Steve Diamond and Marv Green wrote "Consider Me Gone," which Reba McEntire released as the second single from her 2009 album, Keep on Loving You. The song became McEntire's first solo Top 10 hit since 2005, and when it hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in January of 2010, it was her first No. 1 since 2004. "Consider Me Gone" also landed in the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Below, Diamond tells The Boot about writing the hit song.

One thing I love about writing with Marv is, we usually come in with no pre-conceived notion. We just started strumming some chords ... I came out with the first line, "Every time I turn the conversation to something deeper than the weather ..." And the melody came out in the verse.

We did want to write about the inattentiveness of men sometimes! [Laughs] I know in my own case, I don't always pay attention to my wife and what she needs. And this was a song about a woman just wanting to have some power in a relationship ... and to be able to dictate some terms.

We didn't have a title, but we had all the chords. So we tried a few other things, like, "I'm outta here," and, "I'm not gonna let that happen again" ... because we didn't start with the chorus, and the chorus doesn't start with the title. So we fished around for a while to see if we could find a title.

But the song did flow ... pretty much everything but the title! And then once we had that, everything else fell into place. We just kind of went with it ... almost like jamming, if you're a couple of guitar players. We got most of it that day, and we finished it up the next day. Sometimes when you let it sit for a while, that last little piece becomes clearer ... We were excited when we left the first day, but when we came back the second day, we felt we really had something.

We're absolutely thrilled that Reba heard it and loved it. It's mind-blowing to us, because Reba is such an icon, and her hits are going to be as big as hits could ever be. So we were thrilled to find out it was her biggest record. And she is so cool. She called me, and she called Marv as well, to thank us for the song and to congratulate us. She [was] exceptionally gracious with her appreciation and her congratulations.

This story was originally written by Marianne Horner, and revised by Angela Stefano.

Country's Greatest Love Stories: Reba McEntire + Narvel Blackstock

You Think You Know Reba McEntire?

More From TheBoot