Thomas Rhett has been writing songs long enough, with some of the most successful writers in the business to sense when a great song idea is on the verge of happening. “You really can,” he says, “especially if you’ve been kind of working on something for an hour and nothing’s happening. I think you kind of realize, okay, these people that I’ve surrounded myself with, we do this for a living. And these people are the best songwriters that I know, so something is about to happen.”
Sometimes all it takes for a great idea to materialize is to take a little break. Thomas says, “Maybe I need to go take a lap around the bus, maybe I need to go pace, maybe I need to get a coffee. I don’t know, whatever it is just to kind of change up the vibe and the energy. And most the time man, somebody will be like, ‘Oh, I had this title that I forgot about. And then they say it and you’re just like, ‘Yes!’ Like that is the title, or that’s the idea, or I love that chorus melody.”
Even though Thomas has been a part of writing plenty of great songs, like his heartwarming latest single, “Remember You Young,” he is still in awe of the process. He says, “Every time I finish a song, all the songwriters always look at each other and go, ‘Can y’all believe that this is even possible? Like, how did we come in here, not having one thought or one idea and we left with a song?’ Like, it is so hard to describe how it actually happens, but it is one of the most rewarding experiences that you can ever receive, to me, in the music business, is when you walk in and you’re like, I don’t know what we’re gonna say, and then you say it, and then it ends up on a record, and then it ends up on the radio, and then you hear people singing it. It’s like the most full-circle, amazing thing ever.”
Thomas experienced that feeling a lot with his latest album, Center Point Road, because he co-wrote all 16 songs on the project, including “Remember You Young.”
Thomas Rhett – can you feel a great song idea :57
“You really can, you know, especially if you’ve been kind of working on something for an hour and nothing’s happening. I think you kind of realize, okay, these people that I’ve surrounded myself with, we do this for a living. And these people are the best songwriters that I know, so something is about to happen. Maybe I need to go take a lap around the bus, maybe I need to go pace, maybe I need to get a coffee. I don’t know, whatever it is just to kind of change up the vibe and the energy. And most the time man, somebody will be like, ‘Oh, I had this title that I forgot about. And then they say it and you’re just like, ‘Yes!’ Like that is the title, or that’s the idea, or I love that chorus melody. And every time I finish a song, all the songwriters always look at each other and go, ‘Can y’all believe that this is even possible? Like, how did we come in here, not having one thought or one idea and we left with a song?’ Like, it is so hard to describe how it actually happens, but it is one of the most rewarding experiences that you can ever receive, to me, in the music business, is when you walk in and you’re like I don’t know what we’re gonna say, and then you say it, and then it ends up on a record, and then it ends up on the radio, and then you hear people singing it. It’s like the most full-circle, amazing thing ever.”