Mitchell Tenpenny was still in college when he wrote “Not Today”

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If there’s a song that stood the test of time for Mitchell Tenpenny, it’s his latest release, “Not Today.”

Originally titled “Just Not Today,” Mitchell wrote the song himself during college, before presenting it to Chris DeStefano, Michael Whitworth and Claire Douglas at a co-writing session years later.

“I actually wrote a song called ‘Not Today’ by myself back in college. Through the years, I’ve always wanted that song to be more uptempo. And as I’ve grown and aged and changed in life, it meant something different to me,” Mitchell tells ABC Audio.

“But I’ve always loved that title about, hey, you know, after a breakup or something happens, it’s like, ‘Yes, I’m going to get through it. I’m going to move on. But not today. Today I want to take it. I want to wear it. I want to own it. I want to feel it,"” he says.

Those sentiments are also aptly declared in the lyrics of “Not Today.”

“I’ll find a way to forget you/ With a bottle, a bible, or a mistake/ I know I’m gonna move on, I know I’ll be ok/ I’ll find a way to forget you/ I’m gonna give my broken heart a break/ Baby, gimme some time/ I’ll get you off of my mind/ Just not today,” Mitchell sings in the drum-heavy chorus.

“It’s just coming to the thought process of it. It’s okay to process things and heal,” he explains, adding, “I think there’s a lot of people that can relate to that.”

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