Cyndi Thomson is back with new music for the first time in more than 20 years, and she’s offering fans a new interpretation of one of her biggest hits, “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful.”
Here’s the twist: Although Thomson wrote the song, she’s not the artist who made it famous. Gary Allan was the first country artist to record the song, scoring a No. 4 hit in 2006.
Who Wrote “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful”?
Thomson wrote the song with her longtime writing partner, Tommy Lee James.
What Inspired “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful”?
Thomson tells Taste of Country that she was in her car on the way to a writing appointment with James when the title came to her.
“I was listening to country radio, and there was this really happy love song on,” she relates. “And I just went, ‘Hmmm, I don’t know if that’s the truth.’ And this title came into my mind, ‘Life Ain’t Always Beautiful.'”
When she shared the idea with James, “He pretty much immediately said, ‘But it’s a beautiful ride,'” she says.
They wrote the song with him playing piano, and “as soon as it was done, it’s the strangest thing, but I said, ‘This isn’t my song. It’s for a guy,'” she recalls.
James did a piano and vocal demo of the song with him singing lead, and they turned it in to their publisher at Sony/ATV.
Within the week, “My song guy was listening to that one evening and immediately made a phone call to Gary Allan,” Thomson recalls.
Allan was in the studio, but he was no longer looking for songs for the album that became Tough All Over.
“They had all their songs, but he said, ‘Please, let me bring you this song.’ So, he drove it over, and they said, ‘Yes, we want it,'” she recalls. “It was almost divine in a million different ways.”
Allan’s second wife had died by suicide in 2004, and he gave a powerful performance of the song that fans read into even more personally as a result. It’s become a keystone track in his career.
How Did “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful” Do in the Charts?
Gary Allan reached No. 4 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart with his recording of “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful.”
What Happened to Cyndi Thomson?
Thomson scored a No. 1 hit straight out of the gate with her debut single, “What I Really Meant to Say,” in 2001.
She stepped away from her burgeoning career the following year in what she now says was an act of “self-preservation,” after she found the demands of her growing fame were having a negative impact on her mental health.
Thomson began having panic attacks and night terrors, ultimately ending up on anti-depressants before making the difficult decision to suspend the performing side of her music career.
Why Did Cyndi Thomson Record “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful” Now?
Now 49, the singer spent her years out of the spotlight raising a family, and she also started a successful jewelry business.
But the call to sing never left her, and after her father passed away, she felt it was more important than ever to return and make the country album she’d been thinking about off and on for years at that point.
Thomson decided to include her own version of “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful” after the response to it at a show with Caitlyn Smith caused Smith to say, “You really have to cut that song.”
Thomson’s rendition of the song features a sparse arrangement that places the emphasis on the power of the lyrics, as well as Thomson’s evocative vocal performance.
Thomson says the song has taken on different shades of meaning to her in the years since she first wrote it.
“I immediately think of the second verse: ‘Some days I miss your smile,’” she tells us.
“I think about my dad. He passed away about three years ago, and he was really the catalyst for me deciding to take the leap again. To do it and not keep talking about it.”
The day after he passed, she was driving around her hometown, and she thought about the example she wanted to set for her daughter in terms of chasing her dreams.
“I thought about her and saying, ‘I wish I’d made that record,’ and I didn’t want that to be the story,” she states.
Thomson is hopeful that the song’s message will resonate in a different way in these difficult times.
“Looking at where we are today — no matter where you stand on things — my hope is that it brings hope. That it’s a way to look at things a little differently, and maybe it has meaning for someone who’s hurting.”
Age and experience are an important part of that, she adds.
“You kind of realize as you live a little bit more life, that life isn’t always beautiful, but it’s just trying to find those things that make you go, “But, it can be the most beautiful ride, and it’s perspective.”
What’s Next for Cyndi Thomson?
Having spent considerable time on putting together a new team, Thomson says she’s back in the game to stay “as long as they’ll have me.”
She hopes to resume touring as part of her new chapter, and she’s also got some special treats up her sleeve for 2026, which will mark the 25th anniversary of “What I Really Meant to Say.”
“Every day my hands are just open to whatever comes,” she says. “I just hope people love the music. I’m so overwhelmed and honored and just blessed to be able to do this again. It means so much to me.”
See the Most Played Country Song from the Year You Were Born
Who had the most played country song during the year you were born? This list is a fascinating time capsule of prevalent trends from every decade in American history. Scroll through to find your birth year and then click to listen. Some of these songs have been lost through the years, many of them for good reason!
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
Most Popular Country Album From the Year You Were Born
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This list is based on sales date from the Soundscan era (1991 to 2022) and total weeks spent atop Billboard‘s Hot Country Albums chart (1964-1990).
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
