Story Behind the Song: Rascal Flatts’ ‘Fast Cars and Freedom’ – The Tennessean

Clockwise from top left: Neil Thrasher, Bart Herbison and Wendell Mobley discuss songwriting(Photo: Submitted)

Believe it or not, "Fast Cars and Freedom" didn't come about quickly.

At first, all Wendell Mobley and Neil Thrasher had was a guitar lick one that was a clear winner, but kept being put on the backburner as they worked on other tunes.

But after they reteamed with Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox, the song sped to life. "You don't look a day over fast cars and freedom," LeVox sang on the 2005 hit. "That sunset river bank, first time feeling."

Thrasher and Mobley told the Story Behind the Song to Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Bart Herbison: Fast CarsAndFreedom is in my top favorite songs of all time, all eras, all genres. You wrote it with GaryLevox, and Rascal Flatts recorded this. Take us back to that time. How did this song come about?

Neil Thrasher: (To Wendell)You called me up and you were playing that lick. Thats how it all started.

BH: That lick, man. And for country music, I putit up there with Steely Dans Reelin Inthe Years. Everybody was talking about that lick, complimentary, but also jealous as hell.

NT: Well, Wendell is one of the best guitar players in town, and nobody ever talks about that much, but its true and that was indicative of how creative he is. When he played me that lick over the phone, I go, Man that sounds like something Keith Urban would do.

WM: And by the time you brought that up, Neil was singing Staring at you, takinoff. andthatsall! I mean like for two or three writes.That'sall we would have, then wed go write another song. And it finally came to that one.

NT: Me, him and Gary (LeVox) write the whole - we write the whole song without a title.

WM: No title.

NT: We let Gary decide what they wanted to call it and that was it.

NT: Joe Don (Rooney, Flatts guitarist)had to check in with Wendell and ask, How exactly are you playing that lick?

WM: He definitely made it his own thing.

BH: So I have a final question for this song. Theres a site I look at sometimes that fascinates me called SongFacts."

One person posts, and theyre writing about the song, Its about the love of his life, as they get older in life, he is still in love and she thinks maybe she is not as good looking (anymore). The other point of view, second post, Okay. This song is not about his wife and girlfriend, but the one girl he missed out on - the one that got away.

NT: Its always been about my wife, I mean, in my mind if I had to say what that song entails, it entails how I feel about her and what I think about her.

WM: And growing old together.

NT: Thats right.

WM: But it's also whatever they want it to be.

In partnership with Nashville Songwriters Association International, the "Story Behind the Song" video interview series features Nashville-connected songwriters discussing one of their compositions. For full video interviews with all of our subjects, visitwww.tennessean.com/music.

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Story Behind the Song: Rascal Flatts' 'Fast Cars and Freedom' - The Tennessean