One of Tim McGraw’s most meaningful songs resonates differently with the country hitmaker now. McGraw has talked about “Humble And Kind” as one of the most heartfelt songs he’s ever recorded. Several years after he first released it, McGraw is reflecting on how the meaning of the song has evolved over time. He said in a statement recently shared by his record label:
“‘Humble and Kind,’ to me, the message of that song and the scope of that song grows exponentially every day in the world that we live in now. We certainly had a sense of that when we recorded the song, of what it said. I mean, it started out as sort of a microscope into your life, into your world and to how you teach your kids and what you want your kids to learn from you. And then it turned into this sort of worldview of how the world needs to look at each other, and how people in general need to look at each other differently than they look at each other now. We all could use a little grace and look at each other with a little humility and a little kindness. And I think that that song’s taken on more and more meaning, and I think it’s got a bigger megaphone. And I don’t think that I’m the megaphone. I think the song is.”
McGraw previously shared the story behind the sentimental song, explaining that “incredible” songwriter Lori McKenna initially wrote the now-famous track as “a love letter to her kids.” When McGraw heard it — “just Lori and a guitar” — he and his wife, fellow country superstar Faith Hill, knew it was special. McGraw said he didn’t record it for about another year, making it “the last thing I recorded for that album because, to be honest, I didn’t wanna mess it up.” Listen to the song again here: