TIM MCGRAW

                                                               "Standing Room Only" 

                                                                Big Machine Records

Tim McGraw is a chameleon to the country music genre, growing and adapting to its surroundings and ever-changing atmosphere while perfectly fitting into each new era without ever sounding dated or out of touch with the here and now.

He’s defined many different career-setting layers over his illustrious career, taking on endearing personas as the “Indian Outlaw,” the cowboy,  the “Real Good Man,” and the mature adult who’s looking in the mirror; the latter is exactly where we find him again on his brand-new single, “Standing Room Only.”

The first tease of his promised forthcoming album sits perfectly in the pocket of similar retrospective songs from his catalog such as “Live Like You Were Dying,” “Humble and Kind,” and “Better Than I Used To Be,” leaning on prominent piano to lace the instrumentation and properly match the self-reflective feelings tilted in his voice as he faces the truth that he admittedly still has flaws and is working on bettering himself every day.

“I get so mad at things that don’t matter way too much,” opens the song as McGraw shares missteps in his character throughout the verse, singing of let his old friends scatter like dust, chasing the rainbow straight into the pouring rain, etc.

However, as the song progresses, we see him begin to shift the dynamic from self-examining to self-awareness as he steps into the hopefulness of where he wants his life to go from here, boldly declaring in the chorus:

“I wanna live a life, live a life

Like a dollar and the clock on the wall don’t own me

Shine a light, shine a light

Like mama’s front porch when I’m lost and lonely

Start forgiving and start forgettin’

Be somebody that’s worth rememberin’

Live a life so when I die

There’s standing room only, standing room only”

Continuing with the “wants” he has for his life - to let go of old grudges and regrets, to love out loud and come alive, and to not be the guy who’s too cool to laugh and too scared to cry - McGraw expertly provides the blueprint for walking a taller, more righteous line of thinking while showing us the most important aspects of living life to its fullest.

There’s no doubt that when you look at the world surrounding us right now, you’ll find so many people who are lost, anxious, and hurting. McGraw, with perfect timing, places this bold reminder right in front of us to tell us like an old friend so often should, that to move forward we need to first look in the mirror and then step into our next with complete faith.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis) 

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