Tim McGraw says Taylor Swift's debut single named after him made him feel old

Q32:43Tim McGraw on sobriety, meeting his dad in his teens, Taylor Swift and his new album

What does it feel like to have Taylor Swift name a song after you? It's a question very few can answer, but Tim McGraw can.

In a conversation with Q's Tom Power about McGraw's 16th studio album, Standing Room Only, the country superstar looks back at his life and career, including his initial reaction to hearing Swift's debut single, Tim McGraw, which was released in the summer of 2006.

"At the time, I was long in my career, but I still thought I was early in my career," he says. "Gosh, that was how many years ago? I don't even know now how many years ago that was. But I thought, 'Oh my gosh, have I gotten that long in the tooth that artists are singing songs with my name? That can't be a good sign.'"

Power jokes that Swift's Tim McGraw is like the Waylon Jennings song Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way, which pays homage to 1950s country legend Hank Williams. "Oh, boy, here we go," McGraw replies with a laugh. "Now they're pushing me out the door."

It came as a relief when McGraw learned that Swift was only 15 when she wrote the song in math class. "That made me feel a lot better," he says. "Then I heard the record and loved it and met Taylor."

McGraw says he and his wife, country singer Faith Hill, knew Swift was a rare talent from the start.

"She opened up for Faith and I on our Soul2Soul tour one year — just her and an acoustic guitar out on stage before we came out. And we knew really early on that this girl was going to blow the world up."

In 2014, Swift became country music's biggest crossover star with the release of her synth-pop album 1989. Now, she's one of the biggest pop stars of our time, with her Eras Tour set to earn a record-breaking $1 billion in sales.

"I love it," says McGraw. "I mean, you know, Faith got beat up pretty badly for it for a while — for crossing over.

"At that time, people really frowned on that in country music. They wanted to put their thumb on it. And to me, I never understand that because all it does is open the door for people to learn more about country music."

McGraw says he and his family recently saw Swift perform in Nashville, which was "fantastic." But did she sing his namesake song?

"No, she didn't sing Tim McGraw," he says. "I think she does different throwback songs every night, but I think she did it earlier in the tour."

WATCH | Tim McGraw's interview with Tom Power:

The full interview with Tim McGraw is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. He also talks about sobriety, meeting his dad in his teens and more. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Tim McGraw produced by Jennifer Warren.