You Just Write About Things That Happen.

I Always Try To Make The Music That I Like And Think My Fans Will Like.

A Country Song Is A Song About Life.

"after 17" Is A Song I Wrote When My First Daughter Went To College, So That's Kind Of Where I'm At In That Part Of My Life. If You Listen To That Song And Knew Anything About Me, You'd Say, "oh Yeah, He Wrote That About His Daughter," But I Try Not To Write Them That They Are So Specific That They Wouldn't Apply To Anybody That Has A Child.

I Could Have Done A Hundred Songs, Really. It Was Hard To Narrow Them Down, Because I Tried To Pick Songs For The Most Part That Actually Did Have Some Effect On Me Or Influenced Me In The Past.

To Me, Songwriting Is The Backbone Of Nashville. Looks Can Go, Fads Can Go, But A Good Song Lasts Forever.