Taylor Swift wrote “Tim McGraw” in her high school math class in 15 minutes. A few years later, she’d be playing that hit live to Tim McGraw himself, and then the pair would rock the stage on his hit “Highway Don’t Care”, with Keith Urban shredding it up on lead guitar! “Tim McGraw” was Tay Tay’s first hit, but it sure hits different in this context. Swifties had to agree this was an iconic Taylor live moment.
You could really tell Taylor and Tim knew this was one of those special moments when they looked into each other’s eyes as they sang. Taylor’s bright mezzo-soprano blended so satisfyingly with Tim’s warm baritone. It’s not easy to stand out on stage with two of the biggest names in country, but Keith Urban sure knows how to make an entrance. The Music Man has to say Keith’s blistering guitar solo at 3:15 was the perfect way to take this performance into the stratosphere!
Fan channel Taylor Swift Evolution uploaded the duet to YouTube, where it hit 356,000 views. Fans loved the chemistry and added comments such as “I think this is honestly the best Taylor Swift performance I’ve ever seen!!” and “I always knew Keith Urban could play guitar but this is where I heard how unbelievably talented he was.”
Taylor Swift’s country era has so many timeless live performances. One of our favourites came when she teamed up with her then-boyfriend Joe Jonas and the Jonas Brothers on “Should’ve Said No.” Tay Tay and Joe’s relationship would go down in flames just a few months after this, but the performance lives on in the hearts of fans. The way Taylor works the crowd and interacts with the brothers shows what an incredible performer she’d grown into at that point in her career.
Taylor, Tim, and Keith performed together at the CMA Music Festival on June 6, 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee. Taylor opened the segment with a solo acoustic performance of her debut single “Tim McGraw.” She then introduced Tim, and the pair tore into his song “Highway Don’t Care,” with a little help from Keith. Taylor released “Tim McGraw” on June 19, 2006. She wrote the song in class herself, before polishing the song with her co-writer Liz Rose. Taylor wrote the tune while wrestling with the impending end of her relationship at the time with her high school boyfriend, who was due to leave for college. The title was inspired by her love for Tim McGraw’s music, and the lyrics note that he wrote her favorite song.