Greylan James has touched fans everywhere with his latest release, “Wait Til You Have Kids.” The powerful tune penned by James and Matt Roy and produced by Jason Massey and Brock Berryhill is a clear demonstration of the rising star’s unique talent for crafting stories that resonate with people. Although he’s not a father himself, James is no stranger to tapping into the parental mindset as he also did so on his ACM award-winning hit recorded by Jordan Davis, “Next Thing You Know.” He might not be living that exact narrative behind these songs, but what makes the Tennessee native such a good songwriter is his ability to find his own connection in relatable stories like these.
“Wait Til You Have Kids” offers a sentimental take on the phrase that he, and many others, have heard so often throughout their lives. Singing from the perspective of a parent who has given their all, he delivers a powerful reminder that all the things kids thought were overprotective or unnecessary throughout their upbringing will finally make sense when they step into their parents’ shoes.
“Wait ’til you have kids and they look in your eyes/ You start thinking ’bout them dating one day, asking for advice/ Right now, you think you’re grown up/ Think you know what tough and tired and real love is/ Wait ’til you have kids,” James delivers on the chorus with his soulful vocals.
Being on the road with Ashley Cooke this year has given him the chance to showcase what he deems to be one of his “favorite songs I’ve ever written, ever.”
This heartfelt track follows his reflecting “Things That I Can’t Change” featuring superstar Cole Swindell as well as “Man Up” and “Who Broke Up With You.”
Along with earning his first ACM Award as a songwriter for Song of the Year for Davis’ “Next Thing You Know,” he also snagged a CMA nomination for the same category and a BMI Award for the track. Plus, his resume includes cuts from some of country music’s most notable artists including Kenny Chesney, Chris Young, Cole Swindell, Darius Rucker, Chris Janson, Bailey Zimmerman, BRELAND and more.
Greylan James is currently serving as support on Cooke’s your place Tour, and making stops in 17 cities across the country including Chicago, Nashville and New York City.
Keep reading the exclusive Q&A below to learn more about Greylan James brand-new song, his songwriting journey, a forthcoming project and more.
Is this your first time playing Joe’s On Weed St.?
So you know what? I played Joe’s when I was 15 for the first time. They snuck me in. I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that, but Ed Warm snuck me in. The guy that own this place, he snuck me in the back and got me up on stage. And ever since then, we talk about it every time I’m here.
Talk about being on tour with Ashley Cooke.
It’s the first time we’ve been on the road together, but I actually have a funny story about me and Ashley’s history together. So about 10 years ago, she was actually in a duet with her sister, a little duo, and I got to play a ride around in Nashville with Ashley and her sister. I remember thinking, oh my gosh, these girls have legit voices. And I did not, at the time, I was not very good. That was my first time meeting Ashley and then we followed each other on Instagram. So I got to see the up close view of her just rise to the top and it’s been crazy. So when I got the call that Ashley wanted to take me on tour, I was like, absolutely, this is such a full circle moment and she’s crushing it every night. Her fans are amazing, super welcoming. So I’m just excited to be out here with her and I’m just really proud of her.
Talk about your personal connection to “Wait Til You Have Kids,” despite not having any children of your own.
I don’t have kids. I say I don’t have kids, I got a dog at home and he thinks he’s my kid. So if he’s listening, sorry Knox, you are my kid, bro. But yeah, I don’t have kids, but I think that I’ve got amazing parents and also, I wrote the “Next Thing You Know” for Jordan Davis and so I get to play that song out, which is super cool. But every time that I’d say, I don’t have kids, don’t have a family, but I wrote this song for Jordan, people come out and they say, ‘well if you can write that song without having kids, wait till you have kids.’ And so I always just heard that phrase and when I sat down to write this song, I thought about my parents and how they raised me and thought about all the stress they went through. And I know that anything that I’m going through out on the road, the tired that I feel is nothing compared to what they went through raising me and my crazy brother. So I think that it’s just really cool to get out and play the song and it kind of manifest the family that I want to have in the future.
Since in a way it was inspired by your parents, what was their reaction to hearing the song for the first time?
You know what? I don’t really send many songs to my parents ever because they’re always like, ‘you need to put that out, you need to put that out.’ It’s every song. So I usually try to keep it to the really special ones. And I swear to God I’m not making this up, but the two songs I’ve ever sent my parents are “Next Thing You Know” and “Wait Til You Have Kids” so I feel like I’m batting a thousand with those two songs. But their reaction was just tears, obviously, and a FaceTime to say like, ‘oh my gosh, you got to put that song out.’
You’ve received so many comments of people saying your songs are touching their lives. How does it feel to make that much of an impact on listeners?
I mean, again, when you’re writing songs… when I was growing up, going through breakups, going through anything at school and growing up now, anytime I’m going through anything, I go to songs. And so to put out a song that people are living their lives through, especially with something I’m not able to live yet, it’s a really special thing. And again, I can’t wait to live what these people are living through this song, but it’s a really special thing for sure.
Another song, “Ain’t Thinkin’ Bout You” has blown up on social media. Did you expect that song to get the kind of traction that it did?
I wish I did because I think my career would be a lot bigger, but I wrote that song in a hot tub with a couple really good friends down in Key West. I was playing some shows with Old Dominion and we had had a handful of High Noons, actually a bushel of High Noons, and we were just talking about how I had just been friend zoned by a girl and wrote the song literally as a joke and was like, ‘I’m going to send this to her tonight, dude,’ after I played with Old Dominion and then my label heard it and was like, ‘we got to put that song out.’ So I have no compass for the songs, I just try to write it the best I can, even if they’re going to be funny. Even though there’s revenge songs, I just try to write the best I can, cross my fingers, see what happens.
You have written so many amazing songs for other artists, how do you decide which ones to keep for yourself?
It’s definitely hard. I mean I think that usually halfway through the writing process, I’m like, alright, this is a song that I’m writing from personal experience and I’m really connecting with this lyric and I don’t know if I want to let this one go. It’s just a gut feeling. I think any important decision in life, it’s just a gut feeling that you got to follow. So I’m proud of anything that I put my name on, but the songs I put out myself, they definitely, they’re like kids, you now? It’s hard to choose between them…Especially when people with families are involved with co-writers and stuff, it’s definitely hard. But I think again, it’s just following the gut and trusting the fans and trying to pick what they want to hear too.
Where are some places you like to go that make you feel really inspired to write?
I’m not just saying this because I’m here, I was just telling my manager, I was like, ‘man, I would love to get a place in Chicago just to go,’ because this place, I always leave inspired. I came here for the first time not playing a show, but I saw Kenny Cheney play at Soldier Field, and I got to come up here for a couple days and I left super inspired. I actually wrote a handful of songs that ended up on albums the couple weeks after I came back to Nashville from Chicago. So this is definitely one of those places, Lake Tahoe is another place that I go and I’m like, lemme shrink down and write some songs…the energy’s just amazing up here too. The people are definitely in a hurry, but also it in a good way. And I don’t know, it’s just so about the energy and the vibe around here that makes me wanna write songs.
Who are some of your dream collaborators?
I go back and forth on it. Right now, my answer would be Sabrina Carpenter. She also did a collab with my other dream collab, which is Dolly Parton. She’s from East Tennessee. She’s one of those that’s definitely on my Mount Rushmore
Any plans for a project in the near future?
Yeah, absolutely. So we just found out from the label that we’re working on the album that’s going to come out this year, don’t know when, but it’s coming out. I produce all my own stuff too, so I’m going to be hunkered down in the studio at my house and just working and grinding away and writing. So it’s going to be a really exciting year and I’m ready to get it out there.
What else is in store for you for 2025?
I mean, honestly, I’ve gotten to hear my songs on the radio sung by other artists and that’s really amazing. But I’m ready to drive around and wait for the chance to hear my own voice on the radio. I think that’s a bucket list for me because when I moved to Nashville, I mean I love writing songs and it’s definitely a dream come true. But I want to hear my songs on the radio and again, come up to a place like Joe’s on Weed and sell it out. That’d be cool.
The post Exclusive Q&A: Greylan James Talks ‘Wait Til You Have Kids,’ And Upcoming Album Plans appeared first on Country Now.
