Singled Out: Rachel McIntyre Smith Queen Of Our Hometown Acoustic

Keavin Wiggins | 11-23-2022

Rachel McIntyre Smith just released an acoustic version of the song "Queen Of Our Hometown", and to celebrate we asked her to tell us about the track. The studio version appears on her recently EP, "Glory Days". Here is the story:

"Queen of Our Hometown" is one of my favorite songs that I've ever written because it's so comforting. It feels like a loving voice telling you everything is going to be okay. I wrote this at one of the loneliest times in my life when I was far away from my family. I ended up calling my mom about five or six times a day during that period, and it was one of the only things that made me feel connected to anything. I kind of channeled my mom's words in this song. When I was down, she would encourage me to come home for the weekend, and it always managed to lift my spirits.

Although it morphed into a song all about going where you are loved the most, that's not really how it started out. The title actually came from my sister about three years ago. She randomly texted me and said, "You should write a song called 'Queen of Our Hometown,'" At the time, I liked the title but couldn't really think of a good song with it, so I just jotted it down in my notes app on my phone. At the beginning of this year, I scrolled back through my song idea list, and the title jumped out at me. I was inspired by two women that I consider to be the actual queens of my hometown. Both of those women have moved away from town in order to achieve their goals, but anytime they are back it's like a celebrity is there. Everyone wants to talk to them at Food City or church or the gas station or the football game. So I started writing lyrics with those two in mind.

Then, it just hit me that it's not about being the person who everyone considers to be the queen of the hometown, but about how people make you feel like a queen by showering you in love, attention, and support. With the holidays right around the corner, I think this is the perfect track to accompany a drive back home.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about Rachel here