Why Miranda Lambert’s Parents Were Convinced She Wrote ‘The House That Built Me’
Many tears have been shed while listening to "The House That Built Me," from both Miranda Lambert and fans alike. It's a touching and emotional song that feels personal to all of us as we think back on our childhood home.
For Lambert, it was so spot on that even her parents — Rick and Bev Lambert — thought she had written it. In 2010, they told Today that they were completely surprised to hear she didn't even have a hand in it. Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin co-wrote the song, in which the narrator goes back to visit a former home that had served as a haven during a particularly formative time.
"It's like the persons that wrote that song were channeling into our lives at that horrible, but great time in our lives," Rick Lambert shared. "It was so many mixed emotions during that time because we actually lost everything we owned. We actually lost a house that we built with our own hands."
The Lamberts were left homeless after they couldn't find work as private investigators. After staying with family for some time, a man offered them a rental property with a fixer upper, with the understanding that they could live there as long as they renovated the home. For food, the Lambert family ate out of the garden and hunted game animals. Now we know where Lambert gets her grit.
Many of the lyrics to "The House That Built Me" are a mirror to Lambert's childhood in that house: Her favorite dog being buried in the yard, the room at the top of the stairs where she learned to play guitar and even the image of her mama cutting out pictures from Better Homes and Garden.
Despite the picture-perfect similarities, the song wasn't even intended for Lambert to record. Written in 2004 — just one year after she competed on Nashville Star — it was pitched to her then boyfriend, Blake Shelton, six years later. She happened to be with him when he listened to it, and after seeing tears streaming down her face, he told her the song was hers.
Released in March of 2010 as the third single from Lambert's third studio album, Revolution, "The House That Built Me" gave the singer her first No. 1 hit, and it remains one of the most important songs of her career.
They say that every song has its own journey, so perhaps this one was destined to find its way to Lambert.
Learn more about "The House the Built Me" in The Secret History of Country Music below.