“My Next Thirty Years”
Tim McGraw
Written by Phil Vassar
Radio & Records
#1 (6 weeks)
December 8, 2000 – January 12, 2001
Billboard
#1 (5 weeks)
December 16, 2000 – January 13, 2001
A Place in the Sun was a transitional album for Tim McGraw.
It captured his strengthening vocal talent right at the moment that his voice matured, giving his new material a gravitas that he couldn’t deliver before.
But that growth was masked by the step backward in the quality of the material, with a couple of the big hits from this album falling short of the standard he’d set with the classics from Everywhere.
I’d say “Please Remember Me” and “My Next Thirty Years” are the only No. 1 hits from Sun that find the quality of the material and the elevation of it by his stronger vocal are enough to place themselves among McGraw’s best hits.
“My Next Thirty Years” would’ve been a bit obnoxious in McGraw’s more nasal earlier style, but he breezes effortlessly over the floating piano melodies so closely associated with songwriter Phil Vassar’s compositions. “Years” sounds just like those big Jo Dee Messina hits that Vassar wrote, which is unsurprising as McGraw produced those Messina records. He sounds genuinely grateful as he recounts his life so far and shares his determination to make the next thirty years the best years of his life.
This joyous record captured the optimism of the new millennium, which wound up being a fleeting moment with 2001 right around the corner. McGraw’s authentic performance was the perfect match for such hopeful material, and this remains one of his most enduring hits.
“My Next Thirty Years” gets an A.
Every No. 1 Single of the 2000s
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This is a very good song. Worthy of a “B+”.
I’ve never quite been able to get there with this song and I’m not sure why. It’s a great song concept with clever and amusing age progression touchstones, turning a benchmark that most people lament into a positive in a way that I always admired about Phil Vassar’s writing. The song’s middling tempo is a better fit for the lyric than an aggressive uptempo foot stomp, but sonically I think the song would have done a better job of winning me over if the tempo picked up at least a couple of beats.
“My Next Thirty Years” definitely deserved to be a hit, but its multi-week stay at the top of the charts seemed exaggerated and led me to burn out on the song. It has diminished playback appeal for me a quarter century later while “Something Like That” still holds up as a supercharged banger. Nonetheless, I could have used a follow-up tune from either Tim McGraw or Phil Vassar holding my hand when I turned 40 as that was the benchmark that really hit me like a freight train.
With this song’s tenure at the top extending over two years on the calendar, it’s a good opportunity for me to sing my praises for the year 2001, which was the last time I felt truly excited about the country music played on radio. In the past, it got under my skin when songs I really liked fell short of the top, but by 2001 I had come to feel fortunate when good songs had a decent run on radio even if they didn’t get anywhere near #1. Some examples of why I thought 2001 was the best year for country radio in quite some were underperformers like Lee Ann Womack’s “Why They Call it Falling”, Darryl Worley’s “A Good Day to Run”, Phil Vassar’s “Rose Bouquet”, Steve Holy’s “The Hunger”, Terri Clark’s “No Fear”, The Chicks’ “Heartbreak Town”, Eric Heatherly’s “Wrong Five O’Clock”, and Chalee Tennison’s “Go Back”. I’m sure there are others that will come to mind as soon as I click “post comment” as well. But anyway, back to McGraw’s #1…
Grade: B
Those are all great 2001 singles you listed! I especially love “Why They Call It Falling,” “The Hunger,” “Rose Bouquet,” “No Fear,” and “Go Back.” It’s such a shame that so many great songs from that era that weren’t big hits seem very much forgotten by the general public these days.
I liked this song at the time and as a kid 30 years old seemed so adult to me (lol). The crazy thing is, we’re coming up on the conclusion of the aforementioned next thirty years.
Heck, I was about 7 years old when I heard the Beatles sing “When I’m 64” on the “Sgt. Pepper” LP. The thought of Paul being 64 was about as plausible to me as my grandmother becoming an astronaut.
This one didn’t vibe with me at first, likely because I wasn’t even close to 30 yet in 2000. Hearing it now with fresh ears, I realize how mature and positive it is. As someone from a family of alcoholics, I also love the line “Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers.”
I think what turned me on to embracing songs about aging, other than my actual age, was Trout Fishing in America. They can be whimsical about it (“Who Knows What We Might Do”) or heartbreaking (“Where Did Everybody Go?”), and this song has that mix of levity and maturity that reminds me of some of their best work.
I was told a long time ago that Tim apparently said on Larry King that he hates this song and has never once done it live, but I haven’t independently confirmed that.
That’s note quite what he said on King. Here is the exchange:
KING: Was there a song you didn’t think might do too well that did do well?
MCGRAW: There’s been a couple of those. Yes, a song called “My Next Thirty Years” I wasn’t too crazy about that went on to be a big hit that I just didn’t think it would be, not that I didn’t like the song…
To me it comes across more as him saying he wasn’t crazy about it being a single.
Thanks for the clarification!
I had also been curious about this ever since I read somewhere that McGraw hated this song, which surprised me, so it’s nice to have this clarification. The part about him never doing it live still seems to be true, though, since I can’t find a single video or clip of him performing it anywhere.
Maybe he should start singing it live once he turns 60.
Never realized how much this sounded like Jo Dee’s I’m Alright, but I guess it makes sense with Vassar responsible for both (I like I’m Alright better). This is a McGraw record I’m not particularly crazy about; it’s perfectly fine and inoffensive, but I’d say it’s sticky mid-tier as far as his singles canon goes. B-
Passable song, passable vocal performance, passable instrumental accompaniment – very surprised that this song spent so many weeks at #1 – grade C+ to B-
Besides Brad Paisley’s Who Needs Pictures, Tim McGraw’s A Place In The Sun was another cd I got at Best Buy as a late birthday present in the Spring of 2000. I got it because I had liked “Please Remember Me” and “My Best Friend,” and my step dad liked “Something Like That.” I also remembered liking some of the other songs on the album when I heard it playing at the Dixie Bones barbeque restaurant in late 1999. While I initially didn’t quite enjoy it as much as Paisley’s CD due to it being more contemporary, it was an album that eventually grew on me the more I listened to it. Today, it’s still one of my personal favorite McGraw albums, and besides the singles, some other songs on it I enjoy are “Senorita Margarita,” “You Don’t Love Me Anymore,” “Somebody Must Be Prayin’ For Me,” “The Trouble With Never,” “She’ll Have You Back,” “The Eyes Of A Woman,” and “Seventeen.”
When I first got the album, “Some Things Never Change” was the then brand new single, and I actually heard and enjoyed it on the CD before I first heard it on the radio. It came on the radio during a rainy afternoon while my dad and I were sitting in his car, just when we were about to go visit my cousins’ house. That was a moment in which it felt really neat to hear a song I liked on an album I owned and knowing I’d also get to enjoy it on the radio. But just like with Paisley’s “We Danced,” I wasn’t exactly thrilled when I later found out that “My Next Thirty Years” was going be the next single. Again, I didn’t dislike the song, but there were other songs I liked better on the album. Unlike the other Phil Vassar compositions I had heard up until that point, the song’s melody didn’t quite reel me in yet, and there wasn’t much else going on with it sonically to catch my attention enough. Also, I obviously couldn’t relate to it, since I was nowhere near being 30 at the time and was just starting high school.
After “My Next Thirty Years” had been on the radio a while, that’s when it started growing on me more and more. I came to like McGraw’s joyful performance, the bright and sunny instrumentation and arrangement, and some of the lines of the song which made it seem autobiographical for McGraw at the time like “Start a little family and hang out with my wife” and “Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear.” At the time, knowing he was happily married to Faith Hill and had kids, he did seem like the 30 something family man who was settling down. While I STILL don’t feel like I’m anywhere near 30 due to autism, I’ve really come to enjoy and appreciate this song more than ever lately. I love the optimism of the lyrics and him willing and wanting to make things better in his life. And like Bobby, I especially love the “drink a little lemonade and not so many beers” line. The maturity and positivity of this record is overall very refreshing to me compared to much of post bro-country mainstream country. I also really love the bright and sunny feel of the instrumentation, including the keyboard solo, which is typical of a lot of Phil Vassar songs around this time. The song’s beat with the punchy drums also makes it perfect for taking a walk on a beautiful sunny day. I’ve always loved the song’s ending as well, with that cool electric guitar part right before the rapid drumming closes the song.
My dad always enjoyed hearing the song on the radio, even before it started growing on me. He was pretty much a Tim McGraw fan by then, and he would even tell me sometimes that he wanted to get a cowboy hat similar to the black, wide brimmed hat that Tim always wore then. One day after school, not long after I had started my freshman year in high school, my dad and I were going to Chili’s for dinner. Just as we were walking around the side of the Chili’s building on our way to the entrance, we both heard “My Next Thirty Years” coming from the speakers they had outside. It was near the end of the song, but we both instantly recognized it, and even my dad thought it was pretty neat for us to be suddenly hearing it at Chili’s. I remember thinking the sunny instrumentation featured all throughout the long fadeout with the “walking beat” was perfect for the nice, sunny, breezy day it was. And then hearing the song’s cool ending with the electric guitar and then the “ba da da da da da-da!” ending with the rapid drumming and guitar sounded so great at the time with the bright blue skies above us. It was such a mood booster for us right before our dinner, lol! :D
Sometime a little while after that, with Dad and I in his car again, our station was having a listener contest on who can guess what song it is just by playing like a second of the song. When they gave the clue, what I heard was the keyboard that first opens “My Next Thirty Years.” It was just a second of it, but I instantly recognized the sound of the keyboard. After they played the tiny clip, I immediately said “My Next Thirty Years!” I remember my dad being so impressed and said “Wow…that’s good!” Not to be bragging, but he was even more impressed when we later found out that I was right when someone else called in and gave the correct answer.
Also, as I mentioned in Phil Vassar’s “Just Another Day In Paradise,” my dad and I were in the music store called The Wall at Fair Oaks Mall, in Fairfax, VA around early 2001 when we met the lady working there who was also a huge country music fan. She especially loved Phil Vassar and had his debut album playing in the store earlier. Whenever I hear either “Just Another Day In Paradise” or “My Next Thirty Years,” I always think of when she told us about Phil’s situation when he was competing with himself on the charts as both songs were fighting for the top spot around the same time, lol.
And for a tiny bit of useless trivia, I always think it’s neat that this song was number one the same time that the movie, Cast Away (starring Tom Hanks), was released to movie theaters.
With the year 2000 coming to an end on this feature, and with the slower charts resulting in fewer songs hitting the top, leaving less songs to show love to, I’d like to mention some other 2000 singles that I love but weren’t number ones:
“Because You Love Me” – Jo Dee Messina
“It Was” – Chely Wright
“Put Your Hand In Mine” – Tracy Byrd
“Unbreakable Heart” – Jessica Andrews
“The Look” – Jerry Kilgore
“Lessons Learned” – Tracy Lawrence
“This Woman Needs” – SheDaisy
“The Fun Of Your Love” – Jennifer Day
“Carlene” – Phil Vassar
“She’s More” – Andy Griggs
“Real Live Woman” – Trisha Yearwood
“What I Need To Do” – Kenny Chesney
“Some Things Never Change” – Tim McGraw
“Been There” – Clint Black & Steve Wariner
“Just Because She Lives There” – Chalee Tennison
“Love’s The Only House” – Martina McBride
“Another Nine Minutes” – Yankee Grey
“Your Everything” – Keith Urban
“You’ll Always Be Loved By Me” – Brooks & Dunn
“Something To Write Home About” – Craig Morgan
“It’s Always Something” – Joe Diffie
“I’ll Be” – Reba McEntire
“The Chain Of Love” – Clay Walker
“When You Need My Love” – Darryl Worley
“Faith In You” – Steve Wariner
“Flowers On The Wall” – Eric Heatherly
“Unconditional” – Clay Davidson
“Prayin’ For Daylight” – Rascal Flatts
“There You Are” – Martina McBride
“Go On” – George Strait
“Ashes By Now” – Lee Ann Womack
“A Little Gasoline” – Terri Clark
“Paradise” – Craig Morgan
“This Time Around” – Yankee Grey
Oh, forgot to add “Feels Like Love” by Vince Gill as another 2000 song I love.
“Feels Like Love” was such a perfect “2000” kind of song. It was a real banger but I always had to hold my nose through that “almost as good as my favorite shoes” stinker of a lyric.
Another song I always positively associate with the summer of 2000 was Wynonna’s “Goin’ Nowhere”, even though it unfortunately lived up to the title on the charts.
“Feels Like Love” is definitely one of my favorite feel good songs! It’s one of my favorites of Vince’s faster songs, and I always loved his guitar solos on that one, as well. The music video always makes me smile, too, and I love when Vince is goofing off in front of that fun house mirror, lol.
I had forgotten about that Wynonna song until I just checked it out after you mentioning it! I immediately remembered that unique intro with the slide guitar. I do recall hearing it a few times around Spring/Summer of 2000. I especially remember hearing it around the same time Shanghai Noon was in movie theaters, lol. Speaking of Wynonna, I also love the Judds song, “Stuck In Love,” from earlier in 2000, which I forgot to mention! I remember hearing that one on the radio a few times and thinking it was so neat that they had reunited. I was actually watching the 2000 ACM awards on YouTube last night and was enjoying the K-Mart commercials the Judds sang and appeared on during the breaks.
Also, another one I meant to add to my favorite 2000s songs list is Gary Allan’s “Loving You Against My Will.”
I like this song’s sentiment, but the melody never grabbed me enough to make it more than just a casual listen for me.
I really enjoy the song and I kind of agree with Tim on the surprise to choose it as a single. One Tim was over 30 years old and the fact it’s a song that is prime to remove from the artist’s setlist as they age. I’m sure you could add my next 40 years but after a while the lyric wouldn’t make much sense. I do love the melody and piano and it is a favorite of mine but it’ll be interesting to see how I feel after I hit 40 and onward (good lord willing)
Phil Vassar was on quite a run, wasn’t he? I agree that the lack of a strong melody made it a surprising hit, but I love the sentiment of the song. Certainly resonate with it more the older I get.
Hard to believe we’re already out of the year 2000, and into 2001!
This song 2nd week at number one was around the time that I was born. My country radio stations would play this song, along with “Something Like That” extremely frequently after it’s release. And listening to it now, as I’m getting closer to the year thirty, I can say this is one of the Tim McGraw songs that I relate to more every time it plays on my music playlist. Always seems to make me think about my future and whether or not there are things that I need to change or improve in my life.