Tim McGraw is not the artist he was 30 years ago. McGraw's self-titled debut album came out in 1993. In the decades since then, the Louisiana native has continued to release hit after hit. But now, McGraw reveals his approach to music, and the kind of songs he wants to release, is changing, due to his age.
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"You don't wanna sing about tailgates and bikinis when you're 58 years old," McGraw tells Tracy Lawrence on his TL's Road House podcast (via Whiskey Riff). "Occasionally, you do if the song is right. But for me, it's like, what song is going to teach me a lesson? What song is gonna make me learn something about myself? And what song can I sing, that I interpret, that's believable?"
Not only does McGraw not want to sing about tailgates and bikinis, but he also wants to release songs that have a message.
"I'm not always trying to experiment," the "Live Like You Were Dying" singer says. "But I think I have a base sound, a sort of a base attitude about the kind of songs that I wanna do. I'll throw fun ditty song in every now and then, I'll throw a fun love song in every now and then, I'll throw a fun cheating song in every now and then, but I'm always looking for a life affirmation song."
Wny Tim McGraw Doesn't Write All Of His Music
McGraw is a songwriter, and began his career by writing some of his own songs. He still likes the process of writing, even if most of his songs don't make it onto one of his albums.
"What happens is, I have these sounds and ideas of the songs that I wanna do, and the things that I wanna say, and I start writing these songs," the father of three explains. "And I get six or seven songs, and I think, 'Okay, these are really good. I think these will work.' And then all a sudden, Tom Douglas sends me a song that has the same theme. Lori McKenna sends me a song that has the same theme, the Warren Brothers send me a song that has the same theme, and I'm like, 'Yeah, that's what I was trying to say.'
"So then my songs move further and further down the line," he adds. "But to me, everybody can sing in this town. There's great singers in this town. What it really boils down to is the song."
