Thomas Rhett on How 'Die A Happy Man' Is Inspired By His Wife

Over the last few years, there have been some amazing love songs, including Ed Sheeran's hit single "Thinking Out Loud" and John Legend's "All Of Me." But now, we have another romantic tune, and it's all thanks to Thomas Rhett. Thomas's single "Die A Happy Man" is the second single off his latest album, Tangled Up, and it's dedicated to his wife, Lauren Gregory.

"Die A Happy Man" was written by Thomas, John Ward, and Sean Douglas, and took the stop spot on the Country Airplay and Canada Country charts. The song is a follow up to his first single titled "Crash and Burn," and Thomas tells us that she wanted him to write a song similar to Tim McGraw's "Just To See You Smile," and while out on the road, "Die A Happy Man" was written. Rhett explains to iHeartRadio:

"It was inspired with her [his wife] really wanting me to to write sweeter songs in general. 'Just to See You Smile' by Tim McGraw was sort of the example that she gave, and so we went on the road one weekend, and we were attempting to write songs, and 'Die a Happy Man' was kind of what came out of that thought process. When we wrote it was very, very personal about our marriage and pretty much every line was very detailed about our life. With the success that it's had, I think that's the most special part. Knowing that I'm able to write songs about personal things, about my life, and have them be translatable to fans and have people have their first dance to the song, and get engaged at our shows. It really is one of the coolest things that has happened in my career thus far."

Although Thomas's wife was not there in person to hear "Die A Happy Man" for the first time, she got to hear it over e-mail, and Thomas tells us the track is her favorite that he's ever written. He explains, "I wish I could have got to play it for her in person the first time she heard it. But, I just remember her saying, 'You know, this is probably my favorite song that you've ever written.' And people keep asking me, if I have like a lifetime hall pass, and the answer is no."

"Die A Happy Man" is a very personal song for Thomas Rhett, and it's full of heart-warming lyrics. And out of all the lyrics throughout the single, Thomas tells us the most personal lyric is "I don't need no vacation/No fancy destination/Baby, you're my great escape." The country star says, "The bridge where it says, you know, 'I don't need a vacation or a fancy destination. You know, you're my great escape.' It's just like, if everything left, if we never did get to go to any cool places, or if we didn't get to do certain things we want to do, just having each other would be enough. The bridge really just sums up the song."

Since "Die A Happy Man" is dedicated to Thomas's wife, it's only natural that she co-stars alongside him in the song's music video. The romantic video shows the couple in a tropical paradise, and Thomas tells us that it was fun to be able to be in the video together:

"That was my seventh music video to ever film, and it was the first time that me and Lauren have gotten to kind of ... It wasn't really acting. It was more just us being us. It was a lot of fun to see her really thrive in that environment. Because it can be really nerve-wracking to film a video, but she did great. It's so much more fun to be able to act with someone that you actually are in love with. It's makes it a whole lot easier."

Rhett tells us that his favorite scene in the video is when he and Lauren are in the ocean on a paddle board, and they both fall off of it. He says, "I think she might of knocked me off of it, but it's such an 'us' scene. Us being goofy and messing around with each other."

Most recently, Nelly (who is familiar to Country music with his song with Florida Georgia Line "Cruise"), released his own cover of Thomas Rhett's "Die A Happy Man." When asked what he thought of the rapper's cover, Thomas says, "I'm flattered. I never in a million years thought that would happen, but it did."

And considering Nelly has collaborated with other Country music artists like Florida Georgia Line and Tim McGraw (2004's "Over And Over"), we asked Thomas if he'd ever collaborate with the rapper -- he's open to it. He tells us, "I think it'd be cool at some point in time. Whether now's that time, I have no idea, but, I've always been a huge fan of Nelly, and I'm really just flattered that he wanted to record a song of mine."

Photos: Rachel Kaplan