Jamey Johnson Says One “In Color” Lyric Doesn’t Mean What Fans Have Thought For Years
on
Jamey Johnson is clearing up a misunderstanding about his hit song “In Color”
Johnson originally released the track back in 2008 as the lead single from his album That Lonesome Song. He co-wrote it with James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller.
It became a career-defining release for Johnson. It is his only Top 10 country hit and won Song of the Year at both the ACM Awards and CMA Awards. It also earned two nominations at the 51st Grammy Awards.
The Lyric Fans Have Been Getting Wrong From Jamey Johnson’s “In Color”
Johnson recently appeared on The Justin “Danger” Nunley Podcast with his wife, Brittney Eakins. During the conversation, they began discussing how “In Color” came to be.
As many fans probably know, the song tells the story of an elderly man showing his grandson black-and-white photos from important moments in his life. He explains that the pictures don’t tell the whole story because you had to be there (see them in color) to really understand what it all meant.
When Johnson, Otto, and Miller came together to write, they drew inspiration from memories of their own grandpas. They looked back at old photos in albums and realized that, over time, the photos gradually began to gain color.
“But if you looked at them as they progressed through the years, you could see the color chrome pictures come in, and then you can see the nice new pictures from the 80s,” Johnson recalled. “You could watch the technology of photography change from decade to decade.”
But even though fans have enjoyed the song for nearly twenty years, Johnson says there’s still something many people misunderstand. In the third verse, fans have gotten confused about who his grandpa is actually speaking about.
The verse was written about a real photograph of Johnson’s grandparents on their wedding day. The lyrics go:
“This one is my favorite one / This is me and Grandma in the summer sun / All dressed up the day we said our vows / You can’t tell it here but it was hot that June / And that rose was red and her eyes were blue / And just look at that smile, I was so proud”
However, it wasn’t his grandfather who was smiling in the photo.
“You’d have to understand my pawpaw’s sense of humor when the line says, ‘Look at that smile, boy I was so proud,’ Johnson said. “Because in that picture from their wedding, he’s 19 and I think my meemaw at the time was 14.”
Johnson says that in the photo, his grandpa isn’t smiling at all. It’s his grandmother who has the big grin on her face.
“In the line, you think he’s talking about himself. ‘Boy I was so proud. Look at me smile’ right? But it’s not. It’s her. ‘Look at that smile. Boy I was so proud.’ It’s little things like that,” he explained.
You can hear Johnson perform “In Color” at most of his shows. He is currently on his Traveling Troubadour Tour, which runs through December 13.
His final show of 2026 is scheduled for December 20 at the Grand Ole Opry.
