Meaning Behind George Strait’s “Troubadour”

Leslie Satcher, one of the writers of George Strait’s trademark song, “Troubadour,” calls it a “blessing.”

“Troubadour” was released as the second single off Strait’s 2008 album of the same name. It peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming his 79th single to reach the Top 10 on that chart. Co-produced by Tony Brown and Strait, “Troubadour” also features background vocals from fellow country giant, Vince Gill.

Satcher co-wrote “Troubadour” with Monty Holmes, a hit songwriter behind other Strait hits “When Did You Stop Loving Me” and “I Know She Still Loves Me,” marking their first time writing together. The day before the session in 2007, Satcher was approached by Strait’s longtime producer Brown, who asked her to write a song for Strait.

“I need something for George, he’s not retiring, but people think he is … he still feels young, he’s still out there doing it,” Satcher explained to her friend and fellow songwriter, Thom Shepherd.

Satcher shared what Brown said with Holmes when they got in the writing room and he asked her how she wanted to start the song off. That’s when Satcher sang the first two lines, I still feel 25/Most of the time, which Holmes followed with I still raise a little cain/With the boys. From there, the two were writing line for line until they got to the chorus and were stumped for ideas. They also didn’t have a title until Satcher was overcome with divine inspiration.

“Right then I just heard in my ear like an angel, I heard something say ‘Troubadour,’” Satcher describes, pitching “Troubadour” as the title to Holmes, which was met with resounding approval. “It was a blessing,” Satcher says of the song that came together in roughly 35 minutes. “I feel all the good songs, they’re gifts from God, and that was just a gift from God.”

Five years after the song was written, Strait announced he was retiring from touring in 2012. He launched The Cowboy Rides Away Tour in 2013 and ended in 2014. “He took it as a theme song for the retirement year and did it at every concert and it made some fans really happy,” Satcher says. “They love that song and I love it, too.”

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