Small Town U.S.A.

Album: Justin Moore (2009)
Charted: 44
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Justin Moore grew up in Poyen, Arkansas (Population: 272). The small town southerner moved to Nashville after graduating from high school, and began writing songs. Among the first that he penned was this love letter to Poyen. Moore told The Washington Post, that he wrote the song when he was homesick "and thinkin' about missin' home and mama's cookin'."
  • This was the second single to be released from Moore's self-titled debut album.
  • The song's music video was shot in Poyen and features several generations of Moore's family.
  • Justin Moore wrote this song with his frequent songwriting partners Brian Dean Maher and Jeremy Stover. The threesome wrote several of the songs on Justin Moore and this was one of the first they penned together. He recalled to Great American Country: "I believe it was the first or second song the three of us had written together. It was seven years ago. I was just talking about missing home because I had only been here for six or eight months at the time. I obviously didn't have anything going on really and I was like, 'Man, I feel like I'm walking on quicksand here. I just miss home and want to go home.' Some of the songs you write you go, 'Eh, maybe it's all right,' and later you find out that it's really cool. That was one of those songs where I remember going, 'That's a special song. I think it can be a big song for us at some point.' That's the days you leave the writing room pretty happy."
  • When this song topped the Country chart, Moore became the first solo male artist to take a track from a debut album to #1 since Jason Aldean reached the summit three years previously with "Why."
  • This was the third Country #1 song with "USA" in its title. The previous two chart-toppers were Kitty Wells' "Heartbreak U.S.A." (1961) and Donna Fargo's "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." (1972).

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

AC/DC

AC/DCFact or Fiction

Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Crystal Waters

Crystal WatersSongwriter Interviews

Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Benny Mardones

Benny MardonesSongwriter Interviews

His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.