Tim McGraw Reveals Inspiration Behind 'Free Solo' Song 'Gravity'

Tim McGraw may just find himself working the awards show circuit this year — the country singer co-wrote the song "Gravity" for the film Free Solo, and it's been receiving plenty of a acclaim, with some even giving the singer, along with co-writer Lori McKenna, Oscar buzz.

Free Solo documents Alex Honnold's free climb of a 3,000-foot Yosemite rock face, and McGraw told Entertainment Tonight that the film is "one of the best movies I've seen in a long time."

"We wanted to try to match the heart that Alex showed by doing this and the determination he showed," McGraw recalled of his writing process with McKenna. "We wanted to create a big picture and we wanted to do something that made people think about their lives, made people think about the things that they could do and the journey that they're on individually."

"You cannot help but be truly inspired by Alex and his journey and his accomplishment and his victory," McGraw added.

The star previously told the Los Angeles Times that he didn't think he had the time to pen a song for the film, but ultimately changed his mind once he watched the movie.

"I saw it, and it blew me away," he said. "I was taking notes the whole time I was watching it. I sent it to [co-composer] Lori McKenna and said, 'Watch this; see what you think.' She called me the next day and she was blown away, and she sent me all the notes she'd taken and they were almost identical. Same themes, same phrases, everything."

"Gravity" is a not-quite-literal look at the film's themes, with McGraw discussing overcoming obstacles and making the most out of life.

"Look what you have overcome to get here / Look at the distance you've run," McGraw sings. "The doubts that you've pushed down / Fear that you've drowned out."

"Gravity's gravity. It is what it is," the father of three explained. "But there are a lot of things in your life that can be gravity, a lot of things that can pull you away from your goal. The 'fragility' is the connection you have with your hands, your heart and your head. For instance, if you're talking about love, being tactilely, physically involved with somebody is an important thing. But the physicality doesn't mean anything if your heart's not involved and if you're not present in your mind. None of those things will work individually in the long run."

Photo Credit: Getty / Matt Winkelmeyer/ACMA2017