I'm Already There

Lonestar lead singer Richie McDonald wrote this with Gary Baker and Frank Myers. The song is about being there in spirit when you can't be physically present. It was inspired by McDonald's time on the road while touring with Lonestar, who were red hot following the success of their 1999 Lonely Grill album and its hit single, "Amazed." The title was something McDonald came up with after calling home and speaking with his 4-year-old son Rhett. The singer told us: "I remember that night clearly to this day, just hearing that little squeaky voice saying, 'Daddy, when you comin' home?' And when you're gone for 6 weeks at that point, you just hang up the phone and you cry and you think, you know what, physically maybe I'm not there, but mentally I'm already there. I'll never forget sitting in that hotel room in Southern California and just thinking, 'I'm already there.' There's an idea. And that's where it came from. It was a way to help me through the separation at the time. Songwriting, for me, a lot of times it's therapy. Just the chance to spill my guts out on a piece of paper or a computer or whatever it is and to put it to music." (Here's the full Richie McDonald interview.)

This song is keenly felt among those with friends and family who are away. It became very popular following the September 11 attacks on America as military personnel were deployed. "This was a song that I wrote about being away from my family and a song that we could relate to every single night in the band being away from our families," Richie McDonald told us. "But after 9/11 it took on a whole new meaning, especially with the men and women in the military. They spend years away from their families, and it put things in perspective for us."