How Keith Urban Writes a Song

by Alison Bonaguro 9/25/2015

There’s got to be a guitar. Probably a notebook. And an idea would be nice. Those are all the must-haves when you sit down to write a hit song.

Then, there are the text messages.

It sounds like that’s how Keith Urban did things for his 2014 “Somewhere In My Car,” that he co-wrote with J.T Harding.

“He had a whole blueprint in his head when he was sitting there,” Harding said of the day they started writing the song (that was initially going to be called “In My Mind” or “Get You Back Home.”) Urban told Harding, “I haven’t had a reminiscent, looking-back kind of song in a few albums.” And from there, things came together pretty fast.

Throughout the process, Urban was supportive of Harding’s ideas, using texts and emails to stay in touch.

“He would text me a lot and say, ‘This is a great idea. Let’s keep working on it.’ So we would send each other emails. He invited me to the studio, and the entire track was done,” Harding said.

Alison Bonaguro

Alison makes her living loving country music. She's based in Chicago, but she's always leaving her heart in Nashville.

@alisonbonaguro