Russell Dickerson shares personal story that inspired 'Home Sweet'

When Russell Dickerson sings the first verse of his hit song "Home Sweet," he’s remembering a real-life story, complete with going from "all-inclusive margaritas in Malibu" to "prayin’ we could pay rent this month."

The song is about his newlywed days, when he and his wife, Kailey, has just tied the knot -- and he says they were broke.

"Literally, the day we got back from our honeymoon is when I got dropped from my first publishing deal," Dickerson recently reflected to reporters. "Which was two years of great income. I was providing for the fam ... and my income went to zero dollars."

But those lean times didn’t last: Dickerson found success as a country star, and he’s had four No. 1 hits to date.

Now, "Home Sweet" is just outside country radio’s top 10.

Dickerson said he thinks most listeners can relate to the song's sentiment.

"I think so many people, so many newlyweds or people who are just young, and you know, just struggling to pay rent ... everybody’s been there," he said. "So that’s kind of a level of relating to the song."

"Home Sweet" comes off of Russell’s 2021 album, "Southern Symphony."