Travis Tritt |Photo Credits: shazam.com
In 1991, Travis Tritt did not immediately realize that he just penned what would soon become a hit and one of his masterpieces. Released on May 7, 1991, “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” was written recorded by Tritt. In addition, Tritt conceived the song as the lead single for his second studio album, It’s All About to Change. Record producer Gregg Brown produced it for Warner Bros. This two-minute song was one of Tritt’s most popular songs that eventually received a gimmick with it. Whenever he plays this song live, many fans would throw quarters onstage.
Moreover, “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” received a favorable response from the audience. In fact, it placed at the no. 2 spot on both the Billboard Hot Country Songs in the U.S. and RPM Country Tracks in Canada, respectively. Furthermore, the single appeared on the year-end list of the said charts. It reached no. 22 on the Billboard Country Songs while no. 23 on the RPM Country Tracks at the end of 1991.
The Story Behind the Song
With the title of the song alone, the song speaks of a former lover who regrets leaving the person she has loved dearly. Now, she’s back and wants to have him in her life again. However, the man does not love her anymore. He is not interested and does not want to trust her again. Instead, he gives her a quarter and tells her to go and call someone who would care to listen to her. (Back in 1991, a quarter is a common price for a local payphone call.)
At the time when the song made its first air on the radio, Travis Tritt was still a young, and budding singer whose dream is to be George Jones, George Strait, and artists alike. Tritt was still in the middle of balancing his time between his regular job and fixing over the failure of his second marriage.
In one of Tritt’s accounts, he mentioned that “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” was a song that he had written for a couple of years even before he arrived in Nashville. As he started writing the song, he was having difficulty coping with life as his divorce with his former wife.
Moreover, Tritt revealed that the song was just written in only 15 minutes. For him, it’s as if the lyrics just dawned upon him, following the unfateful departure of his ex-wife. He said:
“I was at home one day. My wife moved out in the middle of the day, while I was at work, and I came home to basically an empty house.”
A Story Close to Tritt’s Heart
Travis Tritt on the song’s music video |Photo Credits: countryfancast.com
The story goes on. Initially, he did not know about the divorce; he thought he had been robbed. The time when he realized that his wife was indeed gone was when the sheriff handed him the divorce papers.
Further, as Tritt sat back and started reading through the papers, his would-be ex-wife called him and said:
“You know, maybe I rushed into this too quickly. Maybe we need to think about working it out.”
With this, however, Tritt has had some reflection after the call. He asked himself:
“Do I really want to consider getting back together at this point? Do I really want to consider a reconciliation at this point?”
The country music singer then looked back on the days they were together and realized how much mistakes they have had together. He thought that maybe it was just the right time to end; enough is enough. He recounted that there were a lot of things that need to be left behind —things that can never be undone.
Thus, the following lyrics were inspired by this experience:
“You say you were wrong for leaving me alone
And you’re lonesome and you’re scared
You say you’d be happy if you could just come back home
Well here’s a quarter, call someone who cares.”
Well, it is indeed true that with a bitter story springs out a better life lesson. And with Travis Tritt, this song holds very true to his heart, forever.
WATCH Travis Tritt’s “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” music video:”
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