{"id":1319810,"date":"2020-05-07T06:15:22","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T12:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1820901"},"modified":"2020-05-07T06:15:22","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T12:15:22","slug":"when-the-world-needs-a-gentle-reminder-tim-mcgraw-has-a-song-for-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/when-the-world-needs-a-gentle-reminder-tim-mcgraw-has-a-song-for-that\/","title":{"rendered":"When the World Needs a Gentle Reminder, Tim McGraw Has a Song for That"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alison Bonaguro<\/a><\/span> 43m ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

He was there to remind us to live like we were dying.<\/p>\n

And to ride and never worry about the fall.<\/p>\n

And to always stay humble and kind.<\/p>\n

And now, Tim McGraw is reminding us to call our moms. Today. Instead of waiting for tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Just in time for this year\u2019s Mother\u2019s Day, McGraw is releasing his newest single on Friday (May 8), \u201cI Called Mama.\u201d Since the ballad comes from the pens of some of Nashville\u2019s most prolific hitmakers \u2014 Marv Green, Jimmy Yeary, and Lance Miller \u2014 the imagery of a Texaco, Slim Jim, Coke, oak tree, river, guitar and home paints a picture that only McGraw can bring to life by leaning into the heartfelt sentiment about the mothers who hold us all together.<\/p>\n

In a Zoom call with him earlier this week, McGraw told me why he always seems to finds these kinds of songs and why sometimes they find him.<\/p>\n

CMT.com: First, tell me how often you call your mom? Because I can barely get my 23-year-old son to even text me back.<\/strong><\/p>\n

McGraw: I call my mom pretty regularly. At least once a week, but probably more. She doesn\u2019t like to talk on the phone much. But at 23, I don\u2019t know that I did unless I was asking for money.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m probably guilty of that, too. But you\u2019ve been singing about mamas since the beginning of your career, with \u201cIt Doesn\u2019t Get Any Countrier Than This\u201d from 1994. Then there was \u201cCarry On,\u201d \u201cLove You Goodbye,\u201d \u201cIf You\u2019re Reading This,\u201d \u201cMeanwhile Back at Mama\u2019s,\u201d \u201cYou Had to Be There,\u201d \u201cDamn Country Music\u201d and probably a few others I left off the list. So do you feel like you go out and try to find songs like that, or do they somehow find you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I certainly try to find songs that I can find some deeper meaning in. And songs that have sort of a wide view in them. But I don\u2019t look for songs like that in particular, the ones that are: family, home, mama. I guess maybe subconsciously I gravitate to them. I don\u2019t know. I tell myself all the time that I\u2019m just looking for great songs, but maybe they do find me. I guess I\u2019ve done enough of those kinds of songs throughout my career about life \u2014 like \u201cLive Like You Were Dying\u201d and \u201cHumble and Kind\u201d \u2014 enough now that I get more sent to me than average. So maybe I do come across them more often. I really try to just find great songs.<\/p>\n

Well, mission accomplished. Especially this song\u2019s bridge, with the line about \u201cfrom now on I ain\u2019t gonna wait so long.\u201d That\u2019s the reminder that I hope everyone takes away from this song. Because now more than ever, families need to stay connected even when they can\u2019t quarantine together. But why do you think that it\u2019s just human nature to procrastinate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I guess for kids and moms, maybe they feel like if they do check in, they don\u2019t want you to know what they\u2019re doing. They don\u2019t want to feel guilty by checking in with mom and reminding her of the things they shouldn\u2019t be doing. People are guarded with their emotions, and for some people, it\u2019s just harder to touch those buttons.<\/p>\n

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