"Almost Home" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Craig Morgan Craig Morgan Greer (born July 17, 1964) is an American country music artist. Morgan began his musical career in 2000 on Atlantic Records, releasing his self-titled debut album for that label before the closure of its Nashville division in 20 ...

. It was released in November 2002 as the second single from his album '' I Love It''. The song was Morgan's first Top 10 hit on the U.S. country music charts. In addition, the song earned him a "Song of the Year" award from BMI, and a Songwriter's Achievement Award from the Nashville Songwriters' Association International. The song was written by Morgan and Kerry Kurt Phillips. In 2022, he performed this song at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

with American rapper and multi-genre singer/songwriter Jelly Roll. before being released as a single on his 2023 EP, ''Enlisted.''

Content

The song is a ballad mostly backed by

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and

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

. It tells of the singer's encounter with an old, homeless man who is sleeping behind a trash can on a cold winter day. Presuming that the homeless man may be dead, the singer then rouses him. Upon being awakened, the homeless man says that he is "almost home", and then lists off the activities that he had been doing in his dream. The narrator then offers to drive the old man to a shelter, but the old man refuses. According to songwriter Kerry Kurt Phillips, the homeless man's explanation that he is "almost home" is intentionally open-ended, and can mean that the man had almost reached home in his dream, or that he is about to die and go to Heaven: "A lot of people ask me if the guy almost died ��was he dying or dreaming? It's funny how people have different interpretations. That's the neat thing about a song, and I think understatement is the key to a good song...leaving enough room for the listener to draw their own conclusion ��so I never answer them on that. I guess it's up to the listener."

Critical reception

Chuck Taylor of ''

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'' gave the song a positive review and wrote, "Always an affecting vocalist, Morgan gives a sensitive, nuanced performance of the poignant lyric. The song is sure to stir emotions and should be a welcome addition to playlists."

Chart positions

"Almost Home" fell from the ''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts starting with the chart dated for March 8, 2003, after a peak of number 33. This was because the song had decreased in airplay, was below the number 20 position, and was more than 20 weeks old, then the publication's policy for moving a song into

recurrent rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely s ...

. After its removal, it experienced an unexpected surge in airplay and was restored to that chart at the number 25 position starting with the March 29 publication. After being reinstated on the charts, it achieved a new peak of number six.

Year-end charts

References

External links

Lyrics
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Almost Home (Craig Morgan Song) 2002 singles 2002 songs Craig Morgan songs Jelly Roll (singer) songs BBR Music Group singles Songs written by Craig Morgan Songs written by Kerry Kurt Phillips Songs about homelessness