Songfacts®:

• "I Want You" is Cody Johnson's uncomplicated declaration of devotion. Johnson serenades his wife, Brandi, stressing that he wants her in every version of herself; dressed up for a night out and "in her perfect mess," in her healing and when she's "broke in two," even when she's angry and the dishes break. The song dismisses grand gestures and cosmic ambitions - riding a rocket past the stars - in favor of something far more grounded: carrying a song in his pocket and singing it wherever she is.
• Johnson's all-encompassing devotion can be read as an allegory for Christ-like love: accepting, forgiving, and ever-present, even when life resembles a dropped plate more than a polished performance. The spiritual undercurrent fits within Johnson's catalog: "His Name Is Jesus" is one of Johnson's unabashed expressions of faith, while "When A Cowboy Prays" is perhaps his most direct.
• Johnson and Brandi have been together since 2008, and she's served as muse for several of his songs, including "On My Way to You," "Human," "The Painter" and "I'm Gonna Love You." While Johnson didn't write "I Want You," he had Brandi firmly in mind when recording it.
• "I Want You" was written by three Nashville songwriters: Tom Douglas, Tony Lane, and Matt Rogers.
  
  Tom Douglas is a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee (2014) and one of the most decorated writers of his generation. His credits include Miranda Lambert's "The House That Built Me" (which earned the ACM's first-ever Song of the Decade award), Lady A's "I Run To You" and Tim McGraw's "Grown Men Don't Cry" and "Southern Voice."
  
  Tony Lane is a longtime Nashville co-writer with numerous cuts across the country format. His previous collaborations with Douglas include Lady A's "Hello World" and Luke Bryan's "To the Moon and Back."
  
  Matt Rogers is a longtime CoJo co-writer, including the single "'Til You Can't," which was the most-streamed country song of 2022.
• Trent Willmon produced the tender ballad. Born in Amarillo and raised on a ranch in west Texas, he has been the creative architect behind much of Johnson's catalog. He won CMA Single of the Year in 2022 for producing "'Til You Can't."
• The full session band listed on the recording is:
  
  Holly Tucker: background vocals
  Trey Keller: background vocals
  Jeneé Fleenor: fiddle
  James Mitchell: electric guitar
  Justin Ostrander: electric guitar
  Tim Galloway: acoustic guitar
  Scotty Sanders: pedal steel guitar
  Jim "Moose" Brown: keyboards
  Jimmie Lee Sloas: bass
  Jerry Roe: drums
  
  Jeneé Fleenor's emotive fiddle underscores the yearning in Johnson's voice. Fleenor was the first woman nominated for and who won CMA Musician of the Year. Originally from Springdale, Arkansas, she has toured with Steven Tyler, Jon Pardi, and Blake Shelton, and served in the house band on The Voice.
• "I Want You" is the lead single and opening track of Johnson's 10th album, Banks of the Trinity. He described the record as deeply personal and rooted in childhood memory.
  
  The album cover features Lawrence's Grocery Store, the shop Johnson rode his bicycle to as a child to pick up supplies and treat himself to a cream soda and ice cream.