Back in June 2016, Scotty McCreery took to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry with a new song to share. That song was “Five More Minutes,” which McCreery wrote along with Frank Rogers and Monty Criswell two weeks after his grandfather passed away.
“It’s just kind of where my mind was at that day when we went to the writing session…and started talking about granddaddy,” McCreery said in an exclusive interview with Country Rebel. “Just the good times we had…still have a few things I wish I could have said to him and things I wish I could have done again with him.“
The song reflects on various moments in a person’s life that leave them wishing for a bit more time to treasure them. McCreery closes the song by singing about his grandfather, and how he wished for just “five more minutes” to spend with him.
Everyone at the Opry gave McCreery a standing ovation following his emotional performance of the song. Looking back on that moment, McCreery said it was “definitely a special night“:
“That was a moment when, you know I’m looking around and seeing every single person in the Grand Ole Opry was focused on the song. You could tell they were listening to the lyrics and they were taking it in. And that kind of gave me the energy. And I kind of felt my granddaddy was there also, watching over it.”
A few days later, the Opry posted a video of McCreery’s performance, and the response was extraordinary. The clip went viral, and as of press time, it has over 2.6 million views.
This is a remarkable achievement, especially considering the fact that “Five More Minutes” wasn’t released as a single until Friday (May 5). The song has managed to touch so many lives already, and has a special meaning to many of McCreery’s fans. As you would expect, the song is close to McCreery’s heart as well.
While the part about his grandfather means a lot to him, there’s another portion of the song that McCreery shares a strong connection to:
“The one about my high school football field. I played baseball but it just kind of fit the song to go with football. The line where it talks about after they lost a game, ‘the next time I get in here I’ll have to buy a ticket…” I remember doing that, that’s autobiographical. It’s just how I feel after I throw my last pitch and realize that a lifetime of going to practice ever since I was five years old, playing games every week, that was coming to an end like this.”
It turns out that McCreery isn’t the only one to experience “Five More Minutes” moments in his life. He said that many fans have approached him with their own stories, telling him how much the song has meant to them.
“It’s pretty cool to hear those stories,” McCreery said. “A lot of folks are responding to this. And that’s what you hope for, when you’re doing what I do you just want to touch people, and inspire people.“
Now that “Five More Minutes” is an official single, it has the potential to touch even more lives. That’s exactly what McCreery hopes for the song that he refers to as “my favorite song I’ve ever written“:
“I just hope that’s the legacy it leaves behind and it takes folks back to some good times in their life. It might be sad thinking back to it, but I just hope folks remember that when they are thinking back to it, it’s because it’s the good times, the good memories that you wish you could go back to. Hopefully it leaves people with a good feeling.”
You can tune in below to listen to the official audio clip for “Five More Minutes.” Also, be sure to show your support for McCreery by downloading the song here!
