Celebrate the Heart of Country, Americana, and Roots Music!

Drop Us A Line, Y'all

Y'all interested in advertising, partnering up, contributing stories, joining our team, or just got a question? Well, don't be shy, drop us a line!

Follow Us

Travis Tritt Expressed His Grief in “Here’s A Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares”

by
  • Arden is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, specializing in classic hits and contemporary chart-toppers.
  • Prior to joining Country Thang Daily, Arden wrote for Billboard and People magazine, covering country music legends and emerging artists.
  • Arden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Tennessee, with a minor in Music Studies.

Travis Tritt was an integral part of the country music with hits like “Here’s a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares.” The Grammy Award-winning, Grand Ole Opry member, has had more success than most could ever dream of. Travis Tritt definitely has come a long way since his church choir days.

The song was released in 1991 when Tritt was still dreaming of being a country star while working a regular job and grieving over the demise of his second marriage. Little did he know that the song he played in concert on a whim one night would become one of his career’s biggest hits.

“Here’s a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares” was released as the lead-off single to his album It’s All About to Change. The song peaked at No. 2 in both the United States and Canada, becoming one of Tritt’s most popular songs.

The Song Was Released When People Still Put Quarters Into Pay Phones To Make Phone Calls

Written by Travis Tritt himself, “Here’s a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares” sings of a former lover who regrets leaving him, and now wants to come back in his life once again. However, the song’s main character no longer trusts her because of her actions.

In response, he gives her a quarter and tells her to phone someone else who cares to listen. 

“Call someone who’ll listen, or might give a damn. Maybe one of your sorted affairs. But don’t you come ’round here handin’ me none of your lies. Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares,” the song goes. It was during a time when the population was still putting quarters into payphones to make phone calls.

During Tritt’s interview with The Boot in 2017, he detailed how the song was written during some hard times following his second divorce. Out in the middle of the day, Tritt came home to an empty house. Everything was basically gone, leaving him with one or two pieces of furniture his wife had left behind. 

To make things even worse, someone from the sheriff’s department came knocking on the door to serve him the divorce papers. “I sat down, and I started reading through the divorce papers, and [as] I was reading through them, the phone rang, and it was my soon-to-be ex-wife,” Tritt recalled.

His wife called to say, “You know, maybe I rushed into this too quickly. Maybe we need to think about working it out.” 

Tritt was reading through all of the divorce papers as his wife was talking to him. After the conversation, he thought to himself, “Do I really want to consider getting back together at this point? A lot of water had gone under the bridge, obviously, between when we got together and now. And, do I really want to consider reconciliation at this point?” 

That’s when the lyrics for “Here’s a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares” came to Travis Tritt. He wrote the song in about fifteen minutes, but he never considered releasing it because he wrote it as “a personal song for me to pick me up whenever I would get depressed over my personal situation.”

Then one night, he thought of playing the song at Billy Bob’s as an opening act. “And so I did it acoustically, and, immediately, the response from the audience was just phenomenal, and I knew we had something that, if we ever decided to release it, was going to be a hit,” Tritt recalled. And the rest was history.

Enjoy Travis Tritt’s incredible performance of “Here’s a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares” in the video below.

Latest Stories

Dolly Parton smiles during Khloé podcast interview, sitting by mic and lamp as she shares why she won't stop sharing faith.

Dolly Parton Says People Tell Her To Stop Talking About Her Faith But She Won’t Listen

If there’s one thing you can count on Dolly Parton for, it’s that she’ll say exactly what’s on her heart and not give a single rhinestone what anyone thinks. In ...

Little Mississippi boy in plaid shirt smiles at mic during preschool graduation where he recited New Testament books and sang a George Strait classic.

4-Year-Old Boy Recites New Testament Books Then Belts Out ‘All My Ex’s Live in Texas’

If there’s ever been a preschool graduation that screams “God bless the South,” this is it. Somewhere in Mississippi, a four-year-old kid just made the entire congregation beam with pride ...

Young George Strait smiling on stage playing guitar in 1987 when “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” hit No. 1 and proved he ran country.

On This Day in 1987, George Strait Hit No. 1 with ‘All My Ex’s Live in Texas’ and Proved He Ran Country

Sometimes a song just cements your throne forever, and for George Strait, it was a little tongue-in-cheek love letter that made every Texan proud to claim him as their king. ...

Scotty McCreery with his wife and both grandmothers, who he revealed passed away hours apart in a heartbreaking double loss.

Scotty McCreery Reveals Both His Grandmothers Died Hours Apart in Heartbreaking Double Loss

You just don’t see some country heartbreaks coming, and this one hit Scotty McCreery straight in the soul. This week, the North Carolina native and Opry favorite shared the gut-wrenching ...

Brooks & Dunn performing on stage together, fitting their story about admitting they struggled to get along for years.

Brooks and Dunn Admit They Struggled to Get Along for Years and Tried to Blow It Real Hard

Country music’s greatest duo was basically a bar fight waiting to happen. When Brooks & Dunn stormed out of the gate with “Brand New Man” in 1991, it looked like ...

LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian smiling outdoors, not taken when she spoke about feeling hated after their affair scandal.

LeAnn Rimes Says So Many Women Hated Her After Affair With Eddie Cibrian and She Felt Like a Target

Ain’t every country ballad pretty, and LeAnn Rimes knows her verse is messy as hell. View this post on Instagram A post shared by leann rimes cibrian (@leannrimes) Back in ...

Jana Kramer with husband Allan Russell and her kids outdoors, not taken when she admitted she sometimes skips sunscreen.

Jana Kramer Admits She Skips Sunscreen Sometimes on Her Kids and Feels Fine About It

“Come at me.” That’s Jana Kramer’s whole vibe right now, and boy, they sure are. Turns out you don’t have to drop a scandalous album or torch an ex on ...

Kenny Rogers’ twin sons Justin and Jordan just turned 21 and fans say they look just like the late country music legend now.

Kenny Rogers’ Twin Sons Just Turned 21 and Fans Say They Look Just Like Him Now

A couple of chocolate cakes, two wide grins, and a whole lot of “They look just like their daddy”. That’s how Kenny Rogers’ twin sons rang in their milestone 21st ...

Waylon Jennings once called Garth Brooks the most insincere person he ever saw

Waylon Jennings Once Said Garth Brooks Was the Most Insincere Person He Ever Saw

Sometimes you need an old outlaw to call out what everyone else is too polite to say out loud. Back when Nashville was shape-shifting in the ’80s and ’90s, country ...

Josh Weathers raises over $337000 in a livestream concert fundraiser to help Texas families devastated by catastrophic floods.

Josh Weathers Raises Over $337000 in Livestream to Help Texas Families Hit by Floods

A guitar in hand and a heart the size of Texas. That’s Josh Weathers right now. While storms swallowed up gigs and highways across Central Texas, this Fort Worth native ...