On My Kind of Livin', his third album and second full-length project for Broken Bow Records, he moves further up the path he's chosen to follow as an observer of the small, meaningful things in our everyday lives.

The child who deals with the loss of his beloved dog on "Lotta Man (In That Little Boy)," the old farmer and his wife who rediscover their love on "Rain for the Roses," the friends torn apart by tragedy on "Cowboy and Clown" -- all the images on My Kind of Livin' draw power from the poetry that surrounds us all in everyday America.

"Somebody told me not long ago that whenever they hear a song that visually paints a picture, they think of me because that's the kind of writing I've come to do best," Morgan explains. "We hinted at that approach on my first record and grasped it on the second. On this one, we finally took it home."

This way of writing comes naturally to Morgan. During ten years in the military that included combat in Operation Just Cause and other deployments, including ROK Ranger School in Korea, he lived away from the things most of us take for granted. "In Panama, I was sleeping two hours a night and getting shot at each day," he says. "I couldn't even think about home until I was ready to bed down. But in Korea there was a lot of free time to think on what I'd left behind. For me, that meant memories of home: growing up in the woods, riding three-wheelers, fishing, and hunting. I'd written songs before, but with so much time to reflect I began to write about the things I'd known with more emotion and an appreciation for what they mean to me."

When Morgan could finally come back to Tennessee, everything he saw -- even the shopping mall that had sprouted up in place of the woods where he first hunted -- seemed to have become richer in spirit. He began working construction, at Wal-Mart, as a sheriff's deputy, and in other day jobs to support his family; whatever free time he had was devoted to writing. He was prolific; on a typical day he'd finish four or five new songs. And they were good. As he sat in on writer's night events or sang on demo sessions, word started to spread about the young artist who had a keen eye for details and a bard's way with words.

Atlantic Records released Craig’s self-titled debut in 2000. After that label closed its doors, Morgan signed with Broken Bow Records and recorded his second album, I Love It. By this time, he was no longer a Music City secret: The disc's first single, "Almost Home," earned a Songwriter Achievement award from the Nashville Songwriters Association International after rising into the Top 10, while the album itself climbed to the top of the Billboard Heatseekers listing.

As his star rose higher, Morgan began to realize dreams he'd always hoped would come true. He accepted invitations to tour with LeAnn Rimes, Montgomery Gentry, Brad Paisley and Terry Clark, playing before as many as eighty thousand fans at a time. And he became a frequent guest on Grand Ole Opry, where to his disbelief he found himself singing duets with two artists he'd lionized for years: John Conlee and George Jones.

"It was stunning," he admits. "You're onstage and on TV, and these great artists are right on the other side of the microphone, and I'm pinching myself to see if it's real. But George is as nice as anybody I've ever met, and John has always been, too. I've been on the Opry nearly a hundred times now, but no matter how many times I'm there it's a wonderful feeling to have John and George and Jim Ed Brown and Little Jimmy Dickens welcoming me and telling me they're glad to have me back."

An impressive run in a short time -- but with My Kind of Livin' Morgan makes it clear that he's just warming up. "I don't write as much as I used to -- maybe thirty songs a year now -- but I'm writing better," he insists. "I've come to understand that the good songs come naturally. They talk about natural things: Things that might seem mundane or common are the things that we all can envision about ourselves because they're what we do -- or, if we don't, they're what we want to do."

Craig MorganAnd so the pictures pass by, like pages turning in a family photo album. Throughout My Kind of Livin' recollections unfold of childhood ("that blue bike, ball glove, and fishing pole" …), of hard work done well ("It's 98 in the shade, Mr. Rose is rolling hay -- eighty acres down and ten to go …"), of trophies ("a ten-point buck on the living room wall") and trials ("when I've got you off my mind … that's when I'll believe that you're gone"), of a love that's just begun ("living on a rural route, fixing up an old farmhouse … starting a fire on a cold winter's night and making dreams come true …").

It's homespun, sure -- but when you dig beneath the drama and the fashion and distractions that clutter the media, what really matters are the values that Craig Morgan celebrates. Long after trends come and go, the people portrayed in these songs will endure.

"The point I try to make is that the mundane things aren't so mundane after all," he muses. "The simple things, like being on a boat with your buddies, or sitting on a porch after church on Sunday, or the tractor you see in 'Rain for the Roses,' aren't always a part of everybody's life, because we're all in such a big rush. But they are all part of who we are."

Discography

Craig Morgan ( Released 2000 )
I Love It ( Released 2003 )
My Kind Of Livin’ ( Released 2005 )