Studio Album · No. 11

Thirty Miles West Songwriting Credits by Alan Jackson

2012 EMI Nashville 13 tracks 52 min

Produced by Keith Stegall

EMI Nashville CountryNeotraditional Country
46%
Authorship
Collaborator

Holds writing credit on 6 of 13 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 6 / 13 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 13 tracks with documented writers, by whether Alan Jackson carries a lyricist or composer credit.

46%
6 trackswritten by Alan Jackson 7 tracksoutside writers
Alan Jackson's roles on this album

Share of the 13 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist46%
Composer46%
Producer0%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

13
Tracks
15
Lyricists
1
Producers
73,000 first week
US Copies Sold
2012
Released
Data Insight

Thirty Miles West is a split-authorship record. Alan Jackson wrote six of the thirteen tracks alone, including 'Dixie Highway,' 'Long Way to Go,' and the closer 'When I Saw You Leaving (For Nisey),' so his birth name, Alan Eugene Jackson, is the composer credit on nearly half the album. The rest come from outside Nashville writers, among them Chris Stapleton, Guy Clark, Jay Knowles, and his nephew-by-marriage Adam Wright, who co-wrote the two singles-adjacent cuts 'So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore' and 'Nothin' Fancy.' Keith Stegall produced every track, the same partnership that shaped the bulk of Jackson's catalog.

Thirty Miles West is the seventeenth studio album by Alan Jackson, released on June 5, 2012, and his first for Alan's Country Records through EMI Nashville after two decades on Arista. The title points to a stretch of the Dixie Highway near his hometown of Newnan, Georgia. Keith Stegall, Jackson's longtime producer, oversaw the whole record, keeping it rooted in the neotraditional country sound Jackson built his career on. Jackson wrote six of the thirteen tracks himself and pulled the rest from Nashville writers including Chris Stapleton, Guy Clark, Jay Knowles, and Adam Wright. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on Top Country Albums, led by the singles 'Long Way to Go,' 'So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore,' and 'You Go Your Way.'

Track Listing & Credits 13 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
Gonna Come Back as a Country Song
Terry McBrideChris Stapleton Terry McBrideChris Stapleton Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
2
You Go Your Way #39
Troy JonesDavid LeeTony Lane Troy JonesDavid LeeTony Lane Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
3
Everything but the Wings
Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
4
Talk Is Cheap
Guy ClarkChris StapletonMorgane Hayes Guy ClarkChris StapletonMorgane Hayes Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
5
So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore #25
Jay KnowlesAdam Wright Jay KnowlesAdam Wright Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
6
Look Her in the Eye and Lie
Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
7
Dixie Highway
Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)Zac Brown (Featured Vocals)
8
She Don't Get High
Clint DanielsJeff HydeKylie Sackley Clint DanielsJeff HydeKylie Sackley Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
9
Her Life's a Song
Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
10
Nothin' Fancy
Jay KnowlesAdam Wright Jay KnowlesAdam Wright Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
11
Long Way to Go
Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
12
Life Keeps Bringin' Me Down
Al AndersonShawn Camp Al AndersonShawn Camp Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)
13
When I Saw You Leaving (For Nisey)
Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson Keith Stegall Alan Jackson (Lead Vocals)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 18 contributors

More from Alan Jackson

Frequently Asked Questions Thirty Miles West

Who wrote the songs on Thirty Miles West?
Alan Jackson wrote six of the thirteen tracks himself. The rest came from Nashville writers including Chris Stapleton, Guy Clark, Jay Knowles, Adam Wright, Terry McBride, and Al Anderson.
Which songs did Alan Jackson write on the album?
He wrote 'Everything but the Wings,' 'Look Her in the Eye and Lie,' 'Dixie Highway,' 'Her Life's a Song,' 'Long Way to Go,' and 'When I Saw You Leaving (For Nisey)' on his own.
Who produced Thirty Miles West?
Keith Stegall produced the entire album, continuing his long partnership with Alan Jackson.
What does the album title refer to?
It refers to a stretch of the Dixie Highway about thirty miles west of Atlanta, near Jackson's hometown of Newnan, Georgia.
What were the singles from Thirty Miles West?
'Long Way to Go,' 'So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore,' and 'You Go Your Way.' 'So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore' reached number 25 on Hot Country Songs.
How did the album chart?
It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on Top Country Albums, selling about 73,000 copies in its first week.
Who is featured on 'Dixie Highway'?
Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band is the featured guest on 'Dixie Highway,' a track Jackson wrote himself.

Sources