A grateful reckoning in a steady glow—Travis Tritt’s “I Don’t Know How I Got By” treats love like oxygen discovered late, a quiet astonishment that makes yesterday feel farther away and tomorrow easier to bear.
Let’s pin the ledger first so the memories have something true to hang on. “I Don’t Know How I Got By” is an album cut (not a single) from The Storm (released August 21, 2007 on Category 5), where it appears as track 8 and runs 3:45. The song was written by Diane Warren, and the album was co-produced by Randy Jackson and Travis Tritt. The Storm carried the chart story—#3 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums and #28 on the Billboard 200—even as this particular track stayed a deep-cut favorite.
There’s a nice thread of backstory stitched into it. Before Tritt cut the song, Edwin McCain recorded “I Don’t Know How I Got By” for the 2000 Nicolas Cage film The Family Man; the soundtrack listings credit Warren’s authorship and McCain’s performance. Tritt’s 2007 take doesn’t try to out-sing the movie moment—it rehomes the tune, letting it live where his records shine: in that space between country backbone and blue-eyed soul.
Tritt later reissued the album as The Calm After… in 2013 on his own Post Oak label, keeping “I Don’t Know How I Got By” in the running order (there it sits as track 10) alongside two new covers; the reissue itself reached #31 on the country albums chart. That second life didn’t change the song’s character—it simply gave more listeners a door back into it.
What does it feel like? On The Storm, the palette tilts warm—R&B in the pocket, country in the bones—and this cut is one of the record’s gentlest proofs. The rhythm section sits a breath behind the beat (reassuring, not insistent). Guitars answer in short, conversational phrases, the keys hold a low amber halo, and Tritt’s baritone lands the title line like a private realization spoken out loud. You can hear the album’s A-team fingerprints all around—players such as Kenny Aronoff, Vinnie Colaiuta, Greg Leisz, Mike Finnigan, Matt Rollings appear across the sessions—which is why the track breathes: pros who know how to leave air around a feeling.
As writing, Warren’s lyric carries a classic pop clarity—simple vocabulary, high stakes. In a lesser frame it could feel oversized; Tritt sings it like a grown man who’s learned that gratitude is quieter than fireworks. The verses look back—how did I make it through the blank spaces before you?—and the chorus doesn’t strut; it admits. That admission is why the song works so well for older ears. Real love doesn’t always yell; sometimes it’s the hush that finally lets you tell the truth about the years before. (Tritt himself has nodded to Warren’s pen on this project, grouping this cut with her other contribution, “(I Wanna) Feel Too Much.”)
Placed late on The Storm, “I Don’t Know How I Got By” functions like the soft light after the weather breaks. Earlier in the set, Tritt leans into swagger and grit; by track eight he lets the tempo loosen and the heart talk. It’s savvy sequencing: a pocket of candor before the Hank Jr. nod (“The Pressure Is On”) and the guitar-slinger closer. On The Calm After…, it keeps its place among the keepers—a reminder that the record’s soul tilt wasn’t an affectation but a temperature Tritt wore naturally.
And while the song never went to radio, it travels well—kitchen speakers, late-drive dashboards, rooms where you’d rather name the blessing than explain it. That’s the secret here. The arrangement refuses to grandstand; it keeps you company. The beat steadies your breathing; the guitars flicker and retreat; the voice stands upright inside the feeling. By the last refrain, the gratitude has grown legs—you can walk with it.
Play it tonight and notice how it changes the room. Your shoulders drop a notch. The day’s noise thins. You’re left with a simple, generous arithmetic: before you, I got through; with you, I live. That’s not a slogan; it’s a practice. And it’s why this deep cut keeps earning its place beside Tritt’s big singles—because it understands that some of the most important vows are whispered.
Scrapbook pins, neat and true
- Artist: Travis Tritt
- Song: “I Don’t Know How I Got By” — 3:45; track 8 on The Storm (Category 5, Aug 21, 2007); writer: Diane Warren; co-producers: Randy Jackson & Travis Tritt.
- Album peaks: The Storm — #3 Country, #28 Billboard 200; The Calm After… (2013 reissue) — #31 Country; track retained as #10 on the reissue.
- Earlier recording: Edwin McCain for The Family Man soundtrack (2000).
- Session color (album): appearances across the project by Kenny Aronoff, Vinnie Colaiuta, Greg Leisz, Mike Finnigan, Matt Rollings, among others.
Three minutes, one clear truth: sometimes the bravest thing a song can do is tell you exactly how good you’ve got it now, and let that gratitude settle where it belongs—deep, ordinary, and real.