Alan Jackson has been married to his wife Denise for 46 years, so there are probably a few songs about her in his catalog. But “Remember When” is special, because he wrote it solo, inspired by their real-life love story.
Released in 2003 as the final single from Greatest Hits Volume II, the song resonated with couples around the world (and continues to), but it’s especially dear to Alan’s heart. He and Denise met in 1976 at a Dairy Queen in their hometown of Newnan, Georgia, when they were just teenagers. Sure, the lyrics to “Remember When” are universal enough for most couples to find themselves in, but it includes some—ahem—personal details for the Jacksons.
“Remember when I was young and so were you / And time stood still and love was all we knew / You were the first, so was I / We made love and then you cried / Remember when,” he sings in the opening verse.
“Denise and I met as kids — all that’s true,” Alan remarked around the song’s 20th anniversary in 2023. “And most of that is just reflections of our life and looking ahead.”
Later in the song, he reflects on raising kids together. Alan and Denise have three grown daughters, Ali, Dani, and Mattie, and are now grandparents to several youngsters, including a new baby girl born in April.
“Remember when / The sound of little feet / Was the music we danced to week to week / Brought back the love, we found trust / Vowed we'd never give it up / Remember when.”
Their relationship may have had its ups and downs over the years—“there was joy, and there was hurt,” he admits in the hit song—but in the end, it comes down to the everlasting love the two share. Or, as he sings in the final verse:
“We said when we turned gray / When the children grow up and move away / We won't be sad, we'll be glad / For all the life we've had / And we'll remember when.”
"I've had so many comments saying, 'That's one of my favorite songs,' or 'That's our song,'" Alan continued in his 2023 commentary on the song. "I have so many couples come up and say, 'That's our song.' ... It connected with a certain audience, I guess."
“Remember When” spent two weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 2004—appropriately, it was around Valentine’s Day. It peaked inside the Top 30 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.
It’s a legacy song for an artist who, in 2026, is preparing to hang up his hat and retire after four decades of playing traditional country music. After announcing his battle with the degenerative nerve disorder Charcot-Marie-Tooth in 2021, Alan will perform his final concert on June 26 in Nashville. During his career, Alan released 21 studio albums and was inarguably one of the hottest acts of the 1990s. Perhaps most notably, he never once strayed from his devotion to traditional country music, vowing to always “keep it country.”
Amanda Hensel Jermstad is a skilled writer based in Austin, Texas. She spent 14 years as Editor-in-Chief of Taste of Country, where she led coverage of the artists, stories and trends shaping country music. With a career deeply rooted in the genre, Amanda has built a reputation for sharp editorial insight and authentic storytelling. Outside of work, she’s a proud mom of three.
