Dan + Shay’s ‘Bigger Houses’: Blueprint for Happiness
Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney’s songwriting partnership has resulted (so far) in six studio albums, three Grammys, eight chart-topper songs and numerous collaborations with other artists like Kelly Clarkson, Charlie Puth, Justin Bieber, and Rascal Flatts, among others. With their busy schedule with the release of their first Christmas album, It’s Officially Christmas: The Double Album, Dan + Shay still made time to stop by and be Kelly Ford’s Backstage Country co-host from January 13-17.
Dan + Shay’s “Bigger Houses”
Ford and the duo discussed their song, “Bigger Houses.” Dan shared the profound meaning behind the song and its title, saying they wrote it with their friend Andy Albert. “Yeah, we wrote that one with Andy and he was like, ‘The thing about happiness I’ve found is it don’t live in bigger houses,’ which, came from my wife,” which he said happened during the time his wife, Abby, visited Andy’s new house.
He continued, “He’s written a bunch of hits at this point, super proud of him. And he bought a new house, and my wife went over there to see it for the first time. And they’re walking around. And I hope he doesn’t mind me saying this, but they were making apologies, ‘We’re going to paint that wall, or we’re going to fix this or renovate this.’ And Abby said, ‘We should just stop for a second. This is amazing. You guys were able to afford a beautiful new house in Nashville, which is a crazy, expensive place to live. And we’re always kind of looking forward to what’s next or talking about bigger houses. And we should just appreciate what we have right now.’”
Dan chuckled because Andy just whipped his phone and typed something. “He was like, ‘I hope this isn’t weird, but Abby said this thing about bigger houses, and the thing about happiness I found is it don’t live in bigger houses.’ I was like, ‘Well, that song is already written. It’s already done.’ So, we just kind of filled in the blanks and recorded it on acoustic guitar and boom, it’s crazy. It’s top five on country radio.”
Ford then asked the pair how they felt about “Bigger Houses” being their eleventh number one. Shay answered, “Every time we hear our songs played on the radio, there’s going to be a text, or a call sent out by one of us, whoever is listening to the radio because it truly means that much to us still. I mean driving down these streets of Nashville is still absolutely magical. This city, this town still has so much magic. And I’m reminded of that every time I drive down these streets.”
Dan + Shay’s song is a reminder for us that life isn’t about chasing after bigger and better—it’s about appreciating what you have and that “The thing about happiness I’ve found is/It don’t live in bigger houses.”
Buy Dan + Shay’s Bigger Houses album by clicking this link here.
