Trans Am

Album: Single release only (2015)
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Songfacts®:

  • Keifer and Shawna Thompson penned this tribute to the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with Blair Daly and Nathan Chapman. "Blair Daly had the title, and we all jumped on it," Keifer Thompson recalled to Rolling Stone Country. "I've wanted that car ever since I can remember, especially after I saw Smokey and the Bandit, of course. We both love American muscle cars, and that's, without a doubt, one of the most identifiable representations of American muscle."

    "'Trans Am' is a state of mind," he added. "It's about liberation and not being painted into a corner."
  • The song's music video was shot by Wes Edwards during a 15-hour day at Nashville Soundcheck. "It's the first time we've ever had any sort of live element in the video," Keifer Thompson told Country Weekly. "We had the production and the band, and we wanted to incorporate that into the song. The song is more of a live, rocking song."

    Edwards also included an actual 1977 Trans Am, as well as taking the color scheme of the vehicle and sprinkling the black and gold throughout the clip. "The treatment really just kind of came from the classic car - the Trans Am - the classic Smokey and the Bandit car," Edwards said in a video on Glamour.com. "I just wanted to do a really rockin' performance video … Everything stems from the look of this car."

    Keifer Thompson added regarding the vehicle, "It was completely refurbished. It was all back to original. The guy lives in Alabama, and this is all he does, is refurbish old Trans Ams. We got to sit in it. Didn't get to drive it, though."

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