Good Vibes

Album: Real Friends (2019)
Charted: 48
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Chris Janson has his ups and downs like everybody else, but he loves his life, loves the Lord and is grateful when people do nice things for him. He wrote "Good Vibes" with Zach Crowell and Ashley Gorley from that positive point of view.
  • The song's message of positivity also serves as a reminder to Janson to approach each new day with an uplifting attitude. Rather than getting dragged down by events in the news and the vagaries of life, he seeks out something worth smiling about.

    "You choose to have a bad day or a good day. You choose it, every single day," he explained. "Every single moment, you have a choice to be not nice to somebody or to be really nice to somebody. I just pray really hard for myself, and ask for guidance and humility, and I think 'Good Vibes' stems from that."
  • Speaking to Leslie Fram, senior vice president of music strategy at CMT, Janson explained this was written during an informal jam session at Zach Crowell's house. It was one of those days when everybody seemed to have woken up cranky and was complaining about this and that. When Janson said, "OK, good vibes only," Crowell responded, "We should probably write that."

    The trio hadn't originally planned to write together that day, but once they hit on the idea, they pursued it and it came together easily.
  • Janson said regarding the song's message: "I always tell people you have to put actions into words and you have to walk it like you talk it. Sometimes when I sing it, it's sort of subliminally reminding myself. They say when you're giving someone an uplifting talk that you're really talking to yourself, and I really think 'Good Vibes' is talking to me, too.

    "Every single day, you have the choice to say something really nice to somebody. We just knew we had something, it just felt really right, it felt really good and it felt like no matter the times we're living in, we're always going to have ups and downs in life. That is a timeless message. It's so simple: be nice."
  • For Chris Janson, such positive thinking is a personal mantra. "I'm just being myself. And I'm also choosing to be this way," he explained to The Boot. "Words are so powerful. If you wake up and say, 'Man, are we blessed or what?! We are really blessed,' then you'll be blessed, and you'll feel blessed, and you'll feel happy and energized and wanna do things."
  • Directed by Michael Monaco of FlyHi Films, the song's music video features footage of what Janson describes as "random acts of kindness and random acts of happiness."

    Among the feel-good scenarios in the clip are Janson spending a day outdoors with his family and police officers playing basketball with a group of children. Janson said that his favorite part of the clip "is watching the soldier's homecoming."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Edwin McCain

Edwin McCainSongwriter Interviews

"I'll Be" was what Edwin called his "Hail Mary" song. He says it proves "intention of the songwriter is 180 degrees from potential interpretation by an audience."

Church Lyrics

Church LyricsMusic Quiz

Here is the church, here is the steeple - see if you can identify these lyrics that reference church.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining Victims

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining VictimsSong Writing

Just like Darrin was replaced on Bewitched, groups have swapped out original members, hoping we wouldn't notice.

Who Did It First?

Who Did It First?Music Quiz

Do you know who recorded the original versions of these ten hit songs?

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.