Exclusive: Tracy Lawrence Reveals He Considered Becoming a Politician

Tracy Lawrence's latest studio album, Good Ole Days, was an ambitious undertaking. The record included collaborations with artists like Luke Combs, Dustin Lynch, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw and Luke Bryan, on some of Lawrence's biggest hits, including "If the World Had a Front Porch," "Time Marches On," "Paint Me a Birmingham," and others.

But surprisingly, Good Ole Days, along with Lawrence's previous three records, including the gospel project, The Rock, might have never seen the light of day, if Lawrence followed through with a major career switch he seriously considered.

"In late 2007, '08, '09, right about there, when the housing bubble popped, I really started contemplating getting out of the music business and going into politics," Lawrence reveals to PopCulture.com. "I had a friend of mine that was finishing his term in Arkansas in Congress, and there was a vacant seat. I had a lot of people pulling me, wanting me to run for that seat. We went back and looked at houses in that district. We went through some checklists. I got right there to the edge of it and I just couldn't do it."

Lawrence admits he probably couldn't have entirely given up his first love of music, but he would have made being a politician his top priority.

"I would have tried to balance both," says Lawrence. "It would have been more just doing shows when Congress wasn't in session. And I don't know if I would have been happy doing that. But it did go through my mind for a little bit of time.

With the political climate more volatile than ever, the Texas native says it is unlikely he would ever consider that path again.

"I doubt it," Lawerence says. "There's been so much that's going on. I don't know if I would want to put myself and my family through the abuse that politics brings to a personal life. It's just not worth it. It's dirty."

Lawrence may not consider politics anymore, but he's also not considering retirement. The 50-year-old, whose debut Sticks and Stones album was released in 1991, is busier than ever, with no plans of slowing down anytime soon. The difference is, he's learned – albeit the hard way – how to make his music life manageable.

"I still work 90-100 days a year," boasts the singer. "I've been doing really well. I still work a lot. And I know the next question is going to be how do I manage that kind of workload? It's because as soon as we start booking dates, I block the first week of March. I've got a block for the week of Easter for a family reunion. I've got five days blocked to go on a white water kayaking trip with my college buddies. I've got several days blocked to go to the girls' national dance competition.

"I go through my year and I just put those in periodically through so I still have a life," he adds. "And if I don't put those blocks in, they'll get filled up and then you're on the treadmill all the time. So I've learned over the years that the first thing I do is say when I'm not working and y'all can have the rest of it, fill it up. But when I put a block, don't even talk to me about it."

A list of all of Lawrence's upcoming shows can be found on his website. Purchase Good Ole Days on Amazon and iTunes.

Photo Credit: Instagram/TheRealTracyLawrence