Tim McGraw is sharing another song from his forthcoming Standing Room Only album. The 56-year-old released “Remember Me Well,” written by Heather Morgan and Jimmy Robbins, ahead of the August 25 release of the record.
McGraw previously said all of the songs on Standing Room Only, including “Hey Whiskey” and his current single, the title track, were about positivity, motivating others to be the best they can be.
“This album is all about life affirmation, about being the best person you can be. It tells stories,” McGraw said on Audacy Throwdow. “It’s very cinematic, is probably a better word … I think from start to finish the whole album has a cinematic quality, where you can create your own movie and paint your own picture with every song.”
McGraw is currently enjoying a Top 15 hit with “Standing Room Only.” But he’s also equally passionate about “Hey Whiskey,” a song about alcoholism. It’s the first time McGraw has ever addressed his sobriety in his music, after becoming sober in 2008.
“When I first heard it, it just blew me away, ’cause it made it a character,” McGraw said on Apple Music Country’s Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen of the song, which was written by Joel Hutsell and Brad Hutsell. “It’s your nemesis and your best friend, which is what that is, which is what addiction is. It’s your nemesis and your best friend at the same time. To make whiskey a character in a song, like a real-life character that you’re talking to, is something that I’d never heard before.
“I’m sure there are songs out there that have done that,” he added, “but the way it was written, and what it said, was so heartfelt and meaningful … I had a visceral reaction to it. And that is the very first tracking vocal, of the very first time we ran through the song. We kept every bit of it, and it’s because it was so raw and so emotional.”
Not only do all the songs on Standing Room Only have a common thread of affirmation, but they also lean towards the country music he grew up on, and still loves today.
“There are some really good, sort of throwback country things on this that I really enjoy doing, and got into my George Strait vein a little bit,” he hinted. “There’s a good mixture of stuff. I always try to do that with every album. I never want to just have one style of song on the album. I want to give you sort of a smorgasbord to choose from.”
All of McGraw’s music and upcoming shows can be found at TimMcGraw.com.