Paul Overstreet was rightfully just announced as a future member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. One of country music’s most prolific songwriters, Overstreet will join the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year alongside Tim McGraw and The Stanley Brothers. But truthfully, Overstreet, who has been part of country music for over 45 years, could have been inducted years ago, as these four songs prove.
“Forever And Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis
Overstreet wrote several songs for Randy Travis, including “Forever And Ever, Amen”. One of the most popular love songs, along with being one of Travis’s biggest hits, Overstreet wrote “Forever And Ever, Amen” with Don Schlitz. The song was released in 1987 on Travis’s Always & Forever record.
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The song was inspired by something Schlitz heard his then-fiancée’s son say.
“His new fiancée’s little boy was learning the Lord’s Prayer,” Overstreet recalls to Songfacts. “And he was going around saying ‘Forever and ever, amen’ after everything. He would say, ‘Mommy, I love you. Forever and ever, amen.’ So Don said, ‘We’ve got to write this.’ I said, ‘How about tomorrow?’ He says, ‘No, now.’”
“When You Say Nothing At All” by Keith Whitley
On Keith Whitley’s Don’t Close Your Eyes album is “When You Say Nothing At All”. A No. 1 hit for Whitley after it was released in 1988, Overstreet wrote “When You Say Nothing At All” also with Schlitz.
The sweet love song says, “The smile on your face lets me know that you need me / There’s a truth in your eyes saying you’ll never leave me / The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me wherever I fall / You say it best when you say nothing at all.”
In 1994, Alison Krauss & Union Station had a Top 5 hit with the song.
“Love Can Build A Bridge” by The Judds
The Judds made “Love Can Build A Bridge” the title track of their 1990 album. Overstreet wrote the inspirational tune with Naomi Judd and John Barlow Jarvis.
“Love Can Build A Bridge” says, “I’d gladly walk across the desert / With no shoes upon my feet / To share with you the last bite / Of bread I had to eat / I would swim out to save you / In your sea of broken dreams / When all your hopes are sinking / Let me show you what love means./ Love can build a bridge / Between your heart and mine / Love can build a bridge / Don’t you think it’s time?”
Although “Love Can Build A Bridge” didn’t hit No. 1, it remains one of The Judds’ most beloved hits. Cher and Eric Clapton are among the artists who have recorded their own version of the song.
“Same Ole Me” by George Jones and The Oak Ridge Boys
“Same Ole Me” is Overstreet’s first big cut as a songwriter, and it was a big one. Out in 1981, the song is on George Jones’s Still The Same Ole Me project. Jones sings the song with The Oak Ridge Boys.
The star-studded collaboration says, “With time my face has wrinkled / But my blue eyes still sparkle / With the love I felt for you the day we met / And to me you’re just as lovely / As the first time I saw you / Times have changed, but our hearts haven’t yet / ‘Im still the same ole me.”
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