Matthew West – 18 Summers (Single)

Provident Label Group

Release Date: April 26th 2024

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Matthew West– 18 Summers (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

  1. 18 Summers

Over the past few years, I reckon one of the artists who has inspired me and impacted me immensely, is CCM artist Matthew West. Known for his singles “The Motions”, “More”, “You Are Everything”, “My Own Little World”, “History”, “Only Grace”, “The God Who Stays”, “Forgiveness”, “What If”, “Truth Be Told”, “Hello My Name Is”, “Day One”, “All In” and “Broken Things” to name a few; Matthew has also won and been nominated for Grammy Awards and Dove Awards. He’s also the host of The Matthew West Podcast; and he’s been reminding us all, time and time again over the years, about the power of a story. Since 2010, Matthew has been writing songs about his listeners and the stories they’ve been going through. The result has been a career that has been improving exponentially by the album. I’ve blogged about Matthew here, while Jon has also reviewed Matthew’s 2020 album Brand New. We’ve also voiced our opinions about Matthew’s latest singles “What If” (with Lathan Warlick) and “Truth Be Told” (with Carly Pearce). Matthew has also released his Christmas album We Need Christmas in 2021; while Matthew released brand new singles in 2022 that we’ve reviewed: “Me On Your Mind”, “Wonderful Life”, “Before You Ask Her”, “How Good Of God”, a new rendition of “Me On Your Mind”- this time a collaboration with CCM/country rising star Anne Wilson, as well as “My Story Your Glory”. He was definitely building up to a new album, wasn’t he? And build up to a new album has Matthew indeed! Early this year, the double disc 22-track pop/CCM/worship project My Story Your Glory released to stores and to digital outlets- and as far as albums go, this collection of heartfelt, worshipful, impacting, inspiring and honest songs comprise of one of the most thought-provoking and standout albums of the year, behind Dolly Parton’s RockstarMy Story Your Glory the album, is a powerful, comforting, inspiring, and encouraging selection of life-changing and hopeful tracks about our lives being the stories that God uses to draw others closer to Him; and I firmly believe that this album may be Matthew’s best of his entire career! And while you can read my review of the groundbreaking 2-disc worship album here, and also our thoughts on Matthew’s expanded edition version of the same album (as well as our review of Matthew’s brand new single “Don’t Stop Praying”); let’s dive deep into Matthew’s personal and heartfelt new song “18 Summers”, shall we?

It’s like a prayer for family. Don’t stop praying for your family. Don’t stop praying for your kids. It’s not written in the form of a prayer. It’s more written in a form of just that aching feeling you get as time flies by before your eyes, and you wish you could get it back. It’s about making most of the time you get with them. I talk a lot about the power of story, but this song is literally written in real time in the exact chapter of the story that our family is in right now. It’s graduation time. My oldest daughter is getting ready to graduate from high school, and my wife and I are both just in our feelings about that. We’re dealing with all the heart feelings and emotions of, like, ‘Wow! How fast did it go? This is unbelievable.’ We just had her graduation party last night. We’re cleaning up after the party today — I can’t believe how fast it’s gone.

When you measure time in different forms, it can highlight the brevity of life. I was having a conversation with another dad, and he said, ‘Yeah, I heard it said once that we only have 18 summers. When you think about it, not as 18 years, but 18 summers, it all of a sudden it feels so much smaller and so finite.’ I thought ’18 Summers’ was a great title for a song. So, as I was thinking about my daughter getting close to graduation, that title kept popping up to me. Right now, is the perfect time for me to write that message, because that’s what I’m living.

They’re two of the main guys that I write with [Jeff Pardo and AJ Pruis]. When you’re with your buddies and they’re your go-to writers and you’re in the business of writing radio singles for other artists, that can be your focus. ‘Do we have the radio singles?’ It can be that kind of thing. But when I had the idea for ‘18 Summers,’ I was, like, ‘Guys, I don’t think this is a radio single. This just feels like something that I want to say right now, and it’s got to come out right now. There ain’t no waiting!’ And so we wrote it, and I love every bit of what the lyrics says.

The part that made Emily [my wife] really cry was: ‘Dorm room number 205, a grown man trying not to cry. Can’t wait to see all you’re going to do. Your mom and me and two aching hearts driving home in an empty car, thanking God for the gift of raising you for 18 summers.’ Parents dread that. It’s like, ‘Okay, we moved her in and now it’s time to get back in the car and head back home.’ It’s hard to leave your kid on a campus somewhere. That was what made the dam break when I played it for her. [Lulu also] shed a tear, but I think she’s more excited about the next step ahead. She’s excited for freedom and independence, but music has always been a really special thing with me and Lulu. We’ll get in the car, and she’ll play me music that she’s listening to, and I’ll play her my new song demos. We’ve really bonded over the years through music. So, sitting down and playing her a song is kind of a regular thing at the West house, and this one just had an extra layer of meaning and significance. So, we shared a really special moment together.

For all our differences, there are certain common experiences that we have as moms and dads and kids and families, and just human beings in general. When I’ve played this song for people, there’s such connectivity. It just fits into a moment that so many people will experience in their life, both the parents and the kids. I think it’s pretty special.

Emily called me not long ago, and she was crying. I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ She’s, like, ‘I just drove by a soccer field and there were little kids playing.’ And I said, ‘Well, why are you crying? Honey, our kids didn’t play soccer.’ And she says, ‘I know, but they could have.’ And it was just the funniest moment. You don’t know what’s going to make you tug at your heartstrings. And we kind of laughed about it.

I think I’ll just let this ‘review’ end right here- in fact, I reckon Matthew did a great job explaining the heart behind “18 Summers”, and the fact that it’s about the passage of time seeming to quicken as the years progress, and to always not let a moment slip you by it’s a song that encourages us to slow down and to always live in the present- and actually be present in the present. “18 Summers” highlights the fragility of life and as we reorganise our lives and reorder our priorities, let us remember that we need to make time for the people who truly matter the most. God, our family, our friends, our pets, the experiences that make up a life… rather than stuff and material possessions. It’s all going to fade away someday, so let’s live life to the fullest, and ensure we pack a lot in so that we’re proud of everything we’ve done at the end of the day.

Like he has countless times before, Matthew West has proven on this song to still be a force to be reckoned with in CCM and in music generally and overall. Matthew West remains to be one of today’s most inspiring and relatable artists. And his timeless songs are proof of this impact and influence; while this unique song about graduation and holding onto the moments that are special to us, is a timely, powerful, and joyous melody about God’s faithfulness and His immense love present in our lives. Well done, Matthew, I can’t wait to hear what God has in store for you next! Are you all a fan of Matthew West yet? No? Well then listen to this ambitious and hard-hitting new piano driven melody, and the rest of his discography! I guarantee it you’ll be a fan by then!

It is a 30-Day devotional [my latest book] inspired by the themes on my last record. My Story Your Glory is really unique in the sense that every chapter is basically examining every part of our lives and our stories and asking God to invade that chapter just to say, ‘How can God impact my past? How can my character give God glory? How can the way that I spend my time reflect what’s important to me?’ It’s just an assessment of your priorities. Every chapter is sort of praying that prayer, ‘God, step into this part of my story and show me what your plan is.’ So it’s a really cool devotional for small groups and things like that. It’s actually a cool concept for graduates, too, as people are stepping into a new chapter of their story. It’s been fun seeing people get this book in their hands and take that 30-day journey.

Score: 5/5

RIYL: Maddie & Tae, Micah Tyler, Sanctus Real, for KING & COUNTRY, Carly Pearce, Lady A, Florida Georgia Line, Sidewalk Prophets

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