An all-time great country song, indeed.
On this date 13 years ago in 2010, Miranda Lambert released her signature song and modern classic, “The House That Built Me.”
The song, written by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin, was actually originally intended for her ex-husband Blake Shelton to record.
But once Miranda heard it for the first time on a CD demo he played, it resonated so deeply that she knew she had to record it herself.
She said in an interview with Today that she broke down from the very first time she heard it:
“It was beautiful… I mean, I just started bawling from the second I heard it.
Blake was like, ‘If you have a reaction to this song like that, then you need to cut it.”
Miranda ultimately included it as third single from her 2009 third studio album Revolution, where it eventually peaked at #1 U.S. Billboard US Hot Country Songs chart and remains the fastest-rising single of her career.
She won three ACM’s at that 2010 show, including one for Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Revolution and Video of the Year for “White Liar”. The following year, she won three more ACM’s for “The House That Built Me”, including Song of the Year, Single of the Year, and Video of the Year.
Fresh off releasing the spunky, scorned “White Liar,” “House” showed off a completely new, much softer, side of Miranda that we really hadn’t seen too much up until that point.
The deeply personal subject matter and exceptional delivery with such a simple production allowed the emotional aspect of the song to shine, and of course, resonated very effectively with people all over the world.
Miranda says often it’s the number one song she wished she would’ve written, but honestly, she made it completely her own in every way.
It’s a song that means a lot to me personally, as it clearly does to so many, and I can hardly watch the music video without getting teary-eyed even over a decade later:
“The House That Built Me”
Her stripped-back 2010 perfomance of it at the ACM’s will still bring the chills, too…
The emotion in her voice is palpable, and she even received a standing ovation from the whole audience of her peers at the end… it’s that damn good:
