Almost (commentary) Lyrics

This is the Thomas Rhett Center Point Road album release special
With Thomas and Big Machine Label Group President Scott Borchetta

So in 2018, we′ve talked about the discipline
And your desire to keep writing songs, et cetera

How many songs did you write in 2018?
It was a little over 200 songs
Wow
Yeah, it's um, like every bus trip I would come home from a three-
Day run, we would have nine to ten new songs that were written
That′s an album a week
I know, it's nuts

Not all of them were the best quality, but you know
We did write a lot of songs and really just
Tried to chase a lot of different types of songs
You know, that's kind of my process
It′s like, this week we′re going to write something
That I feel like Eric Church would have done
This week we're going to write some R&B jams, not that we′re
Ever going to cut them, but just because I'm feeling it

You know what I′m saying?
And that's what makes songwriters amazing is when
Songwriters accept the fact that every song you write is
Not going to get cut, that′s when you write the best songs
Because if they will go with you for a weekend and write
Songs that you're feeling, even though they probably know
In their brains, this is not where he's going to end up

If you can let an artist or songwriters get that out off their
Chest and out of their head, those are when the best ones pop up
And so yeah, man, we write way too many songs and probably cut too
Many songs, but that to me is the process and that′s the fun of it

Well, I love it and I get to be a fan
And I get to hear a lot of your songs
And one of my favorite quotes by Bono completely
Applies, "Great waits until very good gets tired"
Exactly
And you′ve got to write that many songs to get to the great ones
Yeah, exactly

And how you've decided on these 16 and then
You decided on "Almost" to close this record
Yeah
We′ve come full circle
Here's the end of the record with an extraordinary song
Yeah, man, this has become one of my favorite tracks on the record
For many reasons, but I do feel like this song, for the most part
Really ties into why the album was called Center Point Road

The song is basically looking back at your life and going
If I had gone left where I went right, that one random
October night or whatever it was, where would my life be today?

If I had married the first person I thought
That I loved, where would I be today?

If my wife had married the first person that
She thought she loved, where would she be today?

And it′s just this concept of going, thank you, God
For just directing my life the way that you saw it fit

Because if I had been amazing at football, which
Thank God I was, I was terrible at football by the way

But if I had been awesome at it, would I have gone to college and
Played football and then would I have
Done something completely different?
It's cool how the moments in your life that you look back and
You′re like, man, if that had gone just slightly different
Would I be sitting here having this conversation with you today?

And it's like those times where you're going, thank you that that
Almost didn′t happen or that that almost did happen because
You know, we′d be in a completely different spot sitting right here
And so I just think it's such a really cool way to look back at
Your life and go, it′s really cool how the decisions that you
Made and others made for you directed you to where you are today

For me, the way I related to this is
What if I didn't take the meeting with you?
Right

Seriously, because in that moment, we were at the end of 2009
And the label was on fire and we were doing great and we had
Just signed a couple of other male artists and I called Allison
Jones, our senior vice president of A&R, and I said, hey, no more
Meetings, I′m done, I can't take on anything mentally, I′m full
Yeah

And you could hear a heartbreak
Right

And she goes, I can cancel everything except there's one
Meeting I can't cancel and it′s Redick and Son Thomas
Yeah
And I′m like, I can't have you cancel that
Well, thank you, I appreciate that
And Rhett has always been such a great guy
Yeah

Because I was at MCA when he got signed to our sister label at Decca
Yeah
And in that moment, I′m like, I'm not going to have Redick
And Son go back to him and say, Scott canceled the meeting
That′s not supposed to happen
Right, yeah
And I told Allison, I said, okay, keep that meeting, I've
Got five things that morning, I will be there, I′m going
To be a few minutes late, keep the meeting, I'll be there
Yeah

I walked in and I remember so vividly
Same, yeah
You sitting there and you had another guitar player with you
Yeah

And you start playing a couple songs, you played
Beer with Jesus and I said, how would you like
To make records for the Valerie Music Company?
And you could see Allison just going, what?
What was the conversation we just had?
Yeah, and I just kind of thought, you know
When you make the rules, you can break the rules
That's right
Lock the door, Thomas Rhett, you need to be here
Yeah

And this is one of the most proud relationships in my career
I′m so proud of you
Same, man, thank you very much
And the music that you make and it always gives
Me such a great honor to say, please welcome
Valerie Music Company recording artist Thomas Rhett

Here is the final song from Center Point Road
Enjoy, consume, play it over and over and over
This is called Almost