Meaning of “Small Town King” by Tim McGraw
Somewhere along the course of “Standing Room Only”, with it being a country album and all, of course us listeners had to be treated to a song celebrating the outback-ish lifestyle. And within the context of this project, that would be “Small Town King”, a track in which Tim McGraw celebrates what he and songwriters obviously perceive as being idyllic males coming from such a background.
So the characteristics which a “small town king” possesses include being the following:
- brave
- charitable
- romantically loyal
- family-oriented (i.e. “a mama’s boy”)
- cognizant of “the Man above”
He also sports a blue-collar work ethic and as such has more than one skill, though apparently being a farmer by profession. There’s also allusions to ‘small town kings’, like the vocalist himself, being rugged and having an affinity for hanging out at the local bar.
So all lyrics considered, it’s as if such individual dudes as noted above are depicted as being real man’s men. A “small town king” isn’t the type of guy you’re likely to come across being celebrated by the mainstream, but he knows how to hold it down in the type of environment that he was raised in.
“He’s a mama’s boy, a John Deere rider
Dirt on his boots, the heart of a fighter
Chevy square body, old Skoal ring
Simple man on an old six-string
Friday night, John 3:16
Backroad baptized just like me
He’s holdin’ it down, he earned that ground
He’s a small-town, small-town king”
Credits for “Small Town King”
The authorship of this song is credited to these writers:
- Jeremy Stover
- Jenn Schott
- Jaren Johnston
The producers are Tim McGraw and Byron Gallimore.
Release Date
“Small Town King” is the eighth track on the playlist of “Standing Room Only”, Tim McGraw’s album that Big Machine Records made public on 25 August 2023.
