Tim McGraw Celebrates Mother’s Day With ‘I Called Mama’
It's the next best thing to an in-person show!
Tim McGraw celebrates the special women in our lives (and more) with his new single, “I Called Mama,” dropping the track today alongside an extra-personal lyric video.
A tender ballad featuring throwback sonics, McGraw’s emotive vocal and soul-stirring swells of Gospel organ, the new track is indeed timed to coincide with Mother’s Day — but it also looks beyond the mother-child bond to highlight a broader sense of human connection. All about encouraging those in need to reach out for ones they love, it’s a timely reminder that when life gets tough or tragedy strikes, we need someone to turn toward. And that we, in turn, should strive to be there for somebody else.
“On the one hand this song is literally, ‘Hey, call your mom,’ McGraw says in an official statement. “On the other hand, you look at a time like this, there are real hardships for everyone, and it’s a great reminder that hearing someone’s voice who knows you and loves you can help you get through anything. I think it’s at these very difficult times that music can help and the power of a song can give someone a moment of clarity or comfort, or just a smile. Especially now, when we seem to need it more than ever.”
“So I stopped off at a Texaco, bought a Slim Jim and a Coke / Parked out by the water just to watch that river flow / Grabbed my guitar from the back seat, wrote a song just for me / And I sung it for the blue sky and a couple live oak trees / I thought of home, grabbed my phone from my pocket / And I called mama,” goes the heart-steeling chorus.
View this post on Instagram#ICALLEDMAMA available this Friday! Presave now (link in bio)
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“I Called Mama” was written by Lance Miller, Marv Green and Jimmy Yeary, and the song was produced by McGraw with longtime studio collaborator Byron Gallimore. It’s McGraw’s first new release since switching back to Big Machine Label Group, and the track’s lyric video features previously-unseen video of the icon as a baby with his mother. He plans to release a larger-scale video with vintage footage sent in by fans around the country at a later date, but no official word yet on his next studio album.
“Mother’s definitely deserve to be honored more than one day a year. We’ve have had such an incredible response of people sharing their special Mama videos, we are going to get you something really special in a few weeks.”
The singer performed the track live for the very first time for fans Friday morning (5/8) for Amazon Music’s new series on Amazon Live. He will perform the song again during a special livestream concert today. Partnering with RADIO.com (watch it below), the country superstar will take the stage this afternoon to perform a set full of his iconic hits — and the new track.
His livestream event kicks off at 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT and is available on to watch below or on RADIO.COM, Facebook and Twitter.
