THEA: Another of Chad’s ideas; he does a lot of traveling so he’s quite familiar with the grind of airports and long drives, and the feeling of just wanting to get home.

We focus group our country songs with one of my three beautiful grand-nieces, who is a fan of the genre (we call her our “Taste Tester”). She works with her husband, but he is something of a celebrity in his field and has to travel more than she does. In my mind, they’re the people in this song…I see his pickup stopping in the driveway and her greeting him at the door, just extraordinarily happy to see each other.

My favorite line: “Every one I put behind me gets me closer to your smile.”

Which is Chad’s line, of course.

Would you like to talk about this one, Chad?

CHAD: I think this one is self-explanatory. Just a guy really eager to get back home to his family after being on the road. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’m on the road a lot. Whether I’m driving or flying, it all starts to look the same. Airport gates, hotels, truck stop diners. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. (Except Vegas where there’s slot machines)

It’s really the trip home that reinvigorates you: Everything being left behind you as you’re making your way back to the ones you love.

Thea was, once again, a huge help in taking my rough draft and turning it into something great. This is also one of my favorites.