“I Got You”
(Craig Morgan, Phil O’Donnell, Tim Owens)
I was on tour with Keith Urban. We're both pretty high-energy, so I'd watch his show every night and think, "Man, he does such a great job … I'd love to get a cut on his next record!" So I wrote this song with Phil O'Donnell and Tim Owens, but when I went into the studio to demo it, I realized that this was friggin' my song [laughs]. This is one of the best songs we do live; it lets me do stuff with my guitar that I don't usually get to do.
“Cowboy and Clown”
(Ron Harbin, Kim Tribble)
I had this song in my pocket for probably five years. It's not one of mine; I did the demo when Kim Tribble wrote it. I fell in love with it, and ever since then I've pulled it out and listened to it now and then. I do a lot of rodeo shows, and I thought that a song about cowboys would go over well there -- although anybody can understand that this story is really about friendship.
“Ain't the Way I Wanna Go Out”
(Craig Morgan, Tim Owens, Jimmy Yeary)
For me and for most people, it's harder sometimes to remember the good things that people do whenever they're involved in something bad. I guess I'm doing a little preaching too -- giving a little advice and maybe a warning too.
“That's When I’ll Believe That You’re Gone”
(Craig Morgan, Craig Morris)
Craig Morris, from the group 4 Runner, and I wrote this about three years ago. Again, it didn't have a place on any of my records until now, but I've always loved this song. Every time I sing it I think about my relationship with my wife. We've been together going on seventeen years and I can't imagine how I could ever be without her. It's not a love song; it's a song about love.
“Blame Me”
(Craig Morgan, Phil O’Donnell, Tim Owens)
I had John Conlee and Brad Paisley in mind when I wrote this. Matter of fact, this is the first song I've ever written with another artist in mind. I just really wanted to cut something with John on it, and when I played it for Brad, who's a good friend and whose music I love, and asked if he'd sing on it too. He said, "Absolutely." And it's cool, because he had "The Fishing Song" and I've got him singing, "We sing about fishin' and the Lord above, fallin' in and out of love, from Aunt Bee to Uncle Sam" -- everyday stuff, just like everything else on the album.
“In My Neighborhood”
(Marty Dotson, Catt Gravitt, Danny Wells)
I'll be honest with you. I didn't want to cut this song at first -- not until some of the lyrics were changed. I was able to do just a little rewriting, and now I have a lot of fun singing this song about all these weird characters and things in my neighborhood.