By the early 2000s, Trace Adkins picked off where he left off in the late ’90s with his first No. 1 hit “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” in 1997. By 2006, Adkins earned another chart-topper with “Ladies Love Country Boys” from his seventh album Dangerous Man, and two years later, he did it again with the country ballad “You’re Gonna Miss This.”
Released on Adkins’ 2008 compilation, American Man: Greatest Hits Volume II, “You’re Gonna Miss This” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and crossed over and peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100.
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They Grow Up So Fast
Written by Ashley Gorley and Lee Thomas Miller, “You’re Gonna Miss This” tells the story of how time passes, and children grow older—faster.
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”
Mama put the car in park out there in front of the school
And she kissed her head and said, “I was just like you”
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
The song was inspired by a real-life moment Gorley experienced when two of his children, who were 2 and 4 at the time, were running around the house and stealing a repairman’s tools while he was trying to work. The repairman didn’t seem bothered and told Gorley and his wife not to worry about it because he also had two “babies.” He went on to say that his kids were now 23 and 36 years old.
“‘You’re Gonna Miss This’ came from a real story,” Gorley told American Songwriter in 2021. “The bridge of that song where the repairman comes over, the kids are running around and he says he’s got two babies of his own, 36 and 23? That was real. That happened. He said that. So that song started from that place.”
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Gorley added, “I was like, ‘Hey, this happened, I feel like there’s a song in there somewhere.’ We decided on that title and started working on all kinds of angles.”
A Mother’s Voice
After Gorley shared the song with Miller, they went back and forth with the storyline before both decided to tell the story from a female perspective.
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 talkin’ about babies and buyin’ a house
Daddy shakes his head and says, “Baby, just slow down, ’cause”
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
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’
And she keeps apologizin’
He says, “They don’t bother me
I’ve got two babies of my own
One’s thirty-six, one’s twenty-three
Huh, it’s hard to believe, but
You’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
“You’re Gonna Miss This” was named Song of the Year at the 39th Annual Nashville Songwriters Hall Fame induction in 2008.
Photo: Rich Polk/Getty Images for Academy of Country Music
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