In 2000, Adam officially released his debut album, The Way I’m Made. The release earned him a Gold Record in Canada and led to a pair of nominations at the Juno Awards for “Best Country Male Artist” and “Best New Solo Artist.” It also set the tables for a string of Top 10 hits on the Canadian Country music charts, beginning with the album’s first single, “Horseshoes.”
As it turned out, Adam’s career took off so quickly that no sooner had he learned to drive than the musical teen prodigy was opening shows for the likes of Alan Jackson, Keith Urban and Lonestar.
“I was touring pretty heavily through junior high and high school,” remembers Adam. “I'd take my homework on the road and then stand by the stage every night and sing every word to those artists’ songs. It was a great way to pick up a few pointers that I still remember and use today.”
By the time he was 21, Adam had released three critically acclaimed albums (The Way I’m Made, Workin’ On It and Adam Gregory), garnered four Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) award nominations and emerged as a bona fide star in Canada. With nearly a decade of touring and recording under his belt, the ambitious young singer decided the time was right to relocate to the Country music capital of the world - Nashville, Tennessee.
Adam made the permanent move to Music City in 2006, releasing his debut U.S. single, “Crazy Days,” in 2008. The song proved to be a Top 40 success on the national radio charts and established Adam as one of the up-and-coming new artists to watch on the Country scene. The sudden success of “Crazy Days” grabbed the attention of prominent Nashville label Big Machine Records, which signed the rising star to a distribution deal that same year.
Adam’s follow up US single, “What It Takes,” was another solid chart success and spawned the singer’s first chance to star in a major motion picture. That opportunity came in 2009, when Adam accepted a role alongside John Schneider in the inspirational film, “WWJD” (“What Would Jesus Do?”), released in the U.S. in 2010.
Although Big Machine went on to release Adam’s Crazy Days album in conjunction with Open Road Recordings in Canada, a U.S. release never happened, and Adam left the label to focus on his songwriting and complete a series of tour commitments in his native Canada. Since then, Adam has focused on his songwriting and recently recorded a newer, more personal batch of songs.
Working for the last year with producer Mark Moffatt, whose credits include international country music successes; Adam’s new material reflects a more mature, earnest subject matter. Appropriately titled Different Places, Adam’s latest project has left him optimistic and genuinely excited about the future, he says.
“Anybody who knows me knows that I’m a family guy first and foremost,” he says. “The music on this record reflects who I am and where I am in my life. It’s positive and refreshing.”
“It’s funny,” he continues, “music can be very influential; it’s with people through the best of times and heals people through the worst of times. I’m really so thankful that I’m able to do this for a living!”
Different Places is due out in the U.S. and Canada now! Visit www.AdamGregory.com for more information.
Sweet Memories
Adam Gregory Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And a dirt road that runs through the town
Winding around
As a child I would daydream
Where that road might take me
When my time for leavin' came down
And each night I'd awaken
From a dream I was takin'
Sweet memories keep haunting me
Callin' me like an old friend
And I pray that someday
I'll ride this highway
'Til it turns to that dirt road again
Now I live in the city
Where man made mountains of steel
To block out the sky
And that river of traffic
That runs by my window
Never seems to run dry
And tonight before sleeping
I pray God is keeping
That old place that I left behind
Sweet memories keep haunting me
Callin' me like an old friend
And I pray that someday
I'll ride this highway
'Til it turns to that dirt road again
In the city tonight
When I turn out the lights
I'll be ridin' that ol' dirt road again
Adam Gregory's "Sweet Memories" is a wistful song that speaks to the longing for a simpler time, a time when the world was less hectic, and the pace of life was slower. The song paints a picture of a idyllic small town, nestled by a river and a winding dirt road that runs through it. As a child, the singer would daydream about where that road might take him when he was ready to leave and start his own journey. He would awaken in the night, haunted by dreams of that old dirt road and the adventures it might hold.
Now, as an adult living in the city, the singer finds himself surrounded by a river of traffic and mountains of steel that block out the sky. He longs for the peace and simplicity of the town he left behind, and the memories of that old dirt road still haunt him, calling to him like an old friend. The chorus of the song expresses this longing, and the singer hopes that one day he will be able to ride the highway until it leads him back to that beloved dirt road.
Overall, "Sweet Memories" is a poignant and beautifully crafted song that taps into the universal desire for simpler times and the call of nostalgia. It speaks to anyone who has felt the tug of their past and longed to return to a place they once knew.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a town by a river
There is a small town with a river running through it.
And a dirt road that runs through the town
There is also a dirt road that runs through the town.
Winding around
The dirt road curves and twists as it goes through the town.
As a child I would daydream
As a child, the singer would often daydream.
Where that road might take me
The singer wondered where the dirt road might lead him.
When my time for leavin' came down
The singer knew that one day he would have to leave town.
And each night I'd awaken
Each night, the singer would wake up.
From a dream I was takin'
He would dream that he was traveling down the dirt road out of town.
That ol' dirt road out of this town
The dirt road was a symbol of escape from the small town for the singer.
Sweet memories keep haunting me
The sweet memories of the dirt road continue to linger with the singer.
Callin' me like an old friend
The memories of the dirt road and the town are like old friends to the singer.
And I pray that someday
The singer hopes that one day he will be able to return to the town and the dirt road.
I'll ride this highway
The highway represents the journey the singer is currently on.
Til it turns to that dirt road again
The singer hopes that the highway will eventually lead him back to the small town and the dirt road.
Now I live in the city
The singer currently lives in the city.
Where man made mountains of steel
There are many tall buildings in the city that the singer lives in.
To block out the sky
The tall buildings in the city block out the sky and the natural world.
And that river of traffic
There is a lot of traffic in the city.
That runs by my window
The singer can hear the traffic from his window.
Never seems to run dry
The traffic in the city is constant and never stops.
And tonight before sleeping
Before going to sleep, the singer thinks about the town he grew up in.
I pray God is keeping
The singer hopes that God is watching over the people and the town where he grew up.
That old place that I left behind
The singer left the town behind and moved to the city, but he still has fond memories of it.
In the city tonight
The singer is currently in the city.
When I turn out the lights
When he goes to bed at night.
I'll be ridin' that ol' dirt road again
The singer will dream about traveling down the dirt road again.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Garth Brooks, Patrick Alger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind