Just to show how this works for you new songwriters...

There is a guy name Joel Shewmake. He is a fantastic songwriter. He is the "Best of the Best " for 2013 awarded by the NashvilleEar.com. He has several songs recorded by major country music stars.

He wrote a song called "Tough Times Dont Last Tough People Do" so he comes on to the NashvilleEar.com Songwriter Stage and sings it one Saturday morning after hanging with his good buddy Harlan Pease the previous evening enjoying a few adult beverages. I have them scheduled to play at 10am on Saturday morning at Bost Harley Davidson dealership. They were very happy to find the coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. After a couple of cups of coffee and some doughnuts they were ready to go.

Joel plays several songs during that set but this song about "Tough People" really stuck in my mind. I am thinking this is one great song. Joel is the kind of songwriter who writes hit songs every so often.. he is one of the best that I have had play on our stages. Here is the original song live onstage at 10am on a Saturday morning. This is Joel playing his song like he hears it in his mind.
http://youtu.be/J8n1iyQTnac

Time Lapse about 6 months and I see Travis Adkins singing this same song on the Republican National Convention stage. Joel hit a home run with this song.
Here is what I heard on TV six months later:
http://youtu.be/-sxxIdc7vP8

Do you think Travis stayed true to the song Joel wrote?