For Tim McGraw, "I Called Mama" is much more than just his latest top 10 hit -- it's a tribute his mother, Betty.
"My mom, she ... found out she was pregnant with me her senior year in high school, so she had me young," McGraw told ABC Audio and other reporters. "She didn't get to graduate because I came along."
MORE: Tim McGraw drops touching video for 'I Called Mama'"And then she went through some terrible things early in my life," he continued. "So I have a lot of memories of all those things and I know how resilient my mom is, and how tough she is, and how strong of a woman she is, and how well she raised us under the circumstances."
Though he's a superstar now, McGraw still has vivid memories of his humble beginnings in Louisiana.
"I can remember us being on our own -- my mom and my two sisters -- and her working three jobs probably, just to try to keep the basics," the 53-year-old recalled, choking back tears. "She made no money, really."
"I can remember walking through the kitchen one night, getting up late, and ... she had her head down on the table at like two in the morning with bills everywhere and was crying, and she didn't see me," McGraw added. "But for her that was probably a hundred different nights that I didn't know about."
"But that's something that really resonates with me and sticks out with me," he concluded. "And I think about that when I hear this song."
At the age of 11, McGraw learned professional baseball player Tug McGraw was his dad, going on to develop a relationship with him before his death in 2004.
MORE: Tim McGraw releases new music video and long-awaited next album details"I Called Mama" is the lead single from McGraw's new album, "Here on Earth," which will be released on Aug. 21.
