Kenny Chesney released this stellar song, written by Ashley Gorley, Kelley Lovelace, and Neil Thrasher in 2010 on Hemingway’s Whiskey. The ballad is remarkable lyrically: it begins with an image of his home, “but that ain’t where I grew up.” It’s not so much a place that’s shaped him, but a moment.
“See I gained a little on Father Time / That night I crossed that center line / I bet I rolled a dozen times / Next thing I knew I was / Waking up upside down / Praying God just get me out / Then I hit my knees beside what was left of my truck / Hey, that’s where I grew up,” Chesney sings in the second chorus.
Guitar heavy “Where I Grew Up” is both nostalgic and sentimental, a somber reflection on the moments that made him who he was. It’s an emotional sister song to Charlie Worsham’s “How I Learned To Pray,” another must-listen.