We have all come to know Luke Bryan as the genial judge on American Idol and the singer of great country songs like "Mind of a Country Boy." But before he found fame and fortune, Bryan was kicking around Nashville as a songwriter. A gifted one, to be sure. He had a promising start there over twenty years ago, inking a publishing deal and getting a song recorded by none other than Travis Tritt. We took a closer look at four songs that Luke Bryan wrote for other artists.
Videos by Wide Open Country
'My Ol' Man' by Joey + Rory
There is a vein of country music songs that depict the relationship between dads and sons. It's such an important one in the life of so many of us. A father shapes us, teaches us, and sets us on our own path to adulthood. In Luke Bryan's 2010 song "My Ol' Man," which he co-wrote with Rory Feek, he paints a picture of the loving, lasting connection between a father and his cherished son.
The images it conveys are so vivid - the regretful dad who whups his kid's behind because he lied, the worried dad who sees his son off on a Greyhound bus bound for his future, the son who hopes he's turning out like his ol' man. Poignant and memorable. Per American Songwriter, "The two singer-songwriters tell a heartbreaking, yet beautiful story about the relationship between a father and son, making for one of the more tender-hearted songs with Bryan's name attached to it."
"...When I got on that big Greyhound
With my bags full of songs, and my guitar
I remember looking down,
And him yellin' son, remember who you are.
He fought a good fight,
But in the end it took him down
We told him goodbye,
Then we prayed him in the ground
Now he's with Jesus,
Walking in the promise land,
My old man
I'm so proud when people say,
Just how much I am,
Like my old man."
'Good Directions' by Billy Currington
Bryan teamed up with Rachel Thibodeau for this fun, flirty little 2006 tune that was 3x platinum-certified by the RIAA and found a first-place niche on the Billboard Hot Country songs list. Currington told The Boot that he was really delighted with the success of the song, and very grateful to its writers including Bryan.
"This is my third platinum song and it never gets old. I'm so happy to receive this honor. I'd like to say thank you to Luke Bryan and Rachel Thibodeau for writing such an incredible song. People always tell me it's one of their favorites and this certification just proves that even more. Thank you!"
"I was sittin' there
Sellin' turnips on a flat bed truck
Crunchin' on a pork rind when she pulled up
She had be thinkin' this is where rednecks come from
she had Hollywood written on her license plate
she was lost and lookin' for the interstate
needin' directions
and I was the man for the job...."
'I Just Want You' by Luke Bryan, Michael Carter, and Cole Swindell
Bryan and Swindell crossed paths long before they their country music careers took off, per American Songwriter. They were both students at Georgia Southern University, per the outlet. Swindell listened to Bryan singing at a campus party and was utterly thunderstruck. Convinced that his buddy was destined for greatness, the pair began putting their heads together and songwriting. The rest is history. This tune showed up on Swindell's "self-titled 2014 debut studio album." He sure was a visionary when it came to thinking the young Bryan possessed the makings of a star. He did and does!
"When I've been gone, when I'm right here
The minute my eyes open in the morning
Out on some highway, or pulling in the driveway
Clear blue sky or when it's thunder storming
My mind just can't escape you
The first time I touched you, that's when I knew
I want you trust me, I want you to love me
I want you to need me like I'm something you can't lose
I want you to save me, I want you to crave me
Even when I can't find my way to you
If you ever once doubt, anything I'm about
All it ever comes down to, is girl, I just want you...."
'My Honky Tonk History' by Luke Bryan and Patrick Jason Matthews
Travis Tritt has loomed large in the songwriting career of Luke Bryan. This 2004 song was one of the early successes that Bryan had when he turned his attention to authoring tunes. It chronicles the rough-and-tumble life of someone whose typical venue is a honky tonk, and all the scrapes he finds himself embroiled in. Colorful and lively, like some of Bryan's other songs, this one features sharply-etched images that make it stand out - calloused hands, fingers practically bleeding beer, a scar the narrator did a makeshift stitch-job on in a bathroom stall. Gritty and glorious.
"...I love the smell of cigarettes
And whiskey on a woman's breath
The sound of outlaw music sets me free
Blame it on my honky-tonk history, oh
I'm just like my daddy and my daddy's daddy
(And his daddy before him)
I'm just like my daddy, and his daddy's daddy
(And his daddy before him)...."
