Gone Like That

Album: Georgia Clay (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song isn't about a one-night stand, but about a series of fleeting encounters with the woman who could be the girl of your dreams. Kelley said of the song: "I wrote 'Gone Like That' based on a real-life experience. When I was in college (University of Mississippi - he went on a golf scholarship), there was this crazy, amazing girl who I'd see from time to time, but it was always fleeting. Every time, she'd come crash at my place, then the next thing you'd know, she'd be gone. There were like forty clubs in the area, and she'd always show up at the one I was hanging out at. We'd meet up, but then she always seemed to disappear and we never had the time to explore our relationship."

    Don't feel bad for Josh - he may have missed out on this girl, but he married the actress Katherine Heigl in 2007.
  • Georgia Clay was Josh Kelley's first country album; his previous work was more pop, including the 2003 hit "Amazing." Regarding "Gone Like That," Kelley said: "This was the song that actually started my journey into Country music. I had written and presented it to my music publisher to pitch to other artists, but they liked my demo so much they encouraged me to cut it. It was the first song I wrote that gave me the confidence to pursue a career as a Country singer."

    The Nashville songwriters Nicolle Galyon and Clint Lagerberg helped Kelley complete the song.
  • When Kelley wrote this song, he wasn't thinking of recording it himself. In our 2011 interview with Josh Kelley, he told us: "I wanted to pitch it to Keith Urban. I was like, 'I want a Keith Urban cut,' which is obviously almost impossible. But I sent it to my publishers, and they said, 'Josh, no, you've got to try country again. This sounds like you, these sound the best you've ever sounded.' And that's really what made it happen. I even sent it to Charles, and Charles said the same thing. He goes, 'Bro, this is as country as it gets. Man, you sound great on this. You've got to give it a shot.' So he motivated me. I was doing great as an independent artist and I was making the kind of money that I wanted to make. It's just when that happened, I realized that, okay, this can really happen. Let's try to get a record deal. And so I put together $20,000 from the publisher company and that helped me with a 5-song EP. And then we shopped it around to everybody going to Nashville."
  • Elaborating on the writing process and inspiration for this song, Kelley said: "What's funny about that song is that me and Clint both came into the session with an idea. And we both came in with chorus ideas. And when he played me his and I played him mine, we both looked at each other and we were like, Oh my God, they fit. They're in the same key. Were we cosmic? And what was going to be my chorus, we turned that into the verse and manipulated it a little bit, and then turned his chorus into the chorus. And the lyrics just started coming out, man. We started talking about different girls that we had dated that would just bolt. Just leave, and we didn't know where they were. (laughing) And you're sitting here going, 'Who is this chick?' And then just when you start to get over a girl, I mean, it's almost like the day that you decide that you're over this chick, they come back into your life, whether it's a phone call, or they just show up at the bar that you go to all the time. And that's what that song is about. Like, I am not going to get back into this wormhole again, no way. I can't take another gone like this chick keeps giving."

Comments: 1

  • Zach from Pheonix, AzThis information is false..... Because i know for a fact that my cousin Nicolle Galyon Wrote this song
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

Gentle Giant

Gentle GiantSongwriter Interviews

An interview with Ray and Derek Shulman of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant to discuss counterpoint, polyrhythms, and... Bon Jovi.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.