John Michael Montgomery (born January 20, 1965, in Danville, Kentucky is an… Read Full Bio ↴John Michael Montgomery (born January 20, 1965, in Danville, Kentucky is an American country music artist. He has produced more than thirty singles on the Billboard country charts, including two of Billboard’s Number One country singles of the year: "I Swear" (1994) and "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" (1995).

Besides these two songs, five more of Montgomery's singles have reached the top of the country charts: "I Love the Way You Love Me", "Be My Baby Tonight", "If You've Got Love", "I Can Love You Like That", and "The Little Girl", while thirteen more have reached Top Ten. Montgomery's recordings of "I Swear" and "I Can Love You Like That" were both released concurrently with R&B versions by the group All-4-One. Montgomery has also released eleven studio albums, counting a Christmas album.

John Michael joined the family band (which also included his brother, Eddie Montgomery, who would later join Troy Gentry in the duo Montgomery Gentry) as guitarist before taking the lead singing role when his parents divorced. Afterwards, he made a frugal living on the local honky-tonk scene as a solo artist playing what he referred to as "working man's country." Eventually, Atlantic Records signed him.

Nickels and Dimes and Love
John Michael Montgomery Lyrics

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Remember when pocket change was all we had
And all those calls from the corner phone booth
Collect to Mom and Dad
And that old worn out couch we called our bed
When our cuisine was pork and beans
Baloney and day old bread

Remember that damn old car that kept breaking down

And all the times it left me stranded
Thumbing all over town
And that old weekly paycheck
Just never stretched enough
Back in the times of nickels and dimes and love

Together we sure made some dreams come true
Sometimes it wasn't easy
But somehow we made it through
And when I get to thinking times are tough
I remember the times
Of nickels and dimes and love
Oh those good old times
Of nickels and dimes and love

Remember digging through your old purses in hopes we'd get
Enough change for an RC cola or a pack of cigarettes
Now we've got almost everything
That we were dreaming of
Back in the times
Of nickels and dimes and love

Together we sure made some dreams come true
Sometimes it wasn't easy
But somehow we made it through
And when I get to thinking times are tough
I remember the times
Of nickels and dimes and love
Oh those good old times
Of nickels and dimes and love

Do you remember those times
Of nickels and dimes and love

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of John Michael Montgomery's song "Nickels and Dimes and Love" talk about the memories of a couple who had nothing but pocket change, an old car that kept breaking down, and a worn-out couch. They struggled to make their ends meet while dreaming of a better life together. They had to collect calls from the phone booth to talk to their parents and often had to dig through the purse to get enough change for an RC cola or a pack of cigarettes. They lived together and faced many difficulties, from making ends meet to breaking down cars. Nevertheless, they persevered to make their dreams come true.

The lyrics also express gratitude for the times of struggle, as they made the couple stronger and brought them closer together. The singer remembers these times with nostalgia, acknowledging how far they have come and how much they have achieved. The song reminds the listeners that the simple things in life are what truly matter, and even though they may face challenging times, it is important to appreciate the memories and experiences that have brought them to where they are today.

Overall, "Nickels and Dimes and Love" is a reflection on the struggles and triumphs of a young couple starting out in life. It serves as a reminder that the journey towards achieving one's dreams is never easy, but it is the love and commitment that make the difficult times worth it.

Line by Line Meaning

Remember when pocket change was all we had
Back when all we had were small coins in our pockets

And all those calls from the corner phone booth
We used to make calls to Mom and Dad from the public phone on the street corner

Collect to Mom and Dad
We would make those calls collect, so our parents would pay for them

And that old worn out couch we called our bed
We had a couch that was so old and worn out that we had to sleep on it like a bed

When our cuisine was pork and beans
Our meals were just canned pork and beans, nothing fancy

Baloney and day old bread
We couldn't afford fresh food, so we ate cheap bologna and stale bread

Remember that damn old car that kept breaking down
We had a car that was constantly breaking down and causing us trouble

And all the times it left me stranded
That car left me stranded on many occasions

Thumbing all over town
I had to rely on hitchhiking to get to places

And that old weekly paycheck
Our income was very small, just from a weekly paycheck

Just never stretched enough
No matter how we tried, we never had enough money to cover all our expenses

Back in the times of nickels and dimes and love
These were the times when we had almost no money, but we had love and each other

Together we sure made some dreams come true
Despite our financial difficulties, we achieved some of our dreams by supporting each other

Sometimes it wasn't easy
It was definitely challenging at times

But somehow we made it through
We always managed to overcome our difficulties together

And when I get to thinking times are tough
Whenever things get hard, and I start to worry, I think back to the old days

I remember the times
I recall the memories of the past

Of nickels and dimes and love
Those times when we lacked money but had love and each other were very memorable

Oh those good old times
Those memories bring me a lot of nostalgia and fondness

Remember digging through your old purses in hopes we'd get
We went through our old purses, hoping to find enough change

Enough change for an RC cola or a pack of cigarettes
We could only afford some simple pleasures like a can of RC Cola or a pack of cigarettes

Now we've got almost everything
We have come a long way, and now we have almost everything we once dreamed of

That we were dreaming of
There were things that we always wished for, but we couldn't afford at that time

Do you remember those times
You too must have memories of those times when our love was what we had, besides nickels and dimes.

Of nickels and dimes and love
We had very little back then, just some coins and our love for each other

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNNY MACRAE, STEVE CLARK

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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