Darius Rucker celebrated the chart-topping success of “If I Told You” at the new Top Golf location in Nashville on Thursday night (September 21st). Joined by songwriters Ross Copperman (“Break on Me,” “Lose My Mind,” “Drunk on Your Love,” “Don’t It”), Shane McAnally (“Leave the Night On,” “Body Like a Back Road,” “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,” “Different for Girls”) and Jon Nite (“Break on Me,” “We Were Us,” “Strip It Down,” “Tip It On Back”), Darius explained why the song hit him so hard as it described his life in detail that he had to reach out to Shane to ask why he wasn’t in the writers’ room while that song was being crafted.
“I was blown away. From the opening line, I thought this is my life. I remember the first time it got to that chorus, you know, I said, ‘Stop it. Let’s cut it right now!’ And it was really a song I thought was written for me,” says Darius. “For me, ‘what if I told you about my little nothing town/the two-room house where I came from/the man that I got my name from/I don’t even know where he is now,’ when I heard that line, I thought, ‘Oh my God.’ The thing about that song is it shocked me how many people reached out to me and said, ‘This is my life.’”
Darius is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest song, “For the First Time,” which is the second release from his upcoming album, When Was the Last Time, which will be released October 20th.
You can preorder When Was the Last Time now and receive three songs instantly, including the No. 1 “If I Told You,” “For the First Time” and “Don’t.” Preorder here.
Audio / Darius Rucker and songwriter Shane McAnally, along with Ross Copperman and Jon Nite, talk about how the No. 1 song “If I Told You” truly relates to people, even though it contains some very personal scenarios.
DownloadDarius Rucker (If I Told You No. 1) OC: (Shane) …to show ‘em. :59
DARIUS: “I was blown away. From the opening line, I thought this is my life. I remember the first time it got to that chorus, you know, I said, ‘Stop it. Let’s cut it right now!’ And it was really a song I thought was written for me.” SHANE: “What’s funny is being that specific ‘cause we feel it’s about our lives too.” DARIUS: “And that was why I reached out to you, as I said for me, ‘what if I told you about my little nothing town/the two-room house where I came from/the man that I got my name from/I don’t even know where he is now,’ when I heard that line, I thought, ‘Oh my God.’ The thing about that song is it shocked me how many people reached out to me and said, ‘This is my life.’ [SHANE: “Yeah, exactly.”] So many people.” SHANE: “It is so specific, but I mean it is specific, but it’s the truth and it is how a lot of us were raised and a lot of us feel. We’re so used to like, when we fall in love with people in not showing those parts, because we really want to… [ROSS: “Save face.”] Yeah, exactly, when the truth is those are probably the things that make someone love you if you’re brave enough to show ‘em.”
