me,
748
00:36:20,166 --> 00:36:22,166
are when there's three
people in the room.
749
00:36:22,208 --> 00:36:25,708
Then those three people form
pretty specific functions.
750
00:36:25,750 --> 00:36:27,208
- Nowadays you might
have a track guy.
751
00:36:27,250 --> 00:36:29,958
And then you got another lyric
guy, you got an idea guy.
752
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:31,208
I need a melody guy.
753
00:36:31,250 --> 00:36:32,666
I'm decent at it,
754
00:36:32,708 --> 00:36:34,166
but I'd rather have
somebody that's great at it.
755
00:36:34,208 --> 00:36:35,791
If it's one of the best
idea's I've had all year,
756
00:36:35,833 --> 00:36:38,958
one thing I do not want to
do is write about myself,
757
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:40,458
'cause it's not gonna be a hit.
758
00:36:40,500 --> 00:36:42,541
Most everybody in
Nashville does not know how
759
00:36:42,583 --> 00:36:43,916
to do the whole thing.
760
00:36:43,958 --> 00:36:46,541
The track guy's
amazing, the track girl,
761
00:36:46,583 --> 00:36:48,333
whoever it is, it's amazing.
762
00:36:48,375 --> 00:36:49,791
What they do, I can't do that.
763
00:36:49,833 --> 00:36:51,625
But it sounds badass when
you walk in that room
764
00:36:51,666 --> 00:36:52,500
and they've got something going,
765
00:36:52,541 --> 00:36:54,166
it's something going.
766
00:36:54,208 --> 00:36:58,208
[percussion and keyboard music]
767
00:37:11,375 --> 00:37:12,791
- Oh, I love
acoustics, you know.
768
00:37:12,833 --> 00:37:16,166
[acoustic guitar music]
769
00:37:27,250 --> 00:37:28,208
Most of the time I
hear the phrasing first
770
00:37:28,250 --> 00:37:29,750
before a actual lyric.
771
00:37:30,666 --> 00:37:33,416
[humming lyrics]
772
00:37:34,875 --> 00:37:39,875
♪ Yeah, I've been alone
fighting all day long ♪
773
00:37:41,166 --> 00:37:44,000
[mumbling lyrics]
774
00:37:45,333 --> 00:37:46,208
I don't know.
775
00:37:46,250 --> 00:37:47,666
I mean, shit, you know, I mean.
776
00:37:47,708 --> 00:37:50,625
[mumblings lyrics]
777
00:37:52,333 --> 00:37:54,250
Just kind of make
it up, you know.
778
00:37:54,291 --> 00:37:55,208
[mumblings lyrics]
779
00:37:55,250 --> 00:37:56,166
I don't know, it's not bad.
780
00:37:56,208 --> 00:38:00,083
♪ I don't know
781
00:38:00,125 --> 00:38:05,125
♪ Where the time has
gone, but it sure goes ♪
782
00:38:06,500 --> 00:38:11,458
♪ Quicker than a wrong
word I can't say ♪
783
00:38:12,916 --> 00:38:17,791
♪ When you ever get it
babe, there ain't no way ♪
784
00:38:19,125 --> 00:38:20,500
You know, and some of them
make sense, some of it doesn't.
785
00:38:20,541 --> 00:38:22,625
But you just kinda
blindly go in a direction
786
00:38:22,666 --> 00:38:24,916
that just feels right.
787
00:38:24,958 --> 00:38:27,666
- [Director] Is there a recipe
to writing a great song?
788
00:38:29,125 --> 00:38:32,416
- You know, sometimes, in
anything we do in life,
789
00:38:32,458 --> 00:38:35,083
somewhere there's this
mentor that you went to
790
00:38:35,125 --> 00:38:37,208
and you go back to and
you really look up to.
791
00:38:37,250 --> 00:38:40,750
And mine was a Hall of Fame
songwriter named Tom Shapiro.
792
00:38:40,791 --> 00:38:43,791
He used to say, "There's
5,000 ways to write a song.
793
00:38:43,833 --> 00:38:44,666
"Pick one."
794
00:38:45,541 --> 00:38:47,125
I think that's magic.
795
00:38:47,166 --> 00:38:48,666
- When I first started
coming to town, I was like,
796
00:38:48,708 --> 00:38:49,958
I wanna write songs.
797
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,208
I think I met with 30
publishers in town.
798
00:38:53,250 --> 00:38:56,041
And so I went around to
literally every publishing house
799
00:38:56,083 --> 00:38:58,250
with my guitar, played a song.
800
00:38:58,291 --> 00:39:01,625
And I remember like how I
would write songs at home
801
00:39:01,666 --> 00:39:03,625
is I would just pick
up my guitar and like,
802
00:39:03,666 --> 00:39:05,625
whenever I'd kind
of feel inspiration.
803
00:39:05,666 --> 00:39:07,791
But it was the first
time that I saw
804
00:39:07,833 --> 00:39:09,625
like a staff songwriter.
805
00:39:09,666 --> 00:39:11,708
These writers would
come in with books
806
00:39:11,750 --> 00:39:13,916
and they would have
titles and titles
807
00:39:13,958 --> 00:39:15,416
and like ideas and ideas.
808
00:39:15,458 --> 00:39:17,083
And I was like what is
this way of writing?
809
00:39:17,125 --> 00:39:20,125
- There's one on here called
Camp Out Country Titles.
810
00:39:21,333 --> 00:39:22,833
She's been living
in all of her junk,
811
00:39:22,875 --> 00:39:25,500
goin' for the kill, makin'
thrills, crying diamonds.
812
00:39:25,541 --> 00:39:27,333
I don't know what
those mean, yet,
813
00:39:27,375 --> 00:39:29,458
but I'm sure they'll
turn into something.
814
00:39:30,458 --> 00:39:32,500
♪ Crying diamonds
815
00:39:32,541 --> 00:39:33,666
- [Director] Yeah, come on,
come on, come on, sing it.
816
00:39:33,708 --> 00:39:34,750
Give me some of it.
817
00:39:34,791 --> 00:39:37,333
Crying about an [mumbles].
818
00:39:37,375 --> 00:39:38,916
- Oh, I don't know.
819
00:39:39,875 --> 00:39:42,708
♪ Crying diamonds
820
00:39:44,416 --> 00:39:46,291
Now we're like the
TV show Nashville.
821
00:39:47,458 --> 00:39:48,625
Like that doesn't
actually happen.
822
00:39:48,666 --> 00:39:49,750
- [Director] That
doesn't happen, okay.
823
00:39:49,791 --> 00:39:51,500
- I've got a notebook
full of ideas.
824
00:39:51,541 --> 00:39:55,333
And it's, I mean, it's
just pages and pages
825
00:39:55,375 --> 00:39:56,750
and pages of titles.
826
00:39:56,791 --> 00:39:59,625
That's the way I do it
is I brainstorm titles
827
00:39:59,666 --> 00:40:01,250
as frequently as I can.
828
00:40:01,291 --> 00:40:03,208
I don't think about them
when I write them down
829
00:40:03,250 --> 00:40:05,041
and then I go back to them.
830
00:40:05,083 --> 00:40:06,458
- [Director] Is there any
way we could photograph that
831
00:40:06,500 --> 00:40:07,958
one day, or?
832
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:11,291
- I would give anything for
you to be able to do that,
833
00:40:11,333 --> 00:40:13,583
because it got stolen.
834
00:40:13,625 --> 00:40:14,458
- [Director] Oh shit.
835
00:40:16,125 --> 00:40:20,000
- It got stolen about four
months ago out of my Jeep
836
00:40:20,041 --> 00:40:21,208
with my computer.
837
00:40:22,250 --> 00:40:23,708
It was in my backpack.
838
00:40:23,750 --> 00:40:26,958
And I couldn't have given
a shit about that computer.
839
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:31,291
But that notebook had 17
years' worth of ideas in it.
840
00:40:34,083 --> 00:40:36,208
This is a smaller notebook
that I used to use.
841
00:40:36,250 --> 00:40:39,375
But I'll fill them up.
842
00:40:39,416 --> 00:40:44,416
I'll have explanations
sometimes out in the margin.
843
00:40:45,708 --> 00:40:47,500
And it's not necessarily
that there's going to be
844
00:40:47,541 --> 00:40:49,416
a great title in there.
845
00:40:49,458 --> 00:40:51,708
It's just thoughts,
and it's phrases
846
00:40:51,750 --> 00:40:53,333
that can make me
think of other things.
847
00:40:53,375 --> 00:40:54,625
- [Director] It's fodder,
your writing fodder.
848
00:40:54,666 --> 00:40:56,083
- Exactly.
849
00:40:56,125 --> 00:40:58,250
- It always starts
with words for me.
850
00:40:58,291 --> 00:41:00,291
And I suppose that's
because I'm a singer,
851
00:41:00,333 --> 00:41:02,333
so I'll overhear something,
852
00:41:02,375 --> 00:41:04,541
somebody having a
conversation at a table
853
00:41:04,583 --> 00:41:06,750
or something in a movie will,
854
00:41:06,791 --> 00:41:07,708
I'll love a line.
855
00:41:07,750 --> 00:41:08,958
I'll think it's so well-written,
856
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:11,041
and something about it
will get in my head.
857
00:41:11,083 --> 00:41:14,208
A lot of times, I think I write
most of my songs in the car,
858
00:41:14,250 --> 00:41:15,916
just driving.
859
00:41:15,958 --> 00:41:18,166
And there's something
about the speed of that
860
00:41:18,208 --> 00:41:20,416
and everything just
flying past so much,
861
00:41:20,458 --> 00:41:23,083
which is the exact
speed of my brain.
862
00:41:23,125 --> 00:41:26,458
It's like I don't feel like
I'm tripping over myself
863
00:41:26,500 --> 00:41:28,208
and everything's
coming out smooth.
864
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:31,333
- I think songwriters
think a little differently.
865
00:41:31,375 --> 00:41:32,791
You see the world a
little differently.
866
00:41:32,833 --> 00:41:34,625
You're always going, that's
a song, that's a song.
867
00:41:34,666 --> 00:41:37,166
That dude and that girl
over there, that's a song.
868
00:41:38,625 --> 00:41:41,625
- I might be in the middle
of Thanksgiving dinner,
869
00:41:41,666 --> 00:41:43,666
hear a word, I
gotta document it.
870
00:41:45,333 --> 00:41:47,083
- I'll be in the middle of
an argument with someone
871
00:41:47,125 --> 00:41:50,041
and think, ooh, they just
said a really good line.
872
00:41:50,083 --> 00:41:51,375
I'll put it down and go, okay,
873
00:41:51,416 --> 00:41:53,625
gotta get back to
the actual situation.
874
00:41:56,541 --> 00:41:59,333
- That's the thing is that
it really is a blessing, man.
875
00:41:59,375 --> 00:42:00,958
An idea's a blessing,
and that's the thing.
876
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:02,625
You never, you don't know
where they come from.
877
00:42:02,666 --> 00:42:05,375
You don't know why something
moves you in a moment.
878
00:42:05,416 --> 00:42:06,750
Your job is not to question it.
879
00:42:06,791 --> 00:42:08,708
Your job is to document.
880
00:42:08,750 --> 00:42:10,791
- Songwriting happens
all year-round.
881
00:42:10,833 --> 00:42:12,541
And it happens everywhere.
882
00:42:12,583 --> 00:42:13,708
And I just try to be open
enough to receive it.
883
00:42:18,458 --> 00:42:19,833
- All right.
- Okay.
884
00:42:19,875 --> 00:42:21,083
- [Director] Why don't
you tell me the story--
885
00:42:21,125 --> 00:42:23,041
- Oh, the story, okay,
the story of the song.
886
00:42:24,541 --> 00:42:28,166
It's just, it's a, it is
a country song in itself.
887
00:42:28,208 --> 00:42:31,000
So, you know, it's just classic.
888
00:42:31,041 --> 00:42:35,083
In like three weeks' time,
or in a week, really,
889
00:42:35,125 --> 00:42:38,875
my marriage went south,
I lost my record deal,
890
00:42:38,916 --> 00:42:40,708
and I lost my publishing deal.
891
00:42:40,750 --> 00:42:43,875
And as most country
singers, I just, you know,
892
00:42:45,375 --> 00:42:48,000
figured I could work it out
in a bottle of Jack Daniels
893
00:42:48,041 --> 00:42:49,250
at some point.
894
00:42:49,291 --> 00:42:51,166
I was hanging out at
my manager's house,
895
00:42:51,208 --> 00:42:56,208
and we were sitting up way
too late, had way too many,
896
00:42:58,333 --> 00:43:01,000
and he commented that I'd
put a bottle to my head
897
00:43:01,041 --> 00:43:02,208
and pulled the trigger.
898
00:43:02,250 --> 00:43:03,916
And I said, I said,
yeah, that, man,
899
00:43:03,958 --> 00:43:06,041
wow, that's pretty.
900
00:43:06,083 --> 00:43:09,916
I scribbled that down and I
lived with that idea for awhile.
901
00:43:09,958 --> 00:43:12,500
And then that's when I
brought it to Bill Anderson.
902
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:15,208
I hear a--
903
00:43:15,250 --> 00:43:16,666
- Anybody that could
come up with a line of
904
00:43:16,708 --> 00:43:19,458
he put the bottle to his
head and pulled the trigger
905
00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:21,333
is a pretty special human being.
906
00:43:21,375 --> 00:43:23,708
I think that's the song that
most people will say to me,
907
00:43:23,750 --> 00:43:25,708
"Gosh, I didn't realize
you wrote that."
908
00:43:25,750 --> 00:43:29,458
♪ She put him out
909
00:43:29,500 --> 00:43:33,708
♪ Like the burning end
of a midnight cigarette ♪
910
00:43:33,750 --> 00:43:35,500
That was my line, by the way.
911
00:43:35,541 --> 00:43:39,083
♪ She broke his heart
912
00:43:39,125 --> 00:43:44,125
♪ Spent his whole life
trying to forget ♪
913
00:43:45,250 --> 00:43:48,583
♪ And watched him
drink his pain away ♪
914
00:43:48,625 --> 00:43:51,416
♪ A little lifetime
915
00:43:51,458 --> 00:43:54,750
♪ But he never could
get drunk enough ♪
916
00:43:54,791 --> 00:43:57,375
♪ To get her off his mind
917
00:43:57,416 --> 00:44:00,291
♪ Until then
918
00:44:00,333 --> 00:44:01,583
♪ He put that ♪
919
00:44:01,625 --> 00:44:06,583
♪ Bottle to his head
and pulled the trigger ♪
920
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:12,916
♪ And finally drank
away her memory ♪
921
00:44:14,333 --> 00:44:19,291
♪ Life is short, but
this time it was bigger ♪
922
00:44:20,750 --> 00:44:25,458
♪ And the strength he had
to get up off his knees ♪
923
00:44:26,625 --> 00:44:28,125
- Your first instinct
when you hear something
924
00:44:28,166 --> 00:44:31,541
like Whiskey Lullaby is not
what a commercial masterpiece.
925
00:44:31,583 --> 00:44:35,333
It's more like, what an
artistic masterpiece.
926
00:44:35,375 --> 00:44:39,875
- It was told in a way that, uh,
927
00:44:39,916 --> 00:44:44,083
was a unique take and captured
everybody's attention.
928
00:44:44,125 --> 00:44:45,750
I mean, it won every award.
929
00:44:45,791 --> 00:44:47,291
And it wasn't a new story.
930
00:44:47,333 --> 00:44:50,083
You need to tell somebody
something they already know
931
00:44:50,125 --> 00:44:52,416
or something they've
already lived through.
932
00:44:52,458 --> 00:44:56,166
But the secret is in
telling it in a way
933
00:44:56,208 --> 00:44:57,666
that they haven't heard.
934
00:44:57,708 --> 00:44:59,666
- When things started
to happen for me,
935
00:44:59,708 --> 00:45:02,583
when my artistry
started to take off,
936
00:45:02,625 --> 00:45:04,541
was when I started trying
to write songs for,
937
00:45:04,583 --> 00:45:07,166
I always say for the woman
who worked at the bank.
938
00:45:07,208 --> 00:45:10,291
Because when I would go in
to write songs every morning,
939
00:45:10,333 --> 00:45:12,333
a lot of days I would
stop by the bank.
940
00:45:12,375 --> 00:45:14,500
And I would think about that
woman who was the teller.
941
00:45:14,541 --> 00:45:17,291
And I would think, what's
going on in her life?
942
00:45:17,333 --> 00:45:20,666
You know, what's her story
and how do I tell that?
943
00:45:20,708 --> 00:45:21,958
- Write it to somebody.
944
00:45:24,541 --> 00:45:27,958
Don't just write a song
like espousing something.
945
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:29,375
To someone.
946
00:45:29,416 --> 00:45:31,375
You're writing, you're
always singing to somebody.
947
00:45:31,416 --> 00:45:32,625
When I moved to Nashville,
948
00:45:32,666 --> 00:45:34,375
I was dating a girl
back in West Virginia,
949
00:45:34,416 --> 00:45:35,958
had been dating her
for a couple of years,
950
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:37,375
actually, through college.
951
00:45:37,416 --> 00:45:40,666
And two weeks after
transferring here found out
952
00:45:40,708 --> 00:45:44,583
that she had sort of
gone to my best friend
953
00:45:44,625 --> 00:45:45,958
at home for consolation.
954
00:45:46,916 --> 00:45:48,750
And it was devastating.
955
00:45:48,791 --> 00:45:51,375
I mean it was, in some
ways, the greatest thing
956
00:45:51,416 --> 00:45:53,083
she could've ever done for me.
957
00:45:53,125 --> 00:45:55,833
And so I would sit and I
would put her photograph
958
00:45:55,875 --> 00:46:00,375
on the desk and I
would write to her.
959
00:46:00,416 --> 00:46:03,375
And I wrote the song
Another You to her
960
00:46:03,416 --> 00:46:06,750
and got it cut and went to
number two on the chart.
961
00:46:06,791 --> 00:46:08,583
- You're trying to
almost sell a house.
962
00:46:08,625 --> 00:46:10,833
Your song's like an open house.
963
00:46:10,875 --> 00:46:12,916
You bring a listener
into the foyer
964
00:46:12,958 --> 00:46:17,000
and if he doesn't like
what he sees in the foyer,
965
00:46:17,041 --> 00:46:18,500
he's gonna walk out.
966
00:46:18,541 --> 00:46:22,083
So give them a nugget of
some truth, of something,
967
00:46:22,125 --> 00:46:23,791
so they'll continue to listen.
968
00:46:23,833 --> 00:46:25,166
And that's what's so
good in Nashville.
969
00:46:25,208 --> 00:46:28,083
A lot of the writers
here have done the work,
970
00:46:28,125 --> 00:46:30,958
you know, in putting the right
furniture in their songs.
971
00:46:32,125 --> 00:46:35,166
Interesting furniture,
interesting decoration.
972
00:46:36,666 --> 00:46:41,666
♪ As lonely as these
days are long ♪
973
00:46:42,833 --> 00:46:47,250
♪ As dark as the
night bird's song ♪
974
00:46:48,125 --> 00:46:50,708
♪ A strange way of livin'
975
00:46:50,750 --> 00:46:55,750
♪ It's bled my heart dry
976
00:46:57,458 --> 00:47:02,458
♪ Well, I'm lonesome
but too stoned to cry ♪
977
00:47:06,208 --> 00:47:11,166
♪ My clothes, they're
ragged and worn ♪
978
00:47:12,666 --> 00:47:17,375
♪ Like a sailor who's caught
in the worst kind of storm ♪
979
00:47:18,291 --> 00:47:20,750
♪ The water keeps risin'
980
00:47:20,791 --> 00:47:25,791
♪ But I'm gettin' by
981
00:47:27,708 --> 00:47:29,958
♪ I keep walkin'
982
00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:33,250
♪ I'm too stoned to fly
983
00:47:33,291 --> 00:47:36,416
- At the end of the day,
everybody wants a great lyric,
984
00:47:36,458 --> 00:47:38,458
a real lyric, a raw lyric.
985
00:47:38,500 --> 00:47:41,333
And that's what Nashville
brings, I think, to LA
986
00:47:41,375 --> 00:47:45,083
and to New York is we
learned from these guys
987
00:47:45,125 --> 00:47:49,333
that are twisting hooks, they're
painting pictures, they're,
988
00:47:49,375 --> 00:47:52,458
I mean, the Nashville
songwriting poets,
989
00:47:52,500 --> 00:47:55,166
like Kris Kristofferson
taught us how to write.
990
00:47:55,208 --> 00:48:00,208
♪ Take the ribbon
from your hair ♪
991
00:48:01,375 --> 00:48:05,000
♪ Shake it loose
and let it fall ♪
992
00:48:06,375 --> 00:48:09,875
- Kris had made such an impact.
993
00:48:09,916 --> 00:48:13,166
He was the first writer to
really introduce the bedroom
994
00:48:13,208 --> 00:48:15,375
to country music.
995
00:48:15,416 --> 00:48:17,875
Take the ribbon from your
hair, shake it loose,
996
00:48:17,916 --> 00:48:19,416
let it fall.
997
00:48:19,458 --> 00:48:22,208
Lay it soft against my skin
like the shadows on the wall.
998
00:48:22,250 --> 00:48:25,125
Very poetic stuff, but
it was very seductive
999
00:48:25,166 --> 00:48:26,791
and it was smart.
1000
00:48:26,833 --> 00:48:31,375
The great artists like Kris
Kristofferson or Guy Clark
1001
00:48:31,416 --> 00:48:34,500
or Townes Van Zandt
or John Prine,
1002
00:48:34,541 --> 00:48:36,333
those are the teachers.
1003
00:48:37,750 --> 00:48:41,375
- Guy Clark and I would
be writing these songs.
1004
00:48:41,416 --> 00:48:46,416
And it was kind of like being
able to hang out and paint
1005
00:48:47,541 --> 00:48:50,833
with Picasso, you know,
for 20-some years.
1006
00:48:50,875 --> 00:48:52,791
- Where melody and poetry meet
1007
00:48:54,125 --> 00:48:57,041
is where I wanna be.
1008
00:48:57,083 --> 00:49:01,041
That's what I learned from a
great artist like Guy Clark.
1009
00:49:01,083 --> 00:49:02,375
And I'd go over to his
house and he'd say,
1010
00:49:02,416 --> 00:49:04,541
"Hey man, if you
write a good song,
1011
00:49:05,958 --> 00:49:09,000
"a really good song,
people are gonna hear it.
1012
00:49:10,041 --> 00:49:11,125
"End of story."
1013
00:49:12,125 --> 00:49:14,625
[light music]
1014
00:49:19,083 --> 00:49:23,500
["I Fall to Pieces"
by Patsy Cline]
1015
00:49:27,458 --> 00:49:32,458
♪ I fall to pieces
1016
00:49:36,750 --> 00:49:40,416
♪ Each time I see you again
1017
00:49:42,958 --> 00:49:44,500
- I was obsessed
with Patsy Cline.
1018
00:49:44,541 --> 00:49:46,666
And one of my first
memories of songwriting
1019
00:49:46,708 --> 00:49:50,291
was when it would say
written by Harlan Howard,
1020
00:49:50,333 --> 00:49:52,291
I was like, well,
who is Harlan Howard?
1021
00:49:56,791 --> 00:49:58,500
- A lot of people thought
that Harlan Howard,
1022
00:49:58,541 --> 00:49:59,958
and there's a great
argument to be made,
1023
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:02,583
was the greatest
songwriter that ever,
1024
00:50:02,625 --> 00:50:05,208
you know, put a pencil to a
piece of paper in Nashville.
1025
00:50:05,250 --> 00:50:08,583
- I think if you're not in
some way influenced by him,
1026
00:50:08,625 --> 00:50:10,625
you're missing
the boat big time.
1027
00:50:10,666 --> 00:50:12,708
And you need to go
back and listen.
1028
00:50:12,750 --> 00:50:17,166
Because I just think he
did so much with so little.
1029
00:50:17,208 --> 00:50:18,416
The Three Chords and the Truth,
1030
00:50:18,458 --> 00:50:20,958
I think that can be
overlooked sometimes,
1031
00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:23,000
but simple is the
hardest thing to be.
1032
00:50:24,833 --> 00:50:26,875
- I admire the kind of
songwriter that can,
1033
00:50:26,916 --> 00:50:30,458
that's what, you know, John
Lennon was going for I think,
1034
00:50:30,500 --> 00:50:33,083
more and more was
the simplicity,
1035
00:50:33,125 --> 00:50:37,125
the elegant simplicity of
just two or three words,
1036
00:50:37,166 --> 00:50:38,000
two or three chords.
1037
00:50:38,041 --> 00:50:39,041
I think that's amazing.
1038
00:50:39,083 --> 00:50:40,541
- It's economy.
1039
00:50:40,583 --> 00:50:42,958
That's what I try to do every
day is boil down a topic.
1040
00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:45,750
What's the essence of
what we're trying to say?
1041
00:50:45,791 --> 00:50:48,333
He stopped loving her today.
1042
00:50:48,375 --> 00:50:52,000
You know, so simple,
but it says so much.
1043
00:50:52,041 --> 00:50:54,708
And the feeling is not simple.
1044
00:50:54,750 --> 00:50:57,458
It's complex and it's timeless.
1045
00:50:57,500 --> 00:50:59,666
- The song may not
be your cup of tea,
1046
00:50:59,708 --> 00:51:03,625
but you will walk out of there
going, that was the truth.
1047
00:51:05,041 --> 00:51:06,833
And that can't be denied.
1048
00:51:06,875 --> 00:51:09,166
- Songwriting for
me has to be truth.
1049
00:51:10,083 --> 00:51:11,041
It has to be true.
1050
00:51:11,083 --> 00:51:12,708
It has to have some kind of,
1051
00:51:12,750 --> 00:51:14,250
something that
rings true for me.
1052
00:51:14,291 --> 00:51:16,708
If it doesn't have
that, you know it,
1053
00:51:16,750 --> 00:51:18,083
especially when you get
in front of an audience
1054
00:51:18,125 --> 00:51:19,958
and attempt to sing that song,
1055
00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:23,416
because the audience can
tell when you're lying.
1056
00:51:23,458 --> 00:51:24,875
- Harlan's on to something.
1057
00:51:24,916 --> 00:51:26,250
You don't really
need anything more
1058
00:51:26,291 --> 00:51:27,333
than three chords and the truth,
1059
00:51:27,375 --> 00:51:28,916
truth being underlined.
1060
00:51:28,958 --> 00:51:32,125
I tend to stay more in the
five or six chord range myself.
1061
00:51:32,166 --> 00:51:33,833
- For me, it's more
like seven chords
1062
00:51:33,875 --> 00:51:35,500
and the perceived
truth [laughs].
1063
00:51:36,958 --> 00:51:39,333
- Well, I don't know about
any three chords [laughs].
1064
00:51:39,375 --> 00:51:40,875
I may know four or five,
1065
00:51:40,916 --> 00:51:42,500
and I know where to
buy one of these.
1066
00:51:42,541 --> 00:51:45,541
- Now it's more like
four chords and a pickup.
1067
00:51:45,583 --> 00:51:47,625
- Now it's two chords
and a loop [laughs].
1068
00:51:48,791 --> 00:51:53,208
- But I think if your
truth is your truth,
1069
00:51:53,250 --> 00:51:56,208
the important thing is that
you're wearing it on your sleeve
1070
00:51:56,250 --> 00:51:59,625
and really willing to put it
out there for people to hear
1071
00:51:59,666 --> 00:52:02,583
and disagree with or agree with.
1072
00:52:02,625 --> 00:52:05,833
[soft distorted music]
1073
00:52:18,791 --> 00:52:20,708
So much of
songwriting just comes
1074
00:52:20,750 --> 00:52:23,583
from a point of inspiration,
1075
00:52:23,625 --> 00:52:26,416
and then you just run
as fast as you can
1076
00:52:26,458 --> 00:52:28,083
into the middle of nowhere
1077
00:52:28,125 --> 00:52:32,291
and try to describe what it
is you're seeing or feeling.
1078
00:52:33,583 --> 00:52:37,000
[soft music and humming]
1079
00:53:03,125 --> 00:53:04,625
- I had an experience
writing a song
1080
00:53:04,666 --> 00:53:06,458
with one of my
favorite cowriters.
1081
00:53:06,500 --> 00:53:07,916
I opened up an idea.
1082
00:53:07,958 --> 00:53:10,166
It was painful,
the process of it,
1083
00:53:10,208 --> 00:53:11,708
'cause I was really,
1084
00:53:11,750 --> 00:53:13,875
it was like confessing things
1085
00:53:13,916 --> 00:53:17,166
that I didn't even
wanna know about myself.
1086
00:53:17,208 --> 00:53:19,375
And I came home to Chuck,
1087
00:53:20,541 --> 00:53:22,208
and I played it for
him and he said,
1088
00:53:22,250 --> 00:53:24,541
"That's the best song
you've ever written."
1089
00:53:25,416 --> 00:53:27,875
And I just cried and I said,
1090
00:53:27,916 --> 00:53:32,916
"Well, if that's what
it takes, then I quit."
1091
00:53:33,875 --> 00:53:36,666
[laughs] I said,
"It's too hard."
1092
00:53:36,708 --> 00:53:40,791
- Yeah, I think it's the one
thing we're obligated to do
1093
00:53:41,750 --> 00:53:43,666
is tell it true.
1094
00:53:46,333 --> 00:53:48,666
You know, pretty much everything
1095
00:53:48,708 --> 00:53:51,833
people go through is universal.
1096
00:53:51,875 --> 00:53:56,083
And if you tell it true,
it's gonna resonate.
1097
00:53:56,125 --> 00:53:58,708
- And truth doesn't
always have to be like
1098
00:53:58,750 --> 00:54:01,041
rock you to your core truth,
1099
00:54:01,083 --> 00:54:03,791
like, oh man, that's some
deep stuff right there.
1100
00:54:03,833 --> 00:54:05,458
That really hits
me where I live.
1101
00:54:05,500 --> 00:54:07,625
Sometimes the funniest
things are true.
1102
00:54:07,666 --> 00:54:12,458
- I got a call from a legendary
A&R guy, John Kalodner.
1103
00:54:12,500 --> 00:54:17,500
John Kalodner put me into
the room with Joe Perry
1104
00:54:18,416 --> 00:54:20,125
and Steven Tyler
to write a song.
1105
00:54:20,166 --> 00:54:23,541
The day I got there,
they had gone to a bar.
1106
00:54:23,583 --> 00:54:27,208
And it was kind of this
kind of very swanky bar.
1107
00:54:27,250 --> 00:54:30,583
And at the very end was
this gorgeous blonde
1108
00:54:30,625 --> 00:54:35,041
and from behind, just
curvy, and teased up hair.
1109
00:54:35,083 --> 00:54:37,041
And so they were
all drawing straws,
1110
00:54:37,083 --> 00:54:39,041
trying to figure out who
was gonna go up to her.
1111
00:54:39,083 --> 00:54:41,500
And so suddenly, the
blonde turns around
1112
00:54:41,541 --> 00:54:44,958
and it's Vince Neil
of Motley Crue.
1113
00:54:45,000 --> 00:54:50,000
And so that's when they all
went oh my God, oh my God, that.
1114
00:54:50,916 --> 00:54:53,875
♪ Dude looks like a lady
1115
00:54:53,916 --> 00:54:56,916
♪ Dude looks like a lady
1116
00:54:56,958 --> 00:54:59,416
- Life has a funny way
of like giving you signs
1117
00:54:59,458 --> 00:55:00,625
before they happen.
1118
00:55:00,666 --> 00:55:03,750
I was in a studio in
New York late at night.
1119
00:55:03,791 --> 00:55:04,666
I snuck into the studio.
1120
00:55:04,708 --> 00:55:06,208
My friend was the engineer.
1121
00:55:06,250 --> 00:55:08,416
So I was going in there late
at night to get my demos out.
1122
00:55:10,416 --> 00:55:11,875
I was in the hallway
just kinda hanging out
1123
00:55:11,916 --> 00:55:14,125
and I looked up and these
two bodyguards came in
1124
00:55:14,166 --> 00:55:15,916
with Britney Spears.
1125
00:55:15,958 --> 00:55:18,583
And she walked by
and I said to myself,
1126
00:55:18,625 --> 00:55:20,666
I'm gonna work with her one day.
1127
00:55:20,708 --> 00:55:22,375
I don't know how, but I'm
gonna work with her one day.
1128
00:55:22,416 --> 00:55:25,666
[light keyboard music]
1129
00:55:28,875 --> 00:55:30,333
I have a few more,
1130
00:55:30,375 --> 00:55:32,541
we kind of like to leave
the biggies for the last.
1131
00:55:32,583 --> 00:55:35,333
We got Britney up
here, Celine up here,
1132
00:55:35,375 --> 00:55:38,208
Bruno, Ne-Yo,
1133
00:55:38,250 --> 00:55:40,666
Cher and Christina
Aguilera, Whitney Houston,
1134
00:55:40,708 --> 00:55:42,500
and Michael Jackson.
1135
00:55:42,541 --> 00:55:43,458
- [Director] What?
1136
00:55:43,500 --> 00:55:44,833
- Yeah.
- What?
1137
00:55:44,875 --> 00:55:47,125
- Yeah, so this is like
royalty lane right here,
1138
00:55:47,166 --> 00:55:48,333
whatever you wanna call it.
1139
00:55:48,375 --> 00:55:49,500
So I think I had
to convince myself
1140
00:55:49,541 --> 00:55:50,291
I was a songwriter
before anyone else said,
1141
00:55:50,333 --> 00:55:52,125
"You're a songwriter."
1142
00:55:52,166 --> 00:55:55,625
- [Director] When did
you go wow, I've arrived?
1143
00:55:55,666 --> 00:55:57,291
- When Elvis cuts
one of your songs.
1144
00:55:57,333 --> 00:55:59,875
I mean, in my
instance, that was it.
1145
00:55:59,916 --> 00:56:03,333
I mean, that was no
getting around it.
1146
00:56:03,375 --> 00:56:05,208
I mean, he was the man.
1147
00:56:05,250 --> 00:56:08,666
And I had some of the
first songs I wrote,
1148
00:56:08,708 --> 00:56:11,250
I wrote with him in mind.
1149
00:56:11,291 --> 00:56:13,666
I saw him on the back
of a flatbed truck
1150
00:56:13,708 --> 00:56:17,333
at the Hub Motor
Company parking lot.
1151
00:56:17,375 --> 00:56:18,541
And all the girls went crazy.
1152
00:56:18,583 --> 00:56:21,250
And I thought to myself, boy,
1153
00:56:22,458 --> 00:56:24,333
if I can't do that, I'm
gonna get a song to him
1154
00:56:24,375 --> 00:56:25,416
if nothing else.
1155
00:56:26,333 --> 00:56:28,791
["In the Ghetto" by Mac Davis]
1156
00:56:28,833 --> 00:56:33,833
♪ As the snow flies
1157
00:56:35,041 --> 00:56:36,833
♪ On a cold and gray
Chicago morning ♪
1158
00:56:36,875 --> 00:56:41,875
♪ A poor little baby child
is born in the ghetto ♪
1159
00:56:44,583 --> 00:56:49,583
♪ And his mama cries
1160
00:56:50,750 --> 00:56:52,791
♪ 'Cause if there's one
thing she don't need ♪
1161
00:56:52,833 --> 00:56:55,500
♪ It's another little
hungry mouth to feed ♪
1162
00:56:55,541 --> 00:56:58,000
♪ In the ghetto
1163
00:56:58,041 --> 00:56:59,625
- For me, I like to
have an artist in mind
1164
00:56:59,666 --> 00:57:01,166
when I write a song,
1165
00:57:01,208 --> 00:57:04,375
'cause I try to kinda put my
voice into that artist's voice.
1166
00:57:04,416 --> 00:57:06,958
And that artist could
be a male or female.
1167
00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:08,750
- P!nk, she's a massive artist.
1168
00:57:08,791 --> 00:57:10,875
Her recording your song is this,
1169
00:57:10,916 --> 00:57:12,833
you know, it
affected us greatly.
1170
00:57:12,875 --> 00:57:14,458
And she said
something, she said,
1171
00:57:14,500 --> 00:57:16,041
"LA Reed always told me,
1172
00:57:18,041 --> 00:57:19,208
"'Smart artists will cut a song,
1173
00:57:19,250 --> 00:57:20,958
"'even if they didn't write it."
1174
00:57:22,041 --> 00:57:23,333
And it was like, wow.
1175
00:57:23,375 --> 00:57:24,875
- And we get these pitch sheets,
1176
00:57:24,916 --> 00:57:26,958
the publishing companies
get these sheets--
1177
00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:29,625
- No kidding, explain this.
- From the record company.
1178
00:57:29,666 --> 00:57:31,500
And it'll give
everybody on their label
1179
00:57:31,541 --> 00:57:33,916
that's looking for
songs to record.
1180
00:57:33,958 --> 00:57:35,500
So you go down
and you kinda see.
1181
00:57:35,541 --> 00:57:37,208
And that helps you go, hey man,
1182
00:57:37,250 --> 00:57:38,833
I've got a song that
I just wrote last week
1183
00:57:38,875 --> 00:57:40,833
that's perfect for what
they're looking for.
1184
00:57:40,875 --> 00:57:42,958
And then you send it over
and see if they hear it
1185
00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:44,541
and it ends up on the record.
1186
00:57:44,583 --> 00:57:46,750
And interestingly enough,
sometimes you write a song
1187
00:57:46,791 --> 00:57:48,916
that you were writing for that.
1188
00:57:48,958 --> 00:57:51,250
It didn't work for
them, but a year later,
1189
00:57:51,291 --> 00:57:52,750
it ends up on someone
else's record.
1190
00:57:52,791 --> 00:57:54,833
- Our biggest song
that we had together
1191
00:57:54,875 --> 00:57:56,375
was Change the World.
1192
00:57:56,416 --> 00:57:59,083
- It got pitched out of PolyGram
Music Publishing Company
1193
00:57:59,125 --> 00:58:00,958
and Don Potter took it
1194
00:58:02,125 --> 00:58:04,916
from there for Wynonna
Judd's next project.
1195
00:58:04,958 --> 00:58:07,083
We were told that it was
gonna be a single for her
1196
00:58:07,125 --> 00:58:08,625
and all this stuff.
1197
00:58:08,666 --> 00:58:10,416
And then we watched them
put out one, then two,
1198
00:58:10,458 --> 00:58:11,791
then three singles
from that record,
1199
00:58:11,833 --> 00:58:13,208
and none of them were this song.
1200
00:58:13,250 --> 00:58:15,500
So we were just
sort of like wow.
1201
00:58:15,541 --> 00:58:17,541
About the time that we
were digesting the fact
1202
00:58:17,583 --> 00:58:19,291
that we were not
gonna have a song
1203
00:58:19,333 --> 00:58:21,625
out as a single with her,
1204
00:58:21,666 --> 00:58:24,208
Clapton puts it out
on the soundtrack
1205
00:58:24,250 --> 00:58:27,125
to Summer of '96 and
the movie Phenomenon.
1206
00:58:27,166 --> 00:58:32,166
["Change the World" by Wayne
Kirkpatrick and Gordon Kennedy]
1207
00:58:36,500 --> 00:58:41,125
♪ If I could be king
1208
00:58:41,166 --> 00:58:45,666
♪ Even for a day
1209
00:58:45,708 --> 00:58:50,166
♪ I'd take you as my queen
1210
00:58:50,208 --> 00:58:55,208
♪ I'd have it no other way
1211
00:58:56,125 --> 00:58:59,208
♪ And our love would rule
1212
00:58:59,250 --> 00:59:04,250
♪ In this kingdom we had made
1213
00:59:05,166 --> 00:59:09,375
♪ Till then I'll be a fool
1214
00:59:09,416 --> 00:59:13,250
♪ Wishing for a day
1215
00:59:13,291 --> 00:59:18,291
♪ I could change the world
1216
00:59:19,666 --> 00:59:22,958
♪ I would be the sunlight
in your universe ♪
1217
00:59:23,000 --> 00:59:27,416
♪ 'Cause you would think my
love was really something good ♪
1218
00:59:27,458 --> 00:59:32,458
♪ Baby, if I could
change the world ♪
1219
00:59:34,583 --> 00:59:39,583
♪ Baby, if I could change
1220
00:59:43,541 --> 00:59:46,291
♪ The world
1221
00:59:46,333 --> 00:59:47,375
- There's a vast
majority of songs
1222
00:59:47,416 --> 00:59:51,333
that have come
professional songwriters
1223
00:59:51,375 --> 00:59:53,416
that they said, "I don't
know where this came from,"
1224
00:59:53,458 --> 00:59:56,291
or "I was driving
down the road one day,
1225
00:59:56,333 --> 00:59:59,875
"and I saw this thing, and
I had to write about this."
1226
00:59:59,916 --> 01:00:02,875
"I had to walk into this
room and tell you this story
1227
01:00:02,916 --> 01:00:04,375
"and write about it."
1228
01:00:04,416 --> 01:00:07,250
And then there's that whole
other side where, you know,
1229
01:00:07,291 --> 01:00:09,541
you get a list of things
that a certain artist
1230
01:00:09,583 --> 01:00:11,208
is looking for and
you need to write
1231
01:00:11,250 --> 01:00:13,208
about these specific things.
1232
01:00:13,250 --> 01:00:14,458
But I've been in many rooms
1233
01:00:14,500 --> 01:00:17,541
where you may have that
list of directives,
1234
01:00:18,708 --> 01:00:20,083
but the room and the
energy in the room
1235
01:00:20,125 --> 01:00:21,333
takes you somewhere else.
1236
01:00:21,375 --> 01:00:23,708
And that ends up being
the thing that gets cut.
1237
01:00:23,750 --> 01:00:25,750
- Wow, really?
- Yeah.
1238
01:00:27,166 --> 01:00:29,958
- [Director] Can you give
me like an example of that,
1239
01:00:30,000 --> 01:00:32,166
like in your own, where
that happened to you?
1240
01:00:32,208 --> 01:00:34,625
- Um, yeah, well, yes.
1241
01:00:35,833 --> 01:00:40,833
It was summer day, 16th Avenue,
1242
01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:43,875
and it was in a
house on the row.
1243
01:00:43,916 --> 01:00:47,000
I went up to the attic to
write with Katie Herzig.
1244
01:00:47,041 --> 01:00:49,750
And we'd been given
a set of directives,
1245
01:00:49,791 --> 01:00:53,541
you know, different artists
who were looking for things
1246
01:00:53,583 --> 01:00:56,125
in a specific lane to write in.
1247
01:00:57,250 --> 01:00:58,916
I didn't want to write anything.
1248
01:00:58,958 --> 01:01:01,750
And I'm sitting there with
my head back on the couch,
1249
01:01:01,791 --> 01:01:05,833
and Katie starts playing
these really open chords,
1250
01:01:05,875 --> 01:01:08,750
and she's only hitting
two strings every time,
1251
01:01:08,791 --> 01:01:10,250
sliding up and down.
1252
01:01:10,291 --> 01:01:14,833
And I just pictured in my
head this image of a man
1253
01:01:16,250 --> 01:01:17,208
on the street who was also
having a really bad day,
1254
01:01:17,250 --> 01:01:19,416
but worse than I was having.
1255
01:01:19,458 --> 01:01:21,250
Didn't have a home to go to,
1256
01:01:21,291 --> 01:01:25,208
didn't have a car to get in
after all was said and done.
1257
01:01:25,250 --> 01:01:27,791
And the lyrics flowed
really quickly.
1258
01:01:27,833 --> 01:01:30,500
And 20 minutes in,
we had this song
1259
01:01:30,541 --> 01:01:34,125
that was nothing
like the directives.
1260
01:01:34,166 --> 01:01:37,333
But that was the
only song of mine
1261
01:01:37,375 --> 01:01:40,666
that has ever gotten
Grammy recognition.
1262
01:01:40,708 --> 01:01:45,041
["Heaven's My Home"
by Ruby Amanfu]
1263
01:01:56,083 --> 01:02:00,416
♪ When I was born
1264
01:02:00,458 --> 01:02:04,041
♪ My daddy said I was broken
1265
01:02:04,083 --> 01:02:07,958
♪ The beginning of the end
1266
01:02:08,000 --> 01:02:11,708
♪ Of a life I hadn't chosen
1267
01:02:11,750 --> 01:02:15,833
♪ He taught me how to give up
1268
01:02:15,875 --> 01:02:20,208
♪ He taught me how
to work the system ♪
1269
01:02:20,250 --> 01:02:24,375
♪ But I never had the time
1270
01:02:24,416 --> 01:02:28,625
♪ I never had the luxury
1271
01:02:28,666 --> 01:02:32,250
♪ Life's hard, I've
always known that ♪
1272
01:02:32,291 --> 01:02:36,500
♪ I've never been
handed no welcome mat ♪
1273
01:02:36,541 --> 01:02:40,375
♪ When I die, please don't cry
1274
01:02:40,416 --> 01:02:44,791
♪ 'Cause heaven's
my home anyhow ♪
1275
01:02:44,833 --> 01:02:47,000
[humming]
1276
01:02:48,916 --> 01:02:52,000
- Any time I do a song
and it feels magical,
1277
01:02:52,041 --> 01:02:53,416
it may not always
get to the place
1278
01:02:53,458 --> 01:02:55,250
that I think it should get to.
1279
01:02:55,291 --> 01:02:57,250
But those ones
always find a home.
1280
01:02:57,291 --> 01:02:59,750
- One of my good
friends was Bob Beckham,
1281
01:02:59,791 --> 01:03:02,750
and he ran Combine Music.
1282
01:03:02,791 --> 01:03:05,500
And Bob called me, he said,
1283
01:03:05,541 --> 01:03:08,666
"I got this new writer kid in
town named Kris Kristofferson
1284
01:03:08,708 --> 01:03:09,916
"and he's written three songs.
1285
01:03:09,958 --> 01:03:10,750
"You come listen.
1286
01:03:10,791 --> 01:03:11,666
"I want you to record.
1287
01:03:11,708 --> 01:03:12,958
"Pick any one you want."
1288
01:03:13,000 --> 01:03:15,083
So I said, okay. So I
went over and he played
1289
01:03:15,125 --> 01:03:16,708
Help Me Make It
Through the Night,
1290
01:03:16,750 --> 01:03:18,000
Sunday Morning Coming Down,
1291
01:03:18,041 --> 01:03:20,208
and I think For the Good Times.
1292
01:03:20,250 --> 01:03:21,666
And I said,
1293
01:03:21,708 --> 01:03:22,916
"Well, I sure love that
Sunday Morning Coming Down.
1294
01:03:22,958 --> 01:03:24,125
"I'll cut that."
1295
01:03:24,166 --> 01:03:26,375
I put out Sunday
Morning Come Down.
1296
01:03:26,416 --> 01:03:27,791
[blows a raspberry]
1297
01:03:27,833 --> 01:03:29,625
Sold 12.
1298
01:03:29,666 --> 01:03:31,375
["Sunday Morning Coming
Down" by Ray Stevens]
1299
01:03:31,416 --> 01:03:33,583
[humming]
1300
01:03:40,458 --> 01:03:42,250
Johnny Cash cut it a
couple years later,
1301
01:03:42,291 --> 01:03:43,791
and it was a big
hit for Johnny Cash.
1302
01:03:43,833 --> 01:03:45,208
And I finally figured out,
1303
01:03:45,250 --> 01:03:47,166
I didn't have the
image to sell a song
1304
01:03:47,208 --> 01:03:49,458
about being stoned
on Sunday morning.
1305
01:03:49,500 --> 01:03:51,750
My image is just too clean.
1306
01:03:51,791 --> 01:03:55,000
If a song is a hit, it's a hit.
1307
01:03:55,041 --> 01:03:57,791
I just wasn't the
right one to sell it.
1308
01:03:57,833 --> 01:04:00,291
♪ Well, I woke up
Sunday morning ♪
1309
01:04:00,333 --> 01:04:05,333
♪ With no way to hold my
head that didn't hurt ♪
1310
01:04:07,458 --> 01:04:09,750
♪ And the beer I
had for breakfast ♪
1311
01:04:09,791 --> 01:04:14,791
♪ Wasn't bad, so I had
one more for dessert ♪
1312
01:04:15,916 --> 01:04:17,583
- You know, when a song
is Song of the Year,
1313
01:04:17,625 --> 01:04:21,166
or just a massive
hit, impacting hit,
1314
01:04:21,208 --> 01:04:22,208
there's a reason for that.
1315
01:04:22,250 --> 01:04:23,875
Something speaks to people.
1316
01:04:23,916 --> 01:04:25,750
Like what hurts
the most, you know.
1317
01:04:25,791 --> 01:04:28,833
A real song, again,
that was about my father
1318
01:04:28,875 --> 01:04:31,541
and the time that he
had left in his life,
1319
01:04:31,583 --> 01:04:33,958
when he had sent me out to go,
1320
01:04:34,000 --> 01:04:35,416
"Go do your music, man,"
1321
01:04:35,458 --> 01:04:38,333
and I didn't get to see
him for a bit near the end,
1322
01:04:38,375 --> 01:04:39,666
till the very end.
1323
01:04:39,708 --> 01:04:41,125
And you know, all
that time, I was like,
1324
01:04:41,166 --> 01:04:42,000
man, I could've been here.
1325
01:04:42,041 --> 01:04:42,916
I could've been here.
1326
01:04:42,958 --> 01:04:44,833
And he wanted me out there.
1327
01:04:44,875 --> 01:04:47,458
He knew, you know, I
didn't know, but he knew.
1328
01:04:47,500 --> 01:04:49,208
And so that's what
that song was about.
1329
01:04:49,250 --> 01:04:52,416
And then it ends up being
this massive love song
1330
01:04:52,458 --> 01:04:56,208
that strikes a chord
throughout the world.
1331
01:04:56,250 --> 01:04:58,416
And then you know, and then
I lost my son 10 years ago,
1332
01:04:58,458 --> 01:05:00,708
and that song became a
whole new song for me.
1333
01:05:03,375 --> 01:05:08,000
♪ I can take the rain on the
roof of this empty house ♪
1334
01:05:08,041 --> 01:05:10,208
♪ That don't bother me
1335
01:05:10,250 --> 01:05:15,250
♪ I can take a few tears now
and then and just let 'em out ♪
1336
01:05:16,416 --> 01:05:19,791
♪ I'm not afraid to cry
every once in a while ♪
1337
01:05:19,833 --> 01:05:22,541
♪ Even though going
on with you gone ♪
1338
01:05:22,583 --> 01:05:24,416
♪ Still upsets me
1339
01:05:24,458 --> 01:05:27,291
♪ There are days
every now and again ♪
1340
01:05:27,333 --> 01:05:29,291
♪ I pretend I'm okay
1341
01:05:29,333 --> 01:05:33,500
♪ But that's not what gets me
1342
01:05:33,541 --> 01:05:37,750
♪ What hurts the most
1343
01:05:37,791 --> 01:05:41,125
♪ Was being so close
1344
01:05:41,166 --> 01:05:45,166
♪ And having so much to say
1345
01:05:45,208 --> 01:05:49,208
♪ And watching you walk away
1346
01:05:49,250 --> 01:05:53,166
♪ And never knowin'
1347
01:05:53,208 --> 01:05:57,041
♪ What could've been
1348
01:05:57,083 --> 01:06:00,916
♪ And not seeing
that loving you ♪
1349
01:06:00,958 --> 01:06:04,708
♪ Is what I was trying to do
1350
01:06:06,333 --> 01:06:07,541
- You just never know
1351
01:06:07,583 --> 01:06:11,625
when you sit down and
put some words on paper
1352
01:06:11,666 --> 01:06:13,125
and give it a melody,
1353
01:06:13,166 --> 01:06:15,833
you don't know where the
thing is gonna fly off to
1354
01:06:15,875 --> 01:06:17,500
and who it's gonna touch.
1355
01:06:17,541 --> 01:06:20,208
- I had a man tell me he
was in his car driving out
1356
01:06:20,250 --> 01:06:23,416
in the swamps of Louisiana
listening to the radio.
1357
01:06:23,458 --> 01:06:25,750
He said, "I was gonna
commit suicide."
1358
01:06:25,791 --> 01:06:27,916
And he said, "Your
song came on the air
1359
01:06:27,958 --> 01:06:30,875
"about five little fingers,
about your daughter."
1360
01:06:30,916 --> 01:06:34,708
And he said, "I realized
that I really had more
1361
01:06:34,750 --> 01:06:36,791
"to live for than
I thought I did.
1362
01:06:36,833 --> 01:06:38,458
"I pulled over to
the side of the road.
1363
01:06:38,500 --> 01:06:39,791
"I listened to your song.
1364
01:06:39,833 --> 01:06:41,791
"I turned the car
around, I went home."
1365
01:06:42,958 --> 01:06:45,041
That's when being a
songwriter is special.
1366
01:06:47,541 --> 01:06:50,791
- I mean, it's just one
of those weird things
1367
01:06:50,833 --> 01:06:53,541
where you never know in my world
1368
01:06:53,583 --> 01:06:56,000
what day is gonna be a day
that's gonna change your life
1369
01:06:56,041 --> 01:06:59,458
or change other people's
lives, you know.
1370
01:06:59,500 --> 01:07:02,041
I show up at this building
pretty much every day,
1371
01:07:02,083 --> 01:07:04,291
and I sit in a room this big.
1372
01:07:04,333 --> 01:07:06,375
And that particular day,
1373
01:07:06,416 --> 01:07:08,750
I remember not even
really want to go to work,
1374
01:07:08,791 --> 01:07:10,125
which is unlike me.
1375
01:07:10,166 --> 01:07:12,250
But I thought, you
know, Connie Harrington,
1376
01:07:12,291 --> 01:07:13,750
I saw her on my calendar.
1377
01:07:13,791 --> 01:07:15,791
And I thought, you know,
worst case scenario,
1378
01:07:15,833 --> 01:07:18,125
we'll go out to
lunch, she'll be fine.
1379
01:07:18,166 --> 01:07:23,000
So Connie had just pieces
of paper and Post-It notes,
1380
01:07:23,041 --> 01:07:25,625
and she's always shuffling
through all these ideas.
1381
01:07:25,666 --> 01:07:28,958
She came to this one
and she started to cry.
1382
01:07:29,000 --> 01:07:30,375
And I was like, what's that?
1383
01:07:31,875 --> 01:07:32,791
- I was
1384
01:07:36,250 --> 01:07:39,833
driving home, and I
listen to talk radio,
1385
01:07:39,875 --> 01:07:42,333
NPR radio, regularly.
1386
01:07:42,375 --> 01:07:45,166
And then this man comes on.
1387
01:07:45,208 --> 01:07:48,625
He was trying to
petition to get the right
1388
01:07:48,666 --> 01:07:51,541
to put flags on the graves
1389
01:07:53,250 --> 01:07:56,333
of not just his son's grave,
1390
01:07:56,375 --> 01:07:58,541
whom he lost in Afghanistan,
1391
01:07:58,583 --> 01:08:01,416
but all the soldiers in
that particular cemetery.
1392
01:08:02,833 --> 01:08:07,125
And they asked him how did
he cope with losing his son.
1393
01:08:08,291 --> 01:08:10,791
And he said, "I
drive his truck."
1394
01:08:10,833 --> 01:08:13,500
And he said, "It
burns gas like crazy,
1395
01:08:13,541 --> 01:08:15,250
"but we drive it anyway."
1396
01:08:16,208 --> 01:08:17,916
Because he felt closest to him.
1397
01:08:19,083 --> 01:08:20,375
- She literally
was crying so hard
1398
01:08:20,416 --> 01:08:22,833
that she could not
even tell me the title.
1399
01:08:22,875 --> 01:08:26,666
She would get the story
started and then break down.
1400
01:08:26,708 --> 01:08:28,500
- And I'm driving, you know,
1401
01:08:28,541 --> 01:08:31,708
and I keep little
yellow Post-It notes.
1402
01:08:31,750 --> 01:08:33,958
And I'm writing down
the details of the truck
1403
01:08:34,000 --> 01:08:37,333
and sticking them on my
dash, trying not to wreck.
1404
01:08:37,375 --> 01:08:41,375
And I thought that deserves
to be written about.
1405
01:08:42,916 --> 01:08:44,833
- I mean, we just
literally cried our way
1406
01:08:44,875 --> 01:08:48,375
through about four
hours of just imagery,
1407
01:08:48,416 --> 01:08:50,041
writing words on a page.
1408
01:08:50,083 --> 01:08:54,375
I felt so strong that I
had to treat this idea
1409
01:08:54,416 --> 01:08:56,708
with kid gloves, because I
knew that there hadn't been
1410
01:08:56,750 --> 01:08:58,916
a lot of songs
written about grief.
1411
01:08:58,958 --> 01:09:01,041
- But we both agreed
at the end of the day
1412
01:09:02,458 --> 01:09:05,833
it would be good to get a
guy's perspective on it.
1413
01:09:05,875 --> 01:09:10,708
So we debated who
that should be,
1414
01:09:10,750 --> 01:09:12,958
and arrived at Jimmy Yeary.
1415
01:09:14,125 --> 01:09:16,541
- There's, you know,
eight male songwriters
1416
01:09:16,583 --> 01:09:19,333
just in this building
we could've called.
1417
01:09:19,375 --> 01:09:21,000
And if we had called
any of the other ones,
1418
01:09:21,041 --> 01:09:23,708
it would be I Drive Your
Truck that we have today.
1419
01:09:23,750 --> 01:09:26,541
And so we booked another
writing appointment
1420
01:09:26,583 --> 01:09:29,791
and he came in, and me and
him got the guitars out.
1421
01:09:29,833 --> 01:09:32,125
He had kind of a melody going.
1422
01:09:32,166 --> 01:09:33,458
It was perfect.
1423
01:09:33,500 --> 01:09:36,291
- When I write,
when I get so far
1424
01:09:36,333 --> 01:09:37,875
and I realize today's
going well enough,
1425
01:09:37,916 --> 01:09:40,625
this is gonna be a real song,
1426
01:09:40,666 --> 01:09:44,250
I will type in the date and
I will type in the title.
1427
01:09:44,291 --> 01:09:46,000
And when I did that,
1428
01:09:49,666 --> 01:09:52,958
I just stopped,
burst into tears,
1429
01:09:53,000 --> 01:09:54,375
and they're like,
"What's wrong?"
1430
01:09:54,416 --> 01:09:55,875
I'm like.
1431
01:09:55,916 --> 01:09:58,416
We're wrote that
song on June 21.
1432
01:10:00,458 --> 01:10:03,666
When I zoomed in on the picture
1433
01:10:03,708 --> 01:10:06,083
of Jared C. Monti's grave,
1434
01:10:06,125 --> 01:10:07,708
he was killed June 21.
1435
01:10:09,833 --> 01:10:13,250
- The second she said it,
I got a chill up my body,
1436
01:10:13,291 --> 01:10:16,666
because I knew
this is important.
1437
01:10:16,708 --> 01:10:18,666
We have got to get
this in the right hands
1438
01:10:18,708 --> 01:10:20,250
and the right artist.
1439
01:10:20,291 --> 01:10:23,583
And Lee Brice took it all
the way to number one,
1440
01:10:23,625 --> 01:10:26,000
which was unbelievable.
1441
01:10:26,041 --> 01:10:29,583
But all along, though,
we're fantasizing, thinking,
1442
01:10:30,541 --> 01:10:32,041
has that dad heard it?
1443
01:10:33,791 --> 01:10:35,375
This guy that said
it on the interview,
1444
01:10:35,416 --> 01:10:37,833
is it possible that he's
a country music fan,
1445
01:10:37,875 --> 01:10:39,666
that he would hear this song?
1446
01:10:39,708 --> 01:10:44,041
["I Drive Your
Truck" by Lee Brice]
1447
01:11:04,916 --> 01:11:07,666
- The last time I
talked to my son,
1448
01:11:07,708 --> 01:11:08,666
the phone rang.
1449
01:11:09,875 --> 01:11:12,125
"Hi Pop, how you doing,
happy Father's Day."
1450
01:11:13,541 --> 01:11:17,166
And he was on a satellite
phone in Afghanistan
1451
01:11:18,250 --> 01:11:19,250
talking to me.
1452
01:11:20,500 --> 01:11:23,416
And we talked for a
while, and then he said,
1453
01:11:23,458 --> 01:11:25,875
"Pop, I gotta go, we're
going on a mission."
1454
01:11:28,375 --> 01:11:32,125
That was on June 18, 2006.
1455
01:11:33,500 --> 01:11:36,416
And he left for the mission,
and three days later,
1456
01:11:36,458 --> 01:11:39,166
I had men walking up my driveway
1457
01:11:39,208 --> 01:11:40,750
to tell me he had been killed.
1458
01:11:52,125 --> 01:11:55,291
That's the Medal of Honor.
1459
01:12:00,125 --> 01:12:01,291
- [Director] How
did it make you feel
1460
01:12:01,333 --> 01:12:02,666
when you heard that
song for the first time?
1461
01:12:05,166 --> 01:12:06,166
- Sad.
1462
01:12:07,500 --> 01:12:08,416
Tearful.
1463
01:12:10,833 --> 01:12:12,333
It was very difficult
to listen to.
1464
01:12:12,375 --> 01:12:14,125
I mean, I only got,
1465
01:12:14,166 --> 01:12:15,791
I think I only got
partway through the song,
1466
01:12:15,833 --> 01:12:17,708
I had to shut it off.
1467
01:12:17,750 --> 01:12:19,500
And it's still
pretty much that way.
1468
01:12:19,541 --> 01:12:23,333
I still don't get to
get all the way through.
1469
01:12:27,166 --> 01:12:29,583
- [Director] Have your
other kids heard the song?
1470
01:12:29,625 --> 01:12:30,458
- Oh yeah.
1471
01:12:32,875 --> 01:12:34,958
Both my daughter and
my son are so hurt
1472
01:12:35,000 --> 01:12:36,875
by their brother's death
1473
01:12:36,916 --> 01:12:40,000
that they've reacted in--
[doorbell rings]
1474
01:12:40,041 --> 01:12:43,000
[knocking on the door]
1475
01:12:43,041 --> 01:12:43,875
I'm sorry.
1476
01:12:49,166 --> 01:12:50,666
- Paul?
- Yeah.
1477
01:12:50,708 --> 01:12:54,208
- Connie Harrington.
- Oh my God in heaven.
1478
01:12:55,125 --> 01:12:57,291
- Merry Christmas.
1479
01:12:57,333 --> 01:13:00,500
[laughing and crying]
1480
01:13:16,708 --> 01:13:18,833
- Is that Jessi?
- Mm-hm.
1481
01:13:18,875 --> 01:13:20,125
- [Connie] It's me and Jessi.
1482
01:13:20,166 --> 01:13:22,583
- Oh my God, I can't
believe we're here.
1483
01:13:22,625 --> 01:13:23,458
Oh my God.
1484
01:13:24,708 --> 01:13:26,541
- They didn't tell me
this was gonna happen.
1485
01:13:26,583 --> 01:13:28,875
- [Jessi] Well, we
wanted to surprise you.
1486
01:13:28,916 --> 01:13:29,750
- Oh God.
1487
01:13:31,250 --> 01:13:32,250
- I'm sorry.
1488
01:13:33,166 --> 01:13:34,958
Oh my gosh, here we,
1489
01:13:35,000 --> 01:13:37,083
look at you, here we are.
1490
01:13:42,125 --> 01:13:46,833
- Those are the mud still
in the bottom of the boots.
1491
01:13:46,875 --> 01:13:47,666
- Wow.
1492
01:13:47,708 --> 01:13:49,125
- That is unreal.
1493
01:14:03,750 --> 01:14:08,583
["I Drive Your Truck"
by Jessi Alexander]
1494
01:14:10,291 --> 01:14:13,375
♪ 89 cents in the ashtray
1495
01:14:13,416 --> 01:14:18,416
♪ Half empty bottle of
Gatorade rollin' on the floor ♪
1496
01:14:21,625 --> 01:14:25,041
♪ That dirty Braves
cap on the dash ♪
1497
01:14:25,083 --> 01:14:28,583
♪ Dog tags hanging
from the rear view ♪
1498
01:14:28,625 --> 01:14:32,041
♪ Old Skoal can
and cowboy boots ♪
1499
01:14:32,083 --> 01:14:37,083
♪ A Go Army shirt
folded in the back ♪
1500
01:14:38,708 --> 01:14:41,916
♪ This thing burns
gas like crazy ♪
1501
01:14:41,958 --> 01:14:45,250
♪ But I don't mind
1502
01:14:45,291 --> 01:14:48,875
♪ People got their
ways of copin' ♪
1503
01:14:48,916 --> 01:14:51,750
♪ Yeah, I got mine
1504
01:14:51,791 --> 01:14:55,791
♪ I drive your truck
1505
01:14:55,833 --> 01:14:59,208
♪ I roll every window down
1506
01:14:59,250 --> 01:15:02,625
♪ And I burn up
1507
01:15:02,666 --> 01:15:05,458
♪ Every back road in this town
1508
01:15:05,500 --> 01:15:09,125
♪ Find a field and tear it up
1509
01:15:09,166 --> 01:15:12,916
♪ Till all the pain's
a cloud of dust ♪
1510
01:15:12,958 --> 01:15:16,083
♪ Yeah sometimes
1511
01:15:16,125 --> 01:15:21,125
♪ I drive your truck
1512
01:15:23,125 --> 01:15:26,833
♪ I leave that radio playin'
1513
01:15:26,875 --> 01:15:31,875
♪ The same ol' country
station where you left it ♪
1514
01:15:33,708 --> 01:15:38,083
♪ Yeah man, I crank it up
1515
01:15:38,125 --> 01:15:41,333
♪ You'd probably punch
my arm right now ♪
1516
01:15:41,375 --> 01:15:46,375
♪ If you could see this
tear rollin' down my face ♪
1517
01:15:47,583 --> 01:15:50,500
♪ Well, man, I'm
tryin' to be tough ♪
1518
01:15:50,541 --> 01:15:53,791
♪ Your mom asked
me this morning ♪
1519
01:15:53,833 --> 01:15:57,291
♪ If I'd been by your grave
1520
01:15:57,333 --> 01:16:02,333
♪ But that flag and stone
ain't where I feel you anyway ♪
1521
01:16:03,250 --> 01:16:07,375
♪ I drive your truck
1522
01:16:07,416 --> 01:16:10,416
♪ I roll every window down
1523
01:16:10,458 --> 01:16:13,708
♪ And I burn up
1524
01:16:13,750 --> 01:16:16,541
♪ Every back road in this town
1525
01:16:16,583 --> 01:16:20,208
♪ I find a field, I tear it up
1526
01:16:20,250 --> 01:16:23,916
♪ Till all the pain's
a cloud of dust ♪
1527
01:16:23,958 --> 01:16:28,958
♪ Yeah sometimes I
drive your truck ♪
1528
01:16:31,000 --> 01:16:32,833
♪ Ooh
1529
01:16:41,125 --> 01:16:44,416
♪ Well, I've cussed, I've
prayed, I've said goodbye ♪
1530
01:16:44,458 --> 01:16:48,000
♪ I've shook my
fist, asked God why ♪
1531
01:16:48,041 --> 01:16:53,041
♪ These days when I'm
missing you this much ♪
1532
01:16:54,250 --> 01:16:55,916
I know you miss him.
1533
01:16:59,000 --> 01:17:03,083
♪ I drive your truck
1534
01:17:03,125 --> 01:17:06,416
♪ Roll every window down
1535
01:17:06,458 --> 01:17:09,291
♪ Burn up
1536
01:17:09,333 --> 01:17:12,166
♪ Every back road in this town
1537
01:17:12,208 --> 01:17:15,333
♪ Find a field, tear it up
1538
01:17:15,375 --> 01:17:19,208
♪ Till all the pain's
a cloud of dust ♪
1539
01:17:19,250 --> 01:17:22,166
♪ Sometimes
1540
01:17:22,208 --> 01:17:23,625
Jerry, sometimes.
1541
01:17:25,541 --> 01:17:28,625
♪ I drive your truck
1542
01:17:29,583 --> 01:17:31,750
[humming]
1543
01:17:42,833 --> 01:17:45,125
- Thank you.
- Thank you, God bless you.
1544
01:17:45,166 --> 01:17:48,625
[muffled speaking]
1545
01:17:48,666 --> 01:17:50,333
- [Paul] I miss him.
1546
01:17:59,125 --> 01:18:02,208
[lively piano music]
1547
01:18:14,666 --> 01:18:16,875
♪ Ooh yeah
1548
01:18:30,708 --> 01:18:33,333
♪ One of these days
1549
01:18:33,375 --> 01:18:36,333
♪ I'm gonna pay off this loan
1550
01:18:36,375 --> 01:18:41,375
♪ I took out trying to
keep up with the Jones ♪
1551
01:18:42,541 --> 01:18:45,041
♪ One of these days
1552
01:18:45,083 --> 01:18:48,250
♪ I'm gonna pay
off these taxes ♪
1553
01:18:48,291 --> 01:18:53,291
♪ So Uncle Sam can get
off my foreign assets ♪
1554
01:18:54,041 --> 01:18:55,375
♪ God knows I will
1555
01:18:55,416 --> 01:18:58,833
♪ Lord knows I will
1556
01:18:58,875 --> 01:19:03,875
♪ When my money get right yeah
1557
01:19:05,208 --> 01:19:09,083
♪ When my money get right yeah
1558
01:19:10,166 --> 01:19:11,625
Everybody's creative
in some way.
1559
01:19:12,666 --> 01:19:14,250
Some people cook.
1560
01:19:14,291 --> 01:19:15,833
Some people paint.
1561
01:19:15,875 --> 01:19:17,416
Some people dance.
1562
01:19:17,458 --> 01:19:19,125
That's the connecting piece.
1563
01:19:19,166 --> 01:19:20,083
We all have that.
1564
01:19:21,250 --> 01:19:22,500
We all have that.
1565
01:19:22,541 --> 01:19:25,541
We don't all acknowledge
it, but we all have it.
1566
01:19:25,583 --> 01:19:27,083
And that's what songwriting is.
1567
01:19:27,125 --> 01:19:30,000
It's being able to
see art in life,
1568
01:19:30,041 --> 01:19:31,458
but interpret that in words.
1569
01:19:31,500 --> 01:19:33,875
For some people,
that'd be with brushes.
1570
01:19:33,916 --> 01:19:35,750
For us, it's words and music.
1571
01:19:36,958 --> 01:19:39,750
- At the end of the day,
we're all the same guy.
1572
01:19:39,791 --> 01:19:42,458
We're staring at an empty page,
1573
01:19:42,500 --> 01:19:44,125
and we're sitting with a guitar,
1574
01:19:44,166 --> 01:19:46,625
and we're just trying
to mean something.
1575
01:19:47,750 --> 01:19:49,666
If it means something
to somebody else.
1576
01:19:49,708 --> 01:19:52,291
- We're more connected
than we all think.
1577
01:19:52,333 --> 01:19:54,208
And in this world right now,
1578
01:19:54,250 --> 01:19:57,458
I think people are longing to
feel like we're all connected.
1579
01:19:58,708 --> 01:20:01,250
So I mean, I think
songwriting is more important
1580
01:20:01,291 --> 01:20:02,500
than it's ever been.
1581
01:20:02,541 --> 01:20:04,666
- You know, music's
one of the only things
1582
01:20:04,708 --> 01:20:08,125
that I know of in the world
that can turn bad into good.
1583
01:20:08,166 --> 01:20:11,250
Whatever's the worst thing
that ever happened to you
1584
01:20:11,291 --> 01:20:14,125
can become a song that'll
make your life better
1585
01:20:14,166 --> 01:20:15,666
and a song that'll
improve the life
1586
01:20:15,708 --> 01:20:17,375
of anybody that hears it
1587
01:20:17,416 --> 01:20:19,541
who has a shared
common experience.
1588
01:20:19,583 --> 01:20:22,791
Or even a sad song can be
good for all kinds of people.
1589
01:20:22,833 --> 01:20:24,583
There's not many things
that turn bad into good,
1590
01:20:24,625 --> 01:20:26,625
and I get to be
connected to one of them.
1591
01:20:26,666 --> 01:20:30,166
- Classic songwriters,
their songs will be around
1592
01:20:30,208 --> 01:20:33,083
a lot longer than you or I.
1593
01:20:33,125 --> 01:20:36,500
And it's because they're good.
1594
01:20:37,791 --> 01:20:39,000
You know, it's that simple.
1595
01:20:39,041 --> 01:20:40,625
- If you listen to
Top 40 music today,
1596
01:20:40,666 --> 01:20:43,416
how many of those songs
are gonna be around
1597
01:20:43,458 --> 01:20:45,375
in 50 years from now?
1598
01:20:45,416 --> 01:20:48,125
I think the answer's
probably very few.
1599
01:20:48,166 --> 01:20:50,833
And I feel like I
listen to the best songs
1600
01:20:50,875 --> 01:20:52,125
that come out of Nashville
1601
01:20:52,166 --> 01:20:54,041
are the songs that I
think we'll be singing
1602
01:20:54,083 --> 01:20:55,291
100 years from now.
1603
01:20:55,333 --> 01:20:59,500
- This is a songwriting
town, period.
1604
01:21:01,166 --> 01:21:04,125
Everything else is in
the next paragraph.
1605
01:21:04,166 --> 01:21:06,416
- These people are geniuses.
1606
01:21:06,458 --> 01:21:08,916
And so I'm proud to
be from Nashville,
1607
01:21:08,958 --> 01:21:12,416
because there are more
kinds of music here,
1608
01:21:12,458 --> 01:21:16,791
more people doing it on a
real high, professional level
1609
01:21:16,833 --> 01:21:19,958
than anywhere in the world.
1610
01:21:20,000 --> 01:21:22,250
- There are times when
I could probably make
1611
01:21:22,291 --> 01:21:24,625
a little bit more money
doing something else.
1612
01:21:24,666 --> 01:21:28,875
But, I just wouldn't be
happy doing something else.
1613
01:21:30,083 --> 01:21:32,458
And I don't know how
to do anything else.
1614
01:21:32,500 --> 01:21:36,500
- I don't think you write
with this false hope
1615
01:21:36,541 --> 01:21:41,333
that you're gonna make it big,
you're gonna make it rich.
1616
01:21:41,375 --> 01:21:43,291
I think you write because
that's what you do,
1617
01:21:43,333 --> 01:21:44,333
that's what you are.
1618
01:21:45,583 --> 01:21:48,208
- This is better than
a royalty check, right,
1619
01:21:48,250 --> 01:21:49,375
this moment right here.
1620
01:21:50,916 --> 01:21:53,541
It's bigger, better in the
grand scheme of things.
1621
01:21:53,583 --> 01:21:57,708
This means more than that
because it's a memory.
1622
01:21:57,750 --> 01:21:59,000
We've made a memory.
1623
01:21:59,041 --> 01:22:00,291
Instead of money,
we made a memory.
1624
01:22:01,500 --> 01:22:04,666
- A song has the power
to soothe your soul.
1625
01:22:04,708 --> 01:22:07,416
It has the power
to speak the words
1626
01:22:07,458 --> 01:22:08,958
that you don't
know how to speak.
1627
01:22:09,000 --> 01:22:13,208
It has the power to give you
hope that you didn't have.
1628
01:22:13,250 --> 01:22:17,750
- And I'm ever amazed there's
what, 12 notes, 26 letters,
1629
01:22:17,791 --> 01:22:21,041
and I'm ever amazed
because it never fails
1630
01:22:21,083 --> 01:22:23,625
that I'll turn on the
radio and go, dah.
1631
01:22:25,250 --> 01:22:29,791
I mean, it's like that idea
is so good and so obvious
1632
01:22:29,833 --> 01:22:31,666
and done so well.
1633
01:22:31,708 --> 01:22:34,750
You would think we'd run
out of things like that.
1634
01:22:34,791 --> 01:22:36,250
But not in this town.
1635
01:22:36,291 --> 01:22:38,458
- People say, "Well, is
it any harder than it was
1636
01:22:38,500 --> 01:22:39,916
"20 years ago in Nashville?"
1637
01:22:41,125 --> 01:22:43,583
Yeah, I just tell, it's
always been impossible.
1638
01:22:43,625 --> 01:22:45,166
It's always never gonna happen.
1639
01:22:45,208 --> 01:22:46,750
It's always nothing
but Catch-22s.
1640
01:22:46,791 --> 01:22:49,791
It's always just screwed up
and it's never gonna happen.
1641
01:22:49,833 --> 01:22:53,583
And every week, there are
Number One parties for kids,
1642
01:22:53,625 --> 01:22:55,666
first Number One
parties for kids.
1643
01:22:55,708 --> 01:22:59,583
- Go to a bar with your
friends and drink a beer
1644
01:22:59,625 --> 01:23:01,458
with no music going.
1645
01:23:01,500 --> 01:23:03,416
You know, just think
of all the things
1646
01:23:03,458 --> 01:23:08,041
that very rarely you do
that you don't hear music.
1647
01:23:08,083 --> 01:23:12,250
And everybody forgets that
it started with a songwriter.
1648
01:23:12,291 --> 01:23:16,375
It started with somebody that
got up and went in a room
1649
01:23:16,416 --> 01:23:21,416
and had the nerve to put
their journal to music.
1650
01:23:22,625 --> 01:23:24,291
- It's just crazy
that it's an industry,
1651
01:23:24,333 --> 01:23:26,833
an industry where you go to work
1652
01:23:26,875 --> 01:23:29,125
having no idea what you're
actually going to produce,
1653
01:23:29,166 --> 01:23:30,583
and you're gonna take an idea
1654
01:23:30,625 --> 01:23:32,500
that's floating around your
head and put it on paper
1655
01:23:32,541 --> 01:23:34,916
and make it, you know,
actually concrete,
1656
01:23:34,958 --> 01:23:36,958
which turns into,
hopefully, a song,
1657
01:23:37,000 --> 01:23:39,250
which turns into a demo,
which turns into maybe,
1658
01:23:39,291 --> 01:23:40,958
hopefully a record cut,
1659
01:23:41,000 --> 01:23:42,791
which then people
over the world hear.
1660
01:23:42,833 --> 01:23:45,666
It's like what, how
is that even a job?
1661
01:23:45,708 --> 01:23:48,625
- To go from there's
a song I wrote
1662
01:23:48,666 --> 01:23:51,041
that my publisher walked
into the room and said,
1663
01:23:51,083 --> 01:23:53,458
"That's a hit," then
five months later
1664
01:23:53,500 --> 01:23:55,625
Rhianna wants to cut it,
1665
01:23:55,666 --> 01:24:00,666
then I think six months
later, the first time
1666
01:24:02,166 --> 01:24:05,416
it's being performed
is at the Grammy's,
1667
01:24:05,458 --> 01:24:06,833
and I'm onstage with her.
1668
01:24:08,041 --> 01:24:09,875
- There is a kind of
a funny little story
1669
01:24:09,916 --> 01:24:12,250
that goes around
amongst songwriters
1670
01:24:12,291 --> 01:24:15,916
that the greatest three
songs ever written
1671
01:24:15,958 --> 01:24:18,666
in the history of
songwriting are
1672
01:24:18,708 --> 01:24:22,625
Amazing Grace, Bridge
Over Troubled Water,
1673
01:24:22,666 --> 01:24:25,708
and whatever I just
finished writing.
1674
01:24:27,041 --> 01:24:28,958
- One of my favorite
quotes is by Quincy Jones.
1675
01:24:29,000 --> 01:24:33,958
And he said, "You need three
things to make a great record.
1676
01:24:34,000 --> 01:24:35,458
"Three things.
1677
01:24:35,500 --> 01:24:40,500
"The song, the song,
and the song." [laughs]
1678
01:24:41,916 --> 01:24:45,000
- The reason I do this is
that I'm chasing a feeling.
1679
01:24:45,041 --> 01:24:46,083
I'm chasing the chills.
1680
01:24:46,125 --> 01:24:47,416
- It's the best drug.
1681
01:24:48,916 --> 01:24:52,000
Besides love, it's the
best drug I can think of.
1682
01:24:52,041 --> 01:24:54,250
- The beauty of my
job is that I have no,
1683
01:24:54,291 --> 01:24:55,958
I've been doing it for 22 years.
1684
01:24:56,000 --> 01:24:58,041
I had 21 number one songs.
1685
01:24:58,083 --> 01:25:00,250
And I have no idea what
makes a great song.
1686
01:25:01,333 --> 01:25:03,041
- They come from
poets and balladiers,
1687
01:25:04,208 --> 01:25:06,958
age-old stories passed
down through the years,
1688
01:25:07,000 --> 01:25:10,208
from a little baby's
laughter, from lovers' tears,
1689
01:25:10,250 --> 01:25:13,541
and sometimes God just
whispers in your ear.
1690
01:25:13,583 --> 01:25:16,125
[lively music]
1691
01:25:25,625 --> 01:25:28,875
[gentle country music]
1692
01:25:41,125 --> 01:25:43,666
♪ How would a cowboy ride away
1693
01:25:43,708 --> 01:25:45,791
♪ Off into the sun
1694
01:25:45,833 --> 01:25:50,833
♪ How let the congregation
know the wedding has begun ♪
1695
01:25:51,750 --> 01:25:53,750
♪ What would hush a crowd
1696
01:25:53,791 --> 01:25:56,208
♪ Bring down the house
1697
01:25:56,250 --> 01:26:01,250
♪ Blow the speakers out
1698
01:26:02,166 --> 01:26:04,333
♪ How would a boxer know
1699
01:26:04,375 --> 01:26:07,083
♪ How to climb into the ring
1700
01:26:07,125 --> 01:26:09,625
♪ How would you know
you made it home ♪
1701
01:26:09,666 --> 01:26:12,125
♪ If the angels didn't sing
1702
01:26:12,166 --> 01:26:17,166
♪ What will lay its claim
to your teenage pain ♪
1703
01:26:17,958 --> 01:26:21,833
♪ Where would you play
1704
01:26:21,875 --> 01:26:26,875
♪ If there was no music
1705
01:26:28,041 --> 01:26:32,166
♪ What would remind
you of yourself ♪
1706
01:26:33,083 --> 01:26:37,333
♪ If there were no love songs
1707
01:26:38,500 --> 01:26:42,708
♪ How would you
relive how love felt ♪
1708
01:26:44,000 --> 01:26:46,791
♪ And what would you
drive to, cry to ♪
1709
01:26:46,833 --> 01:26:49,666
♪ Another goodbye to
1710
01:26:49,708 --> 01:26:53,333
♪ How would you ever
get through it ♪
1711
01:26:53,375 --> 01:26:58,375
♪ If there was no music
1712
01:26:59,541 --> 01:27:03,708
♪ What would remind
you of yourself ♪
1713
01:27:04,583 --> 01:27:09,041
♪ If there was no love songs
1714
01:27:10,166 --> 01:27:14,166
♪ How would you
relive how love felt ♪
1715
01:27:15,375 --> 01:27:18,041
♪ What would you
cry to, drive to ♪
1716
01:27:18,083 --> 01:27:21,208
♪ Another goodbye to
1717
01:27:21,250 --> 01:27:25,083
♪ How would you ever
get through it ♪
1718
01:27:25,125 --> 01:27:30,125
♪ If there was no music
1719
01:27:30,916 --> 01:27:35,333
♪ There was no music
1720
01:27:36,250 --> 01:27:40,416
♪ If there was no music
1721
01:27:41,208 --> 01:27:44,208
♪ How would you do it
124916
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