سلام دوستان. تصمیم گرفتم یک نقد کوتاه از این آهنگ براتون بنویسم. امیدوارم از این آهنک به اندازه ای که من لذت بردم، لذت ببرید.
Let me first off start by saying that I am not a huge country music fan at all. But at the same time, I try my hardest to not judge any song or piece of music by its cover. I mean, what’s the worst? I may not like the song and can carry on with my day.
Summer of 2012, I came across a lecture from a legendary music composer on Youtube who was teaching his students about the art of composing. I was expecting to hear about the usual subjects of music theory, song structure, targeting the right audience, etc. But to my surprise, the lecturer decided to talk about a very different topic, which I am very greatful about.
He chose this song as an example to illustrate in front of his students how a composer can portray a
better story in a more personal manner. His argument was that there is enough songs out there that simply do not catch you because all they do is just blabbering “look what I did, look what happened to me, listen to my story because I’m an important person who needs attention…”. He said there are very few songs that a songwriter tells you a real story.
I don’t know about you, but I am crazy about those movies/series where they show a story through lens and understandings of different people. It’s somehow as if they let you live in the shoes of different people and see the world from their perspective. This song is exactly the equivalent of those movies.
In the first verse, the story is being told from the view of a teenage girl who tells her mom how tired she is and how she cannot wait till she gets 18, so that she can be the boss of her life.
She was staring out the window of that SUV
Complaining, saying “I can’t wait to turn eighteen”
She said “I’ll make my own money, and I’ll make my own rules”
In the second part of the first verse, the tables are turned and now is the mom’s turn to remind her princess how precious time is:
Momma put the car in park out there in front of the school
She kissed her head and said “I was just like you”
The main takeway of the song is then sung by Trace in the chorus:
You’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this
In the second verse, now the young lady who was once a teenager complains to her dad about her adult life issues after her marriage:
Before she knows it she’s a brand new bride
In her one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her “It’s a nice place”
She says “It’ll do for now”
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Once again, we see a character change in the second part of the verse, where now her dad goes on to calm her down:
Daddy shakes his head and says “Baby, just slow down”
After a repeat of the chorus, my favorite part of the song, the bridge part, comes in where now our main character has a few children and has grown into a mature woman in her thirties:
Five years later there’s a plumber workin’ on the water heater
Dog’s barkin’, phone’s ringin’
One kid’s cryin’, one kid’s screamin’
She keeps apologizin’
The plumber who’s working at her house now takes on the role of the new character in the second part of the bridge section in the conversation with her:
He says "They don’t bother me
I’ve got two babies of my own
One’s thirty six, one’s twenty three
Trace comes back as the main messenger to sing the last chorus:
Huh, it’s hard to believe, but
You’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna’ miss this
Yeah
You’re gonna’ miss this
If you miss those good ol’ days with your grandpa and grandma where you were in a hurry to tell them about all your life problems in full details, just before you hear the words of wisdom from them in a calming fashion to remind you how short this life is, this song is for you. What I really like is that both Trace and the instrumentation try not to show off, but to only serve the song to their best abilities. And that’s why the song might be a simple song, but a grandiose one at the same time. The song showcases full dynamics by both Trace by adding vocal harmonies in the chorus and melodic lead guitar phrases played with a slide on the guitar’s neck.
This song is really full of all the warm feelings, and whenever I listen to it, it reminds me to seize the day no matter what and try to see the half-full glass, insead of just focusing on the empty part.
).
(understandable for a half-witted narrow-minded person like me 
).