The Whiskey Riff Raff podcast sat down with Riley Green this week to talk small town life, college football, hunting, and country music.
Riley was recently announced as one of the opening acts on Luke Combs’ 2023 World Tour, and with his role as a country music fan favorite over the past few years, he’s an obvious choice. Many of Riley’s songs are standouts; the kind of tracks you can listen to on repeat and never tire out on.
And the best part of his songs – they make you feel a little deeper.
One song in particular became the topic of conversation on this week’s podcast – “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.” The song features a lot of impossibilities that we all wish existed: Home teams that never lose, honky tonks with no closing times, and coolers that never run out of beer.
And some of the lines really struck an emotional chord with listeners. Wishing Sundays never ended, and that everyone would make it home safely from overseas are just a few examples.
For dog lovers, “I wish good dogs never got gray and old” is a line that packs a sympathetic punch.
In the conversation, Steve compared this incredibly written line to a closer in a baseball game:
“Your line about dogs in ‘I Wish Grandpas Never Died,’ I swear to god… that line in the song was like the closer coming in at the end of a baseball game.”
For almost anyone, the idea of grandpas never dying is one that resonates deeply.
But Riley really took this song to another level with its nostalgia.
“That was one of those songs that just kind of came, ya know I wrote it by myself in about 45 minutes. I think I had the idea for a while after my granddaddy passed away… it was one of those songs that was a little tough to write… you’re talking about some pretty big things.
Wishing everybody overseas would make it home… you kind of have to top yourself as the song goes along.
There’s a lot of songs that talk about your grandpa, and I didn’t want to write a song that was about my grandpa. I kind of wanted to write it from the stance of like, these are some values my granddaddy taught me…
And the best thing about that song is what you just said, people have a line that does something to ‘em.”
And he’s right, the song has a special way of representing everyone’s feelings, and different lyrics become appreciable depending on every listener’s background and experience.
Riley shared one unique way that he’s also seen this song impact listeners:
“I had a guy come up to me after a show one time, he was an older gentleman, and he said that he never knew his grandfather, but he was a grandfather and that song got him for that reason.”
And that really sums up the country music feel.
Even if writers don’t know the impact they’ll have when they’re writing, some of the best songs are the ones that hit everyone a little differently but keep us all united and grounded by our similarities.
“I Wish Grandpas Never Died”
Presented by Templeton Distillery, you can download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here.
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Cheers, y’all.