Tim McGraw
Lead Single | Taylor Swift (2006)
Background and Lyrical Theme
«This song means so much to me, that’s why we wanted it to be the first track on the album. The idea for this song came to me in math class. I just started singing to myself, 'When you think Tim McGraw.‘ The concept for this song hit me, because I was dating a guy who moved away, and it was going to be over for us. So I started thinking of things that I knew would remind him of me. The first thing that came to mind was that my favorite song is by Tim McGraw. After school, I went downtown, sat down at the piano, and wrote this with Liz Rose in fifteen minutes. It may be the best fifteen minutes I’ve ever experienced. It deals with the haunting power of music and how hearing a song years after it was first popular can have such an emotional appeal.»
Music Video
Live Performances
Taylor’s first broadcast performance of “Tim McGraw” was on October 24, 2006, on “Good Morning America.” She continued promotion for the track at Billboard headquarters, the 2007 Academy of Country Music Awards, The Engine Room, and a concert at the Apple Store in SoHo, New York, which was recorded and released as a live extended play (EP), iTunes Live from SoHo, exclusively sold through the iTunes Store. Since completing promotion for Taylor Swift and its corresponding singles, Taylor has performed “Tim McGraw” on all venues of her first headlining concert tour, the “Fearless Tour,” which extended from April 2009 to June 2010. She also performed the song on her “The RED Tour” (2013-2014) and “reputation Stadium Tour” (2018).
Critical Reception
Commercial Performance
The Start of a Legendary Career
«My high school friends and I all sat in my convertible with the top down in my driveway and blasted it. Then, listeners called in and said whether they liked it or not, and I remember being more nervous than I'd ever been. Thankfully, they said nice things. I'll never forget that feeling!»
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
He said the way my blue eyes shined
Put those Georgia stars to shame that night
I said, “That’s a lie”
Just a boy in a Chevy truck
That had a tendency of gettin’ stuck
On backroads at night
And I was right there beside him all summer long
And then the time we woke up to find that summer gone
[Chorus]
But when you think Tim McGraw
I hope you think my favorite song
The one we danced to all night long
The moon like a spotlight on the lake
When you think happiness
I hope you think that little black dress
Think of my head on your chest
And my old faded blue jeans
When you think Tim McGraw
I hope you think of me
[Verse 2]
September saw a month of tears
And thankin’ God that you weren’t here
To see me like that
But in a box beneath my bed
Is a letter that you never read
From three summers back
It’s hard not to find it all a little bittersweet
And lookin’ back on all of that, it’s nice to believe
[Chorus]
When you think Tim McGraw
I hope you think my favorite song
The one we danced to all night long
The moon like a spotlight on the lake
When you think happiness
I hope you think that little black dress
Think of my head on your chest
And my old faded blue jeans
When you think Tim McGraw
I hope you think of me
[Bridge]
And I’m back for the first time since then
I’m standin’ on your street
And there’s a letter left on your doorstep
And the first thing that you’ll read is:
“When you think Tim McGraw
I hope you think my favorite song
Someday you’ll turn your radio on
I hope it takes you back to that place”
[Chorus Variation]
When you think happiness
I hope you think that little black dress
Think of my head on your chest
And my old faded blue jeans
When you think Tim McGraw
I hope you think of me
Oh, think of me (Mmmm)
[Outro]
He said the way my blue eyes shine
Put those Georgia stars to shame that night
I said, “That’s a lie”
Album | Taylor Swift | ||
---|---|---|---|
Released | June 19, 2006 | ||
Recorded | 2006 | ||
Studio | Quad Studios-A (Nashville) Sound Cottage (Nashville) | ||
Genre | Country | ||
Length | 3:54 | ||
Label | Big Machine Records | ||
Songwriters | Taylor Swift Liz Rose | ||
Producer | Nathan Chapman | ||
TAYLOR SWIFT CHRONOLOGY | |||
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