“That was our first little taste of what that process could be like,” says Matthew Ramsey, lead singer for the chart-topping country band who to date has notched eight No. 1 singles at country radio, surpassed one billion on-demand streams, earned several Platinum and Gold single certifications and headlined arenas and amphitheaters around the globe. “We always thought ‘Man, that would be really cool to make an entire album like that.””
Recently, Old Dominion got their long-awaited chance to do exactly that: for the entirety of what became their stunning fourth studio album, Time, Tequila and Therapy, Old Dominion — which includes multi-instrumentalist Trevor Rosen, lead guitarist Brad Tursi, bassist Geoff Sprung and drummer Whit Sellers — hunkered down in an Asheville, North Carolina studio, and wrote and recorded the entire LP in a multi-week stretch. To hear them now relive those thrilling few weeks, the experience was nothing short of life-affirming.
Ask Ramsey about how important this time spent together was and, in turn, why Time, Tequila and Therapy is a true turning point for Old Dominion, and he doesn’t mince words. “I think it probably saved us as a band, honestly,” Ramsey offers of the album, produced by longtime collaborators Shane McAnally and Josh Osbourne. The album, he adds, “is a perfect snapshot of who we are and who we were in that moment in Asheville.”
They’d taken quite a journey to get there: in the years since they officially arrived on the scene with Meat and Candy, their platinum-certified 2015 major-label debut album, Old Dominion – five musicians who’d previously busted their asses in writing rooms and on dingy stages across the country before breaking big – had racked up countless awards, accolades and undeniable major success. With their rollicking live shows and supreme songcraft they quickly established themselves as one of country music’s most beloved acts.
Over the course of their career, the band had also been notably named ACM “New Group of the Year,” ACCA “Breakthrough Group of the Year,” AIMP “Songwriter Artist of the Year” and Music Row “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” and in 2017, front man Matthew Ramsey was ASCAP’s “Artist of the Year.” The band has also received nominations for CMT Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, and iHeart Radio Awards.
But at the core of who Old Dominion truly are is collaborators. Musicians. Songwriters. Friends. And that meant being together and being creative was nothing if not essential to their well-being Asheville, then, was the perfect solution.
“We’d just wake up in the morning, write the song, and then go upstairs and record it that evening,” Ramsey continues before adding, “It got to the point where we were like two weeks in and going, “I can’t believe we’re still coming up with stuff! How are we doing this?””
In the end, Old Dominion left Asheville with an entire new album. What they also walked away with was a much-needed creative shot in the arm — a reawakening of sorts after the tumultuous and — as multiple band members admit — mentally challenging struggle through the first six months of the pandemic. Having spent more than a decade together – in the studio, on the road, just living life by each other’s side – last year Old Dominion were forced to separate from one another for nearly all of 2020. “It was such a confusing time for us,” Ramsey admit of a stretch between March and September 2020 where the band gathered only virtually. “Whereas at first we just thought it was a little break, then it got longer. And then it started getting harder to even write songs. It was such a difficult time to figure out what the hell we were supposed to be doing.” What ultimately saved them, Ramsey believes, was inking a date on the calendar for them to regroup at Asheville’s Echo Mountain studio and begin hammering out what became Time, Tequila and Therapy.
“It was so exciting to all get back in the same place and be creative again,” says Rosen, and the songs — catchy, poignant, meaningful ones; the sort of tunes this Grammy-nominated band has always thrived on— started popping up near immediately. “The excitement and the happiness just to be back revealed itself in the creative process.”
“We didn’t set too many expectations. We figured if we did this thing and we ended up with four or five good songs that would be a success,” Rosen continues. “And then the first day we wrote a song like that” — snaps fingers — “and the next day we wrote another song. We got so much done in such a short span that then there was no pressure at all. It just became fun.”
The songs were spilling forth in waves, much as they always have –inspired bursts from every one of the band members. “And even if you’re not the guy leading the charge with the idea that day,” Ramsey explains, “you at least know and trust your bandmates and your co-writers that it’s gonna be good. Something is going to happen.”
Never before has the reigning CMA and ACM “Group of the Year” been so free to follow their creative intuition. On rollicking songs like the tequila-fueled lead single “I Was On A Boat That Day” or the funky “Blue Jeans,” you can palpably feel the exhilaration bursting forth from the band. As Rosen explains, this idea of a complete creative license has been embedded in the band’s DNA from Day One.
“We’ve always chased what we like,” Rosen says. “So we’ve always felt free to do that. So when it worked at the beginning and it’s continued to work you just trust that it’s gonna work. That’s always been our motto: if we like it somebody else will.”
“And as our career grew, our audience came to expect us to take left turns here and there,” Ramsey adds. “So we definitely have paved the way for this type of thing. We don’t feel like we are boxed in. We can chase whatever the song is asking for.”
For tunes then like the floating “Hawaii” or the heartfelt yet whimsical “All I Know About Girls,” it meant following their muse – even if in the former’s case it was merely a Hawaiian-themed dinner that served as inspiration. One song, however, that the band agrees is particularly meaningful is “The Lonely Side of Town,” not only because it’s a heartfelt treatise on love and loss and learning to accept your place in the world, but also because they recruited the legendary singer Gladys Knight to join them on it.
Yes, as it turned out, Knight lived in Asheville and was even friends with the owner of Echo Mountain. “[The owner] called Gladys, who didn’t even hear the song and Gladys immediately said, “Yah. I love those guys!”” Ramsey recalls with a smile. “It all happened so naturally.”
Now, as Old Dominion look to the months ahead, they’re nothing if not grateful to once again be taking their cherished songs on the road. Because returning to the stage and, by extension, to one another after such a long time away, Ramsey admits, was and continues to be an emotional experience.
“Once we went out on the stage that first time back, I think we all knew it was going to be special and we all knew it was going to be emotional,” the singer says, “but there’s no amount of thinking about it that really prepares you for the things that you forgot. “
Namely, how much Old Dominion still loves what they do.
“Anytime something gets taken away from you it makes you appreciate it that much more,” Rosen says. “When we got back together the appreciation for it all was just right there.”
Be With Me
Old Dominion Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You could be the captain of whatever floats your boat
You could be the singer, girl, you'd hit every note
Like ooo
Like your daddy told you when you were a little girl
You could be anything
Why don't you be with me
Why don't
Your momma brought you up in a women's world
You could be anything
Why don't you be with me
Why don't you
Why don't you be my drink, be my song, be my bed, be my car, be my photograph
Be my day, be my night, be my right, be my wrong, be my first and last
A tiger versus you, girl, ain't even a fight
Next to you the sun can't even call itself a light
All the girls are jealous 'cause all the guys are like ooo
Yeah
Like your daddy told you when you were a little girl
You could be anything
Why don't you be with me
Why don't you
Why don't
Your momma brought you up in a women's world
You could be anything
Why don't you be with me
Why don't you
Why don't you
Be with me
Be with me (you could be anything)
Be with me
Why don't you
Why don't you be my drink, be my song, be my bed, be my car, be my photograph
Be my day, be my night, be my right, be my wrong, be my first and last
Be my where you at
Where you at
Ooo
Like your daddy told you when you were a little girl
You could be anything
Why don't you be with me
Why don't you
Why don't
Your momma brought you up in a women's world
You could be anything
Why don't you be with me
Why don't you
Why don't you
Be with me
Be with me (why don't you)
Be with me
Why don't you (you could be anything)
Why don't you
Be with me
Be with me (why don't you)
Be with me
Why don't you
Why don't you
Be with me
Be with me
Be with me
Why don't you
Why don't you
The lyrics of Old Dominion's song "Be with Me" is a love song that tells the story of a man who is deeply in love with a woman and wants her to be with him. The song opens with him expressing that he would vote for her if she was running for president, and he would support any decision she makes. He tells her that she could be anything she wants, just as her father told her when she was a little girl. He encourages her to be with him, to leave the women's world her mother raised her in and be with him. The chorus repeats this same sentiment, as he asks her to be his drink, his song, his bed, his car, his photograph, his day, his night, his right, his wrong, his first, and last.
The second verse is an ode to her beauty, as he compares her to a tiger and the sun. The other girls are jealous of her because all of the guys are drawn to her. The chorus is repeated again, with an addition of "where you at" at the end of it.
The song's meaning is clear- the singer deeply loves this woman and wants her to be with him. He is encouraging her to leave her world and join him. There is a sense of longing and desperation in his voice, as if he cannot imagine living without her. Overall, "Be with Me" is a simple love song that is both catchy and endearing.
Line by Line Meaning
You could be the president, you would get my vote
I admire you so much that I would even vote for you as president
You could be the captain of whatever floats your boat
You have the ability to lead and control any situation you find yourself in
You could be the singer, girl, you'd hit every note Like ooo
Your voice is so amazing that you could be a successful singer in the music industry
Like your daddy told you when you were a little girl You could be anything Why don't you be with me
Your father must have instilled in you that you can achieve anything you want, so why not choose to be with me?
Your momma brought you up in a women's world You could be anything Why don't you be with me
Your mother raised you to be confident and independent as a woman, so why don't you choose to be with me?
Be my drink, be my song, be my bed, be my car, be my photograph Be my day, be my night, be my right, be my wrong, be my first and last
I want you to be everything to me - my comfort, my joy, my support, my challenge, and my forever
A tiger versus you, girl, ain't even a fight Next to you the sun can't even call itself a light All the girls are jealous 'cause all the guys are like ooo Yeah
Being with you is such a privilege that not even the strongest opponents can match you and you outshine everything else. Other girls envy you because all guys are attracted to you
Be my where you at Where you at Ooo
I want to know where you are and I am eager to have you with me
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ross Copperman, Matthew Ramsey, Brad Tursi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stevo DG
So happy I saw these guys in concert. They certainly did not disappoint. Great band.
Carlie Sim
I don't know why it took me so long to get into Old Dominion. They are fantastic!
Opadoyin MICAH
Same here
T W H
This is one of the happiest songs i've ever heard, and the message is lovely. Cannot believe people use the comments as a basis to form opinions on 'where the band should be going'. Get a fucking grip; if you don't like the song then piss off?! Only in this day and age can a song with no negative connotations receive such harsh criticism.
Also, Old Dominion keep doing what you're doing. Looking forward to the album, thanks for making 'Meat and Candy'. That album got me through a really tough summer last year!
Samantha K
Everything about this video is unbelievable, the fact that they didn’t even know they’d be in the music video is amazing. Favorite band out there!!! Never change!!! 🥰❣️❣️
victoriuhhmarie
I absolutely love this video. In Luke Bryan's videos, we see skinny, white chicks prancing about. But I love Old Dominion for a having this song and music video. A lot of people are not getting it, it's really about him wanting to be with a girl. But the song or music video is not about women being oppressed or not having equal rights. It's just empowering women because like men, we have our days when we cant even look at ourselves or we struggle with confidence. I love Old Dominion for this song and video.
Triple A
Couldn’t have put it better myself!!! Love OD!
Sarah C
Kool loo I'll il ll
Sarah Kathryn
I cannot for the life of me find this article right now...
but I read (maybe watched) where he said "why don't you let me be with you" just didn't have the same ring to it.
KBA
Come on.....don't hate on Luke! All the video directors stereotype! #Girlpower🎶🎶