Jamey Johnson Quit Smoking Marijuana For Almost A Decade… & The Very Moment He Started Again, He Wrote “What A View”

Sometimes you just need a little something to help you think.

The great Jamey Johnson stopped by the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast to talk about his time in the Marines, listening to contemporary country music and how he enjoys artists like Morgan Wallen, creating his newest album Midnight Gasoline, meeting his now-wife and proposing the second day he knew her, and much more.

Johnson also gave us the backstory behind his tropical love song “What A View,” which was a part of his Midnight Gasoline album that released in November of 2024. If you’ve ever listened to that song and immediately been transported to an island paradise, there’s a reason why it gives off that vibe.

Jamey Johnson and some friends – who are called the “Traler Park Crew” – went down to the Bahamas on a writing trip. As the 50-year-old artist tells the story, it was one of those moments where the song’s title presented itself, and they all got to work:

“Well from my perspective, yeah. I think there’s four writers on that song. I guess all of us would have to say it’s about our own. The way that song came to be, we went down to Abaco, Winding Bay in the Bahamas. It was me and Dallas Davidson, Randy Houser, Jerrod Niemann, Lee Brice and Rob Hatch. We only went there to write.

Every time we would walk out on the balcony of that house we were staying in, Dallas would go, ‘What a view, what a view, what a view.’ We all knew we were writing that song. Nobody even had to jot that down as an idea. He just kept saying it every time he’d open up them doors.”

And that’s how the song writing process can go sometimes.

That being said, writing “What A View” wasn’t as easy as Johnson made it out to be right there. He later told us that he had struggled for years with writing, and it all stemmed from a head injury that he suffered when he slipped on ice in a recording studio parking lot around 2010 or 2011. It was around that time that he also stopped drinking, and a couple of years later in 2015, he stopped smoking marijuana as well – and went without it for almost a decade.

It was only when Johnson was on that Bahamas trip that he started up again, and it wasn’t a planned breaking of his pot-less-streak. The moment was instead as fluid and organic as the song’s title presenting itself to the “Traler Park” group:

“I didn’t smoke again until we wrote ‘What A View.’ When we sat down to write that song, I told you, we all knew a song was coming. The first thing I did was sit down and start thinking of reasons this song ain’t ever gonna fly. If you listen to the wrong voice, you are gonna get the wrong information.

And I was sitting there coming up with reasons why I didn’t want to write this song. I looked over and one of my dear friends had put a joint in an ashtray. I could see where this session was going anyway. So I went ahead and smoked one and started writing songs again. They came in like a flood after that.”

@whiskeyriff “All the inhibitions had been lifted. There were no more restrictions.” // Check out the latest Whiskey Riff Raff podcast with @JameyJohnsonOfficial available now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #jameyjohnson #countrymusic #whataview ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff

Jamey says that smoking again felt as though the restrictions he had felt previously with writing were lifted, and he no longer had an inner voice feeding him reasons why he shouldn’t write a song. That’s what ultimately led to his Midnight Gasoline release, and some 50 unreleased songs that he’s currently exploring what to do with.

If you want to hear more about those songs to come, and the story behind “What A View,” make sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here.

We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.

Cheers, y’all.

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Video

Oh, and in case you wanted to check out “What A View,” or listen to it once more, you can press play on the video below:

“What A View”

The post Jamey Johnson Quit Smoking Marijuana For Almost A Decade… & The Very Moment He Started Again, He Wrote “What A View” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.