"It Won't Be Like This for Long" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Ca ...

, lead vocalist of the rock band

Hootie & the Blowfish Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band w ...

. It was released in November 2008 as the second from his first country music album '' Learn to Live''. Rucker co-wrote the song with

Chris DuBois Charles Christopher DuBois is a songwriter and music publisher based out of Nashville, Tennessee. DuBois began his music career as ASCAP Nashville Director of Membership in 1993. He left ASCAP in 1999 to form Sea Gayle Music with business partne ...

and

Ashley Gorley Ashley Glenn Gorley (born April 29, 1977) is an American songwriter, publisher, and producer from Danville, Kentucky, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorley has written 60 number 1 songs and has over 300 songs recorded by artists including ...

Content

The song is a mid-tempo mostly accompanied by

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. The song describes a couple who have just had a baby, and throughout it chronicles how their lives change by the child's presence. In the first verse, the child is crying at night, keeping both parents awake. The mother then tells the father that evenings will change when the child grows. In the second verse, the daughter is four years old, and is being taken to preschool. She hangs on to her father's leg because she is afraid, and the teacher tells him "it won't be like this for long". By the third verse and bridge, the father is observing the daughter and realizing that the daughter will soon be grown up, and he will not be able to observe her much longer. According to ''

Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overvie ...

'' magazine, Rucker met with Chris DuBois and Ashley Gorley to write the song. The three songwriters were talking about their kids and "how quickly life changes." As the songwriters were talking, they decided to write the song.

Critical reception

The song received a "thumbs down" review from the country music site Engine 145. Brady Vercher stated that "the lyric itself is too straightforward to carry much emotional resonance despite Rucker's best efforts." He also considered it derivative of

Trace Adkins Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

' early 2008 hit " You're Gonna Miss This", which was also co-written by Ashley Gorley and contains a theme of a parent observing a daughter's growing up. Allen Jacobs of ''Roughstock'' gave the song a more favorable review, saying that "Rucker's butter-smooth vocals catch a country cadence, as his balladeers a promise of improvement in a loved one - and his own life."

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was released for the song in February 2009. As with his previous two music videos ("Don't Think I Don't Think About It" and "

Winter Wonderland "Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himber, ...

"), the video for "It Won't Be Like This for Long" was directed by

Wayne Isham Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists. Early life and education Isham was born in December 2, 1958. He attended the University ...

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 45 on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart dated November 1, 2008 and peaked at number 1 on the chart dated March 28, 2009 and remained there for the next two weeks.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2008 singles Darius Rucker songs Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Songs written by Darius Rucker Songs written by Ashley Gorley Song recordings produced by Frank Rogers (record producer) Songs written by Chris DuBois Capitol Records Nashville singles 2008 songs