Story Behind the Song: Toby Keith, ‘Somewhere Else’

Bobby Pinson and Toby Keith co-wrote "Somewhere Else," released in February of 2011 as the third and final single from Keith's Bullets in the Gun album. The song peaked just outside the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart (No. 12) but also earned a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 80). Below, Pinson tells The Boot about writing the tune.

Usually before we do a road trip overseas, I'll fly out to Toby's house [in Oklahoma] and then fly with him to the venue, so we don't have to deal with all the customs at the international airports. This time, I got there late to his house. There was a huge thunderstorm happening, so we sat out on his front porch and watched this electric storm, which was pretty cool. We watched it for about two hours.

We probably didn't start writing until about one in the morning. He had this cool melody, and we changed it a little bit to just meet its own needs. The whole theme behind the song was "if you throw your mind into things, they are just going to be what they are, and [if] you don't really know where you're going, then you might end up 'somewhere else.'" It was just a catchy thing.

I always have a saying that goes, "You don't get to where you're going by going anywhere else." I use that for numerous things, including the music business. I tell young acts to make up their minds and get where they're going, because you don't get where you're going by doing anything else. This [song] is the opposite. This is a heartbroken guy, and he's just trying to get through [life] one day at a time. It's like, "Hey. If you don't know what's going on, or you don't know where you're going, you might wind up somewhere else." Sooner than later, he would love it if he could wind up in another spot. It's just that simple.

It's a really cool melody. It's got a groove that we don't always do together. I've never done one like this with Toby, but he's always real open. This thing has definitely got a hipper, cooler thing to it than some of your typical country standards.

This story was originally written by Alanna Conaway, and revised by Angela Stefano.

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