It was no surprise when the song “Humble and Kind,” sung by country music superstar, Tim McGraw, won Song of the Year at the CMA’s this fall. If you haven’t yet heard it, you might want to crawl out from under the rock you’ve been at to take a listen (but we’re pretty sure that’s not the case). The video that accompanies that song was released on Tim McGraw’s Facebook page on January 21, 2016 – one day after the song release.
Written by Lori McKenna and Julian Williams, “Humble and Kind” was the second single on McGraw’s “Damn Country Music” album. It won Video of the Year at the 2016 CMT Music Awards as well as Country Song of the Year at the 2016 AMA’s. And is it any wonder? The lyrics hit home like something from the 10 commandments mixed in with some Simple Reminders quotes:
“Hold the door, say please. say thank you
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie
I know you got mountains to climb but
Always stay humble and kind…”
McKenna revealed in a CMT interview earlier this year that the song was written for her husband and their five children and stems from her list of the things she wanted to ensure she had told them. She wrote the song in 2014 and says that Tim McGraw has always seen it as something bigger than she had, and makes the song beautiful. McGraw and Byron Gallimore co-produced the song, which was subsequently released, as noted above, in 2016.
The music video itself resulted from a brainstorm that McGraw had while running on a treadmill. He saw a 30-second trailer for Oprah Winfrey’s “Belief” series. After some discussions about concept, Winfrey provided footage for the video which, coupled with original footage of inspiring people and places, featured scenes from throughout the world which were part of Winfrey’s seven-part 2015 documentary series entitled “Belief.” Is it any wonder this song became Song of the Year for 2016 at the CMA’s? We think it’s more than just that: it’s a movement and it can inspire great things from regular people for this year as well as in the future.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Rolling Stone
