35 MPH Town

Album: 35 MPH Town (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song, which Toby Keith penned with frequent collaborator Bobby Pinson, finds the singer talking of a bygone, more courteous era, where the streets were safe and householders didn't need to lock their doors.

    Keith told Billboard magazine that the idea for the track came from a phone call with Pinson. "He was coming back from Alabama or something, back to Nashville," he recalled. "He was on a little ol' two-lane highway. He called me up and said, 'I got an idea for a song... Every 20 miles I've got to slow down and go through one of those 35 miles per hour towns.' We started talking about it, and by the time I saw him he had a little piece of it put together, and I said, 'I want to talk about growing up in that little town and about how life has changed,' and we went from there."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.