The Stories Behind Trace Adkins’s Biggest Hits

Trace Adkins has spent over 25 years delivering chart-topping hits with his distinctive deep baritone voice. Behind the anthems of love, loss, and doses of daily life are stories that are every bit as compelling as the songs themselves. From late-night writing sessions to happy accidents, this is the story of how his biggest hits came to be, and how they transformed him into a country music legend with a thriving career to the present day.  

Songwriters Ashley Gorley and Lee Thomas Miller were inspired by an older repairman working at Gorley's house. The repairman saw how Gorley’s young children (ages 2 and 4) were causing mischief, smiled, and remembered how his own children, who are now adults, were the same when they were younger. This moment sparked the song’s theme of appreciating fleeting moments with children: “You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back / You're gonna wish these days, hadn't gone by so fast / These are some good times, so take a good look around / You may not know it now, but you're gonna miss this.”  

The songwriters initially explored various angles before deciding to tell the story from a female perspective. Adkins was initially hesitant to record the song, thinking it was too mature. But when he did, the song reached No. 1 on Billboard Hot Country Songs and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became Song of the Year at the 39th Annual Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction in 2008.  

Co-written with Jeff Bates, Adkins wrote the song with Shelton in mind as a back-and-forth duet. The song showed the two artists’ (who are friends IRL) dynamic. The Louisiana-born singer-actor shared in an interview that Shelton was “the only person silly enough to do it” and how they laughed throughout the recording session.

“If I Was a Woman” was not their first collaboration. Their previous duet, “Hillbilly Bone,” earned a Grammy nomination and had impressive streaming numbers.  

The third single from his debut album, Dreamin’ Out Loud, “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” was Adkins's first No. 1 hit and would remain as such for ten years until he topped the country charts again with “Ladies Love Country Boys.”  

The song talks about trying to understand love and romance, but ultimately reaching the conclusion that love doesn’t make sense: “I been thinkin' 'bout our love situation / All this attraction in the present tense / I've reached the only logical conclusion / Love ain't supposed to make sense.”  

Decades after their release, Adkins’s biggest chart-toppers continue to strike a chord with fans old and new. “You’re Gonna Miss This,” a song so emotionally spot-on, it’s been used at graduation ceremonies, printed in yearbooks, and quoted by anyone feeling nostalgic about growing up too fast. That’s the magic of Adkins’s storytelling, authentic, deeply human, and rooted in real emotion.  

Now, 25 years into his career, Adkins says he’s in a “beautiful place” where he can do whatever he wants musically.