There isn’t a genre of music that creates a feeling of nostalgia like country music. Since the beginning, country music has been known for songs that make people long for a different time. Fortunately, they are usually with a smile as they think of memories in the past.

These are three of the most nostalgic country songs ever, which all came out in 2004.

“Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw

One of the most nostalgic songs ever released, in any genre, might be Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying“. Written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman, the song is the title track of McGraw’s eighth studio album.

“Live Like You Were Dying” is the story of a man in his 40s who finds out he is battling a life-threatening illness, and determines to live his remaining days to their fullest. The song says, ‘I was finally the husband that most of the time I wasn’t / And I became a friend a friend would like to have / And all of a sudden goin’ fishin’ wasn’t such an imposition / And I went three times that year I lost my dad.”

The song was also personal to McGraw. He recorded the song in January of 2004, the same month his father, Tug McGraw, passed away from brain cancer.

“‘Live Like You Were Dying’ was one of those songs that came at a very traumatic time in my life,” McGraw says (via Taste of Country). “It showed up and was sent to me in the middle of my father’s diagnosis of glioblastoma brain cancer, and going through all of his treatments.”

“Suds In The Bucket” by Sara Evans

Billy Montana and Tammy Wagoner wrote “Suds In The Bucket“, which became a major hit for Evans. On her Restless album, “Suds In The Bucket” is a sweet song. It’s about a young girl who runs away, fueled only by love.

“Suds In The Bucket” says, “Now her daddy’s in the kitchen / Starin’ out the window / Scratchin’ and a-rackin’ his brains / How could eighteen years just up and walk away? / Our little pony-tailed girl, grown up to be a woman / Now she’s gone in the blink of an eye / She left the suds in the bucket / And the clothes hangin’ out on the line.”

In addition to being a No. 1 single, it is also Evans’ first platinum-selling song. Overall, it is among her most successful releases.

“Bless The Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts

Sometimes even painful memories can evoke a smile, as Rascal Flatts prove in “Bless The Broken Road“. Written by Marcus Hummon, Bobby Boyd, and Jeff Hanna, the song is on the group’s Feels Like Today record. One of the most successful singles of their career, it stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks. It also became a hit on the Adult Contemporary chart.

“Bless The Broken Road” says, “Every long-lost dream led me to where you are / Others who broke my heart, they were like Northern stars / Pointing me on my way into your loving arms / This much I know is true / That God blessed the broken road / That led me straight to you.“