His musical interest came at an early age, when his father taught him to play the guitar. In high school, he joined a gospel music group called the New Commitments. He was also a member of Future Farmers of America (FFA). Later, Adkins went on to study petroleum technology at Louisiana Tech University, where he also played football. After graduation, he took up work at an oil rig. He lost the pinky finger on his left hand in an accident, and asked doctors to reattach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar. After working on the oil rigs for a few years, Adkins embarked on what he calls his "true musical education" -- playing one honky-tonk after another. While singing at Tillie's & Lucy's Pub in Nashville, Adkins was spotted by a Capitol Records executive and was signed to the label.
Adkins's first single, There's a Girl in Texas, was released in 1996, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was followed by the release of his debut album, Dreamin' Out Loud, later that year. The album produced several hit singles, including his first Top 5 single, Every Light in the House, his first Number One in (This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing, and another Top 5 hit in I Left Something Turned on at Home. The latter single was also a Number One hit in Canada. His second album, Big Time, produced a Top 5 in The Rest of Mine, but subsequent singles proved less successful. A change in management delayed the release of Adkins's third album, but the album (More...) was eventually released in late 1999. Although the album's title track reached Top 10, More... failed to achieve gold status.
On July 5, 2001, Adkins was charged with driving under the influence in Nolensville, Tennessee. The singer pled guilty and was sentenced to 11 months in jail; however, the sentence was suspended after 48 hours. In addition, he had to pay $350 in fines, and his driver's license was suspended for one year. Shortly afterward, he was injured in a tractor accident and had to temporarily cancel touring. He later entered a 28-day alcohol rehabilitation program in Nashville, shortly after the release of his fourth album, Chrome. Chrome was the first album of Adkins's to reach the Top 5 on the country albums charts. Its title track reached Top 10 in late 2002.
In 2003, Adkins released two albums: a Greatest Hits collection and Comin' on Strong. The same year, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. He also made appearances as the center square on the game show Hollywood Squares, and did voice-overs in commercials for fast-food chain KFC. Only one single, Then They Do, was released from the Greatest Hits compilation. Comin' on Strong, which succeeded the Greatest Hits album, produced two singles: the Top 5 single Hot Mama, and Rough & Ready, which peaked at #13.
Adkins and Travis Tritt played the roles of prison convicts in a February 2004 episode of the television series "Yes, Dear".
In 2005, Adkins released Songs About Me. The album's second single, Arlington, generated controversy over its content (a first-person account of a fictional soldier who was about to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery). It was followed by Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, which became a highly successful crossover hit, bringing Adkins into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.
2006 saw the release of Adkins's seventh studio album, Dangerous Man. Swing, the album's lead-off single, peaked at #20, while the follow-up Ladies Love Country Boys became Adkins's first Number One single on the country charts since (This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing in 1997. The album's final release, I Wanna Feel Something, proved unsuccessful on the charts and as a result, Adkins announced that he would stop supporting the single.
In August 2007, Adkins released a single entitled I Got My Game On. Originally, the song was planned to be the lead-off to a new album, tentatively titled Game On; however, Adkins decided not to release a full album, and instead released his second Greatest Hits compilation, American Man: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, for which I Got My Game On served as the lead-off single. The album has also produced Adkins' fastest-climbing single to date in its second single, You're Gonna Miss This.
You're Gonna Miss This has also become his third Number One hit on the Hot Country Songs, as well as the most successful single to date on the Billboard Hot 100 (#12), Billboard Pop 100 (#19), and Hot Digital Songs charts (#8).
He also released his first book, entitled A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck.
Adkins was a January-March 2008 contestant on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice. Each celebrity contestant on the show was playing for money for his or her own selected charity. Adkins was playing for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, which provides education, advocacy and research support to families dealing with the daily nightmare of serious and/or life-threatening food allergies. The musician chose the charity because his 6-year-old daughter, Brianna, suffers from life-threatening reactions to peanuts, milk and eggs. Adkins made it to the finale as one of the two finalists. Donald Trump ultimately "hired" Adkins' rival, tabloid editor Piers Morgan, who had his own charity.
Adkins appeared on the May 2nd, 2008 episode of CBS's The Young and the Restless playing himself and singing an acoustic version of "You're Gonna Miss This" to the characters of Nicholas and Phyllis.
In 2008, Trace Adkins released the single Muddy Water the lead single from X, which was released on November 25.
Adkins made his acting debut in the 2008 film "An American Carol".
To bring in 2009, Adkins will be performing with .38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd in both Pikeville, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee on the same night, New Year's Eve. The show will begin in one city and close in the other. The order for the Nashville show, at the Sommet Center, is Trace Adkins, followed by .38 Special, followed by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Help Me Understand
Trace Adkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll open up your heart
Maybe once in your lifetime
You'll swear to never be apart
You think your love's on solid ground
Then out the blue, it all comes tumbling down
[Chorus]
When I'm feeling lonely
Who's gonna show me the light
'Cause I need to know
With all the things we've got
How can love just stop
Tell me
Somebody help me understand
And my picture
In your locket
What will you do with it now
All our friends
And our memories
Tell me how we sort them out
What's yours is yours
What's mine is mine
Is that all that's left
After all this time
[Chorus]
Why I'm not part of your plan
And you don't need me anymore
Help me understand
Why I still want to be where you are
Even though I know in my heart
That you don't love me anymore
[Chorus]
The song "Help Me Understand" is a heartfelt ballad that highlights the confusion and hurt of a breakup. The singer expresses his pain and bewilderment over the sudden end of a relationship he thought was rock-solid. The opening lines suggest that true love comes only once in a lifetime, and when you find it, you hold onto it with all your heart. The thought of being apart from your beloved is unbearable. However, despite his best efforts, the singer finds himself alone just when he thought his love was secure. The chorus then questions who will comfort and guide him through this sadness and confusion.
The lyrics mention a locket that contains the singer's photo. He wonders what his ex-partner will do with the locket now that they are no longer together. Memories of their past life and shared friends further compound his heartache. The verse suggests that they must now work through the process of dividing their possessions and sorting out what is whose property. The singer is left with a sense of emptiness and loss, as he questions whether anything meaningful remains from their time together.
In the final verse, the singer asks for help in understanding the reasons for his ex-partner's decision to end the relationship. He admits that he still longs to be with them, despite knowing their feelings are not mutual. The song concludes by revisiting the chorus, with the singer begging once more for understanding and companionship.
Overall, "Help Me Understand" is a tender and poignant look at the end of a relationship. The lyrics are straightforward and relatable, tapping into the core emotions of love, heartache, and confusion.
Line by Line Meaning
Once in a lifetime
Rarely, in a single instance of one's life
You'll open up your heart
You'll expose your innermost emotions to someone
Maybe once in your lifetime
Possibly it will happen only once
You'll swear to never be apart
You'll take an oath to never separate
You think your love's on solid ground
You believe you've built a strong foundation for love
Then out the blue, it all comes tumbling down
Suddenly and unexpectedly, everything falls apart
[Chorus] Who's gonna hold me tonight ... Somebody help me understand
The singer is seeking comfort and an explanation for why love can suddenly end.
And my picture in your locket
The singer's photograph that was kept in a locket by the loved one
What will you do with it now
What purpose will the loved one assign to the singer's photograph now?
All our friends and our memories
The couple's shared acquaintances and experiences
Tell me how we sort them out
Gives options for how they should distribute those items among themselves
What's yours is yours
What is owned by the loved one is exclusively hers
What's mine is mine
Exclusive ownership of the singer's possessions
Is that all that's left after all this time
All that they have left to cling to is their respective possessions after losing their love.
[Chorus] Why I'm not part of your plan...
The loved oneβs sudden change in heart is a surprise, and the singer is seeking explanation, while clinging onto the love that is fading away.
Lyrics Β© BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRIS FARREN, WAYNE ANTHONY HECTOR, STEVE (GB) MAC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
PBoyB2010
I think this is one of Trace's greatest, and most underrated, songs. I am going through a divorce right now. So I know the pain and confusion that can come with it. But what doesn't kill us only makes stronger.
Laurel Lea Cummins
I agree. The intro is Just Beautiful,l!!
Jamie Brooks
I lost my first husband he committed suicide sometimes it still gets lonely
Laurel Lea Cummins
@Jamie Brooks I'm so sorry to read that!. May God help you everyday....ππ
Robin Martz
I have watched this video so many times & listened to it over &over again while taking long drives trying to understand just how love can just stop. Trying to get over a heart break is the worst ! :( The first time I saw this video I had just split up with a guy that looks like Trace, so not only did the song fit but I felt like I was getting to see my lost love. Now 6 yrs. later & another broken heart so here I sit watching & listening to this beautiful tear jerking song ???????
Tina Steele
the hardest part about relationships is moving on and not holding your current love responsible for the hurt you experienced in the past. i love this song!! makes me cry every time.
Jamie Brooks
I just love the way trace pours his heart and soul into each of his songs like this you can see it in the expression in his face the pain the agony and the happiness heβs the type of singer that if you watch his face you will hone how much that song heβs singing means to him how close to his heart it truly is rather good or bad but you will see that in his eyes to
Elaine Henley
Love this song as Trace sings it he has an amazing voice my heart been broken I just have to be strong it beautiful song π΅ β€ π
Laurel Lea Cummins
This song gets you right in the heart!!!.Thanking the Lord. I have never gone through a divorce...
So really don't know the awful heartache people go through!!. I'm ve had 2 very wonderful husbands...Loved both ..but my 1 st love was by far..the best!!β€ππ β€πβ€πβ€
PoetRazor13
This is the first song I remember hearing by Trace. I was too young at the time to understand what it meant and I haven't heard it in years. I only recognize it by the oil tower in the background. Listening to this as my fiance and I have been going through problems, I just want to hold him and never let go. This is a beautiful song. Trace is one of my favorite country artists and I grew up on country for a long time.