Tennessee native Dustin Lynch looked to expand his creative process while crafting his sixth studio album, Killed the Cowboy. Released in September 2023, the 12-track project includes five songs co-written by Lynch.
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The singer/songwriter chose one of those five tracks, penned with Kyle Fishman and Andy Albert, to close out the record. “Long Way Home” is a nostalgic country tune with traditionalist elements that would make it fit comfortably in a honky-tonk jukebox. The song, infused with the hopeful magic of a newly ignited romance, offers an upbeat and optimistic ending to Lynch’s latest record.
During a recent in-depth interview with American Songwriter, the “Stars Like Confetti” singer opened up about how his current life chapter served as the driving inspiration behind Killed the Cowboy. Below, in his own words, Dustin Lynch opens up about the creation of and meaning behind his song “Long Way Home.”
“We wanted to end on a positive note. I definitely didn’t want to end on this heartbreak kind of downer moment. I’m hopeful with where my life leads, and whatever the chase and race is of personal happiness and long way home for me is that it’s a song musically that I wanted a place sort of a dance hall setting. It’s easy to two-step to.
The whole time we were writing the song, I made sure that we stayed in that zone, and it’s about one of the best nights you can have. You’re out with your girl, and it’s going so well you don’t want it to end. So you find those back roads and take the long way home a positive in, and I’m still on the search for that, but we’ll see what happens.”
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