BEHIND THE SONG: “The House That Built Me”

Before 2010 rolled around, Miranda Lambert was a fan favorite and a critically praised artist without a number one hit to her name. But, all of that changed with her award-winning Revolution project and its second single “White Liar” which topped the charts earlier this year. And, with the follow-up single “The House That Built Me,” Miranda scored a monster hit which held onto the number one position for a total of four weeks.

Miranda and the Music Row community gathered at Nashville’s Sambuca to toast the ballad’s achievement on Tuesday, August 3rd. It was at that event where Miranda shared just what “The House That Built Me” meant to her. According to The Boot, she revealed the crowd, “This song means the world to me. It really, really does. I cry every single night onstage singin’ it live – every single night. I still can’t sing this song without cryin’, and to me, that’s a timeless song, and it should be Song of the Year.” Miranda added, “I can’t take credit for that. I just try to get up there and deliver it the best I can.”

The two people who can nab the credit are the ones responsible for writing the tune – Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin. Tom recently shared with The Wall Street Journal that “The House That Built Me” first came into being about six years ago when Shamblin was inspired by something he read: “We don’t build houses, they build us.” The song grew from there, but the writer felt that it was “unfocused” until four years later when one of the lines – “If I could just come in, I swear I’ll leave, won’t take nothing but a memory, from the house that built me” – tied it all together.

With the song finished, it just needed an artist to record it, and through producer Scott Hendricks, it found its way into the hands of Blake Shelton. At the number one party, Miranda revealed just how the song made it onto her album instead of one of her fiancé’s projects. She shared, “We were driving home one night from the airport and I was listening to a compilation CD I had been given of songs that had been pitched to me. I didn't like any of them and Blake said, 'Here, listen to what I have and maybe you'll find something.' I thought to myself, 'Yeah, 'cause our music is so much alike.' 'The House That Built Me' was the third song on his CD and I cried all the rest of the way home. We immediately called and asked Scott Hendricks if he could get the hold on the song moved from Blake to me." Miranda shared her gratitude with Blake at the party as she told him, “I know you didn’t have to do that. You could have kept it.”

Currently, Miranda is trying to hit the top of the charts with her recently released single from Revolution - “Only Prettier.” You can view the star-studded clip for that up-tempo, sassy tune here or check out the powerful video for “The House That Built Me” here.

Image courtesy of Sony Music Nashville

Nikita Palmer for Citadel Digital © 2010

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