Stars in Alabama

Album: That Lonesome Song (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Johnson co-wrote this song with Teddy Gentry of the band Alabama.
  • This song is about a musician's relationship with his mom. CMT News asked Johnson what his own mother thought of this song. He replied: "She cried. Mom was a big Alabama fan growing up. She got the first record out of the box every time they put out a record. For her, just to know that I even met him, she thought that was the coolest thing in the world. I had met him here and there, and we traded phone numbers and kept talking about writing a song and everything else. He just called me up out of the blue one day and said, 'Man, I'm up in my office. Come over here and write a song with me.' I turned my truck around so fast, I probably cut across the median on I-40. (laughs) But I got over there, and as soon as I sat down, the first thing I thought about was mama. We sat and wrote this song about a phone conversation from the road talking to mama. And when you get out there, sometimes you get a little disconnected. Mama's always that force that brings it all right back to you and puts your feet back on the ground a little bit."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Penny Ford of Snap!

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

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.

Church Lyrics

Church LyricsMusic Quiz

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