Carrie Underwood Reflects on Special Small-Town Upbringing in 'Kingdom'

Carrie Underwood's recent Cry Pretty album includes a song, "Kingdom," written by the signer, along with songwriters Chris DeStefano and Dave Barnes.

The tune, which says, "It ain't always pretty as a picture / And it ain't a mansion on a hill / It's perfectly imperfect / It's worth more than it's worth / It's our life, it's our heart, it's our home / This is our kingdom," was born from thinking about her own idyllic childhood in Checotah, Okla.

"I feel like 'Kingdom' is just all about the things that make you," Underwood explains. "I'm from a very small town in Oklahoma. When I sing this song, this is what I think of. We didn't have an abundance of fancy stuff. We didn't live in some giant house. I mean, there was really nothing to do, but we kind of had each other and we were really proud of what we had. My parents worked really hard for everything that they were able to give us, and I respect that so much. Our house wasn't that special but it's home.

"I don't want to say we were poor," she continues. "That's the wrong word because we had everything that we needed. Everything. We did not have a lot of extras in our lives, and that was I think a good thing. But when I think about home, it's the best thing. I'm so glad that I grew up where I grew up with my amazing family and the house that we grew up in that my parents still live at in that tiny town with not a lot to do and not a lot of extras. That is part of me."

In a recent interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the Nashville resident admitted it was her hometown where she felt most at home.

"I feel like [Checotah] is the only place that my soul can rest," Underwood concedes. "When I come here, I can turn off. And there's no other place in world that's like that. And I feel like everybody's got that place. Everybody's got that home feel. But it's like, I sleep when I'm here. Like, I sleep. And I don't get that any place else."

Underwood, who is pregnant with her second child, will launch her Cry Pretty Tour 360 in May. Order Cry Pretty at CarrieUnderwoodOfficial.com.

Photo Credit:Getty images/Chris Polk