"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 popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, musician, 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 Carol ...

, lead vocalist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish. 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 and

Ashley Gorley Ashley Gorley (born April 29, 1977) is an American songwriter, publisher, and producer from Danville, Kentucky, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorley has written 81 number 1 songs and has over 400 songs recorded by artists including Luke ...

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 A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

. 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'' 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 Tracy Darrell Adkins (born January 13, 1962) known professionally as Trace Adkins, is an American country music singer and actor. Adkins made his debut in 1996 with the album ''Dreamin' Out Loud'', released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since t ...

' 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 that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

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 Himb ...

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

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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

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