The story behind the hit song.
This past weekend, Morgan Wallen kicked off his massive stadium tour, which started in Minneapolis, Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium in front of a sold-out crowd for two nights.
It’s the biggest country tour of the summer, and Morgan of course played tons of songs from his most recent album Still The Problem, but he played his hits and several other fan-favorites as well, and you can see his full set from night one list here. But one that I didn’t see on the list is called “Somebody’s Problem,” which was released in November of 2020 from his second studio album Dangerous: The Double Album. He wrote it with Ernest, Jacob Durrett and Rodney Clawson. It ended up becoming a minor crossover hit, peaking at #25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #3 on the US Hot Country Songs chart. It has since been certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA.
And there’s a great story behind where the inspiration came from. As Morgan described during his 2022 headlining performance at Rock The South, Morgan explained that he had picked up Ernest one day before they were going to write, but he realized he was low on fuel and needed to stop and get gas.
He pulled off to a gas station, got what he needed, and then pulled back out to a red light to get back on the interstate. Just as their light turned green, a girl was turning left to get on the highway too, and she turned out to be a “very pretty girl,” as Morgan put it, and he recalled looking at Ernest wondering who she was.
Ernest simply replied that she looked “an awful lot like somebody’s problem,” and the rest is history:
“We write a lot of songs together, and this particular day that we wrote this song, I picked him up one morning. We both live up in Nashville, or around that area, and I picked up him up, my truck was running low on fuel, so I had to stop at a gas station and fill up.
So I filled up, and then pulled back out to the red light, and my light turned green, so I was getting ready to go, and right before I did this vehicle pulled out in front of me, and turned left to go onto the interstate. We got a good look at who was inside, and it was a real pretty girl.
So I looked at over at Ern and said, ‘Damn. I wonder who that was.’ And he looked back over and said, ‘Well, bub, that looks an awful lot like somebody problem to me.'”
It’s a real cool story, and it’s always incredible to me that such talented songwriters can take simple moments like that and turn them into hit songs. It’s a short conversation most of us probably wouldn’t think twice about, but I think it’s still one of Morgan’s best songs, especially on that album. Morgan and Ern have no idea who it is, she has no idea that it’s her… how cool is that? Somewhere around Nashville is a random girl who inspired this song and doesn’t even know it… and never will.
It just goes to show that you never know where or when inspiration will strike…
@divajessiscray #somebodysproblem😉 #morganwallen @morganwallen ♬ original sound – @divajessiscray
“Somebody’s Problem”
‘Still The Problem’ Tour Dates
April 18 || Tuscaloosa, Ala. || Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Vincent Mason, Zach John King
May 1 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
May 2 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
May 8 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Zach John King
May 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Flatland Cavalry, Zach John King
May 15 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
May 16 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
May 29 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
May 30 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason
June 5 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
June 6 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
June 19 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
June 20 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King
June 26 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
June 27 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
July 17 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
July 18 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat
July 24 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
July 25 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ HARDY, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
July 31 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
August 1 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten
