Tim McGraw released his new single, “I Called Mama,” on May 8.
Penned by Lance Miller, Marv Green and Jimmy Yeary, “I Called Mama” is about the special connection mothers share with their children, especially when times are tough.
Indeed, Tim experienced his share of tough times growing up in Louisiana in a broken home, where his mom worked multiple jobs to provide for him and his two sisters. In many ways, “I Called Mama” is a tribute to Tim’s own mother, Betty, who he says is his “hero.”
In a video interview with Blair Garner of Westwood One’s The Blair Garner Show, Tim opened up about his hero, expounded on the importance of the message in his new song, shared an emotional story of domestic abuse and more.
Nash Country Daily has an exclusive excerpt of Tim’s interview, which will air on The Blair Garner Show on May 11, as well on as Blair’s Instagram TV.
Blair Garner: “Was there ever a moment with your mom where it was like, ‘Mom, you know what? I didn’t know how strong you were. I didn’t know what all you did for me until now at this point?’”
Tim McGraw: “Well, you’re going to make me cry. There was a lot of moments because my mom was a strong woman and she raised us three kids and went through a lot of abuse in her marriages. So we saw a lot of that growing up and saw a lot of the black eyes and bloody noses and all that thing around our house. But I remember being on our own and being at our home—and I was around 13 maybe—one night. And I got up late at night, it’s about two in the morning, and my mom had worked like three jobs at a time to try to keep the bills paid. And I remember specifically getting up one night to go get a glass of water and she was at our kitchen table, and she had bills spread out everywhere. She had her head down, she was crying and she didn’t see me walk by. I didn’t know what to say. It was just so heartbreaking to me and it’s sort of . . . I don’t know that I really got it at that point. But older in life, I reflect on that a lot. I reflect on that scene and seeing my mom and how she hid that from us. And I just happened to catch that moment.”
Blair: “During this time of isolation, I do know that there are a lot of women, particularly, who find themselves having to be quarantined with someone who may be abusive toward them. Thank you for being so candid about your mom’s challenges in the past. Was there a point during all of that that you felt it necessary for you to try to intervene?”
Tim: “Oh yeah. I got beat up a couple of times trying to get in the middle of it. Yeah, for sure.”
Blair: “How old were you?”
Tim: “First time I remember trying to get in the middle of it, I didn’t get beat up, but I remember trying to get in the middle of, it was probably third grade, something like that, second, third grade. There was another time that was pretty specific. I was a little older, but it was a situation for sure.”
Blair: “Was there ever a concern on your end to—a lot of times when you’re growing up, we as parents tend to replicate what we saw in the past. Was there an effort on your end to try and say, ‘No, I’m breaking the cycle?’”
Tim: “Well, certainly, it’s something that when you grow up seeing that sort of thing, for me anyway, it was certainly not the way that I wanted to raise my family. And that was specific in mind for me from the very beginning when I wanted to start a family. I wanted to do the best I could and I fail all the time. I mean, gosh, I fail every day as a father, as a husband, as a son, a brother, I always fail. But you always get back up and try harder and the next time and try to learn from it.”
Tune in to The Blair Garner Show on May 11 for this touching interview with Tim McGraw.
Included below is an excerpt of the upcoming interview.