graysonmcclendon

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “Clouds” by A Firm Handshake.

Previewed on Disney+, Clouds is a movie based on a true story about a teenager who makes it big in the music world as he is battling cancer. The kid’s name is Zach Sobiech and he loved writing songs. He got a record album with his band, A Firm Handshake, and passed away during the recording. Throughout the movie the producers play the song “Clouds” which was A Firm Handshake’s most famous song. The song is actually about him passing and having to say goodbye to the people he loves. It’s evident that that’s the meaning with lyrics like: “If only I had a little bit more time with you,” and “And maybe someday I'll see you again, we'll float up in the clouds and we'll never see the end.” He also references going to heaven when he says, “We'll go up, up, up but I'll fly a little higher.” And that’s the story behind “Clouds” by A Firm Handshake.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “5 More Minutes” by Scotty McCreery.

Scotty McCreery is a country artist that writes a lot of songs about his personal life. For example, “Boys From Back Home” is a tribute to all of his childhood friends, where he lists them each off by name and why he loves them. “The Trouble With Girls'' was one of his first songs written about his high school girlfriend, who is now his wife. “5 More Minutes'' is the song that blew up the most from any of McCreery's albums and you really learn a lot about his life through this song. He talks about his childhood games, high school girlfriend, and his championship game of his senior year. The most impactful part is at the end when he talks about his grandfather: “At eighty-six my grandpa said, "There's angels in the room". All the family gathered 'round, knew the time was coming soon. With so much left to say I prayed, Lord, I ain't finished, just give us five more minutes.” His grandpa had a huge impact on his life so it was really awesome that he included that into his song. And that’s the story behind “5 More Minutes” by Scotty McCreery. 

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “Kill Em With Kindness” by Selena Gomez.

Justin Bieber isn’t the only one who writes songs about his partner before, during, or after their relationship. Selena Gomez produced a couple herself. In fact, her album Revival is rumored to consist of songs completely about Bieber. Before their horrible breakup she released “The Heart Wants What It Wants” where she talks about this amazing feeling she gets about Bieber. Post-breakup she wrote “Kill Em With Kindness” and not only was this a jab at Bieber but to herself. She said in an interview that this song was a reminder to herself to speak better and nicer. But her lyrics seem to be pointed at Bieber after the relationship. She sang, “Your lies are bullets, your mouth's a gun. And no war and anger was ever won.” Although she never comes out and says this song is about her ex-boyfriend, it is evident that she was heartbroken after the situation, even though she was the one to call it quits. And that’s the story behind “Kill Em With Kindness” by Selena Gomez.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “Sorry” by Justin Bieber.

Justin Bieber is infamously known for his love songs. Whether they were about heartbreak or for his current wife, Hailey Bieber, his music moved people. Everyone knows about the Bieber and Selena Gomez drama, as they started dating in 2010 where they were first seen in public at an iHop. Bieber messed up bad in their relationship and wrote “Sorry” as an apology towards Gomez. He writes, “You know I try but I don't do too well with apologies.” Rumor has it that he actually told Gomez this, which is why he wrote the song. He continues by saying, “Is it too late to say I'm sorry now?” At this point Gomez had broken up with him and he was heartbroken as his fans were always rooting for “Jelena”. And that’s the story behind “Sorry” by Justin Bieber.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “Skin” by Sabrina Carpenter”

In response to Olivia Rodrigo’s “driver’s license” Sabrina Carpenter wrote “Skin” to show her side of the story. For a little background, Olivia Rodrigo dated actor Joshua Bassett and was dumped for Carpenter. After Rodrigo dropped a song about how she misses Bassett, Carpenter had some things to say. She comes for Rodrigo’s song lyrics when she sings, “Maybe blonde was the only rhyme” because in Rodrigo’s song she sang, “And you’re probably with that blonde girl,”. Carpenter was really attacking Rodrigo in her wording: “I'm happy and you hate it, hate it, oh. And I'm not asking you to let it go, but you been telling your side so I'll be telling mine, oh.” Fans made an uproar about this song because in Rodrigo’s single she only mentions Carpenter one time. The majority of “driver’s license” was about how she is heartbroken and wants her old love back. Carpenter responds with a petty song targeted at Rodrigo just for clout. And that’s the story behind “Skin” by Sabrina Carpenter. 

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “Let It Be” by The Beatles

The Beatles, a band made up of Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison are one of the most iconic bands in history. They started performing around the 1960s and their music is still listened to and enjoyed to this day. One of their more popular songs is “Let It Be” which was released in 1968. Many people thought this song was religious, and that conclusion was made up based on the words: “Whisper words of wisdom,” and some people assumed this was God speaking to them. However, this song is actually about Paul McCartney’s life. Whenever he feels like he’s in trouble his mom, Mary McCartney, would tell him to just let it be. Not only is this the name of the song but he repeats it throughout the song a lot. He refers to her in the first line of the song as “Mother Mary” and the rest of the song is about how he got through hard times. And that’s the story behind “Let It Be” by The Beatles. 

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “865″ by Morgan Wallen

Morgan Wallen became popular recently within the country community after releasing 2 albums in just four years. His most recent album “Dangerous: The Double Album” released half of it’s songs throughout 2020 and the other half this past January. One song that really stuck out to me was “865”. “865” is the area code for Knoxville, Tennessee, where Wallen calls home. This song wasn’t originally written by Wallen but by Blake Pendergrass. Pendergrass is a singer-songwriter who actually went to my own high school, Millbrook High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. He originally named the song “919” because that is the Raleigh area code and when Wallen bought it, he changed the title to his own area code. The lyrics apply to both singers about living in a small town. And that’s the story behind “865” by Morgan Wallen.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “Life Changes” by Thomas Rhett

“Life Changes” by Thomas Rhett literally is a play by play of Rhett’s life from college to his professional career as a singer. He starts off the song talking about being a college student, writing songs in his dorm but not singing yet. It then goes to him talking about his wife and he says, “I've been waiting on her since the second grade.” This wasn’t just a clever lyric but Rhett and Atkins have actually been family friends since they were little and he admitted in an interview that he always had a crush on her. He then says, “And I wrote a little song about holding her hand and now everybody wanna die happy now.” This is alluding to his song “Die a Happy Man” which he wrote about his wife. When he wrote the song his wife was pregnant and wrote “got one on the way” when talking about his kids and changed the lyrics to “Sweet Willa Gray” once the baby was born. And that’s the story behind “Life Changes” by Thomas Rhett.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “Vienna” by Billy Joel

Billy Joel is a musical icon and one of his most popular songs “Vienna” is basically about old age. “Vienna” is about worrying too much about things you feel like you have to do and basically just saying slow it down. Joel writes, “Where’s the fire? What's the hurry about you better cool it off before you burn it out you got so much to do and only so many hours in a day.” The song is about Vienna because that was a special place in Joel’s life growing up. It basically translates to having the mindset that age doesn’t hold you back from anything. He wants his listeners to just do what makes them happy and to not feel obligated to anyone or anything. And that’s the story behind “Vienna” by Billy Joel.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “All Tractors Ain’t Green” by Jimmie Allen

Jimmie Allen is a country singer that flies a little under the radar. He has opened for many popular artists but sometimes gets overshadowed because he is different from a lot of other country singers. He is African-American and has a more pop flair to his music which is what his song "All Tractors Ain't Green" is about. Allen writes, “Kind of like the cover in a book, I might sound a little different than I look,” alluding to the color of his skin as the typical stereotype for country singers are caucasian males. Allen also mentions in his song “Warrior” how important his family is to him, especially his mother and grandmother. In this song he refers to them when he says, “I learned back when I was young, be who you are and know where you're from” as his family had strong values that they placed upon him. And that’s the story behind “All Tractors Ain’t Green” by Jimmie Allen.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “This Is It” by Scotty McCreery

Scotty McCreery and Gabi Dugal were high school sweethearts. In fact, most of the love songs on McCreery’s first album are about Dugal. After the couple got engaged, McCreery wrote “This Is It” about the process of him proposing. In the beginning of the song it says, “Way up in the mountains, four thousand feet high, there's a trail through the trees to a cliff where Carolina meets the sky. Oh and there's a view I just can't describe” and this is an exact description of the mountain McCreery took Dugal when he proposed. He then writes, “Okay, you can open your eyes,” and while he had her eyes closed in real life he was getting on one knee. Just like the song said, he told Dugal to open her eyes and she saw her boyfriend proposing. They are now married and have a dog, Moose McCreery. And that’s the story behind “This Is It” by Scotty McCreery.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett

Thomas Rhett and wife Lauren Akins were childhood best friends. Rhett always had feelings for Akins but they never worked out. “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett is an ode to Atkins, when she was engaged to another man although he secretly loved her despite the girlfriend he had at the time. He sings, “I'll try to make it through without crying so nobody sees. Yeah, she wanna get married, but she don’t wanna marry me” obviously alluding to the wedding he was invited to, but he wasn’t the man at the altar. Before the wedding, Atkins’ own father called Rhett and told him that if he doesn’t act soon, he’ll lose her forever. He then showed up in her backyard and sang her a song about her: “Die a happy man” by Thomas Rhett. They both called off their other relationships, got married, and now have three little kids together. And that’s the story behind “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “Big, Big Plans” by Chris Lane

Country singer Chris Lane was dating Lauren Bushnel and decided he was ready to propose to her and make her his wife. He figured he should do this by doing what he does best: singing. Lane writes “Big, Big Plans'' for Bushnel and plays it for her over the speaker in their backyard in front of all of their friends and family. He writes, “Well, she don't know I already bought a ring. Hid it in the bottom left drawer, right beside the sink,” and in the music video it actually shows a close up of the ring under their sink. Lane sings, “Well, here I go, 'Cause right now, we're back in her hometown and I'm down on one knee. I guess she finally figured out I'm gonna ask her to marry me.” After this part plays in the song, the music goes quiet and Lane actually proposes! After Bushnel says yes, the music picks back up as they celebrate together. This song ended up meaning a lot for the couple and their fans, and became their first dance song at their wedding. And that’s the story behind “Big, Big Plans” by Chris Lane.

[graysonmcclendon]

The story behind “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo

High School Musical The Musical: The Series star Olivia Rodrigo became famous not only through the show but from her powerful songwriting showcased in the song “All I Want”. Released this January, “drivers license” got famous overnight. Not only are people going crazy over this song because it is sad and puts you into your feelings, but fans are realizing that Rodrigo is secretly talking about her former boyfriend Joshua Bassett. Bassett was her co-star on HSMTMTS and the two fell in love shortly after working together. Heartbroken after their split, Rodrigo takes shots at Bassett through her new song. In her second verse she writes: “And you're probably with that blonde girl, Who always made me doubt. She's so much older than me.” Joshua is now dating actress and singer Sabrina Carpenter who is in fact blonde and older than Rodrigo. She writes about being heartbroken and hurt that he has moved on which was exactly what happened in real life. And that’s the story behind “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo.