Walker Hayes‘ new single, “Good With Me,” is his well-worded attempt to erase divisiveness and disagreements, which tend to run rampant on social media, and in real life. The Alabama native wrote the song, inspired by an interaction he had with a friend, which he detailed in a lengthy post on social media.

“I was leaving the gym late one afternoon and a friend stopped me in the parking lot,” Hayes recalls. “I love this guy. Great guy. We shot the breeze for a sec but pretty quick I noticed my buddy getting angry as he gave me an ear full of his opinion on a popular controversial issue. Then, he became even angrier when he told me what he thought about those who disagreed. Honestly, I had no idea what he was talking about but I left the conversation tired and even more confused.

“I went home, parked at the house and went and sat on my dock,” he continues. “I feel stupid sometimes because I don’t know what to think. I don’t have time. I have 6 kids, a wife, three dogs, a job and if I can squeeze in a workout at the end of each day I feel like I’ve completed a lot!”

 

It was there, on the dock following his conversation with his friend, when Hayes began writing “Good With Me.”

“I just started writing this song right there,” Hayes says. “I plucked people from my life that I know and what they think and the first verse just spilled out. Then I thought about Laney. How much I enjoy her company because I don’t have to have it all figured out. We can just do that together. Or not. She is more than ok with my simple mind and when we do disagree on certain topics or issues, she’s ok with that too. We couldn’t be more different but we exist together so easily.”

While Hayes has written plenty of tunes that might not be entirely accurate to his own life, the 43-year-old says “Good With Me” is very much his own story, including the people in the song’s lyric.

“I know everyone in this song,” Hayes writes. “I love them. They’re all a little bit crazy, just like me. But we all do life together just fine. It’s not always nice and neat but we’re good. They’re good with me. I’m glad I have them.”

Hayes concluded his post by making it clear that he wasn’t pointing proverbial fingers at the friend who became enraged. Rather, his goal was to shed a light on what people choose to get angry about, and hopefully provide another way to look at some of the issues that make people upset.

“I love my friend that stopped me in the parking lot that day,” Hayes maintains. “I know how it feels to feel frustratingly right about something. Maybe this song will make us laugh at ourselves a little bit and think more about people and each other and less about opinions. The more I get to know someone the more I understand them. Life is too short to dehumanize one another. I’m preaching to myself here.”

“Good With Me” is from a forthcoming new album. Find music and tour dates at WalkerHayes.com.

Read ’12 Country Music Singers Who Are Sober’ here.