Songwriters like Brantley Gilbert write about what they know and feel.

“It’s definitely an honor to have somebody come up and tell you that your song helped ‘em through something,” Gilbert said.

In fact, he admits this is the main reason he’s in the music business.

Gilbert has written some pretty personal songs including “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” and his current single, “More Than Miles,” and for him it’s worth sharing those songs when he hears how they’ve touched his fans.

Every bad boy has a soft side, and for most of them revealing their softer side is not so easy to do. But when you are a songwriter like Gilbert you can share feelings and emotions that you might not be able to otherwise convey.

Gilbert showed his romantic side last month when popped the question to fiancé, actress and fellow country artist Jana Kramer.  Kramer told the story of how he rented out the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville for a proposal we’re sure she’ll be telling her grandkids one day.

“He surprised me so much,” Jana said of the engagement. “It was actually his birthday when he proposed. He had blindfolded me — and I thought, ‘Why are you blindfolding me?’” Then, she says, “he took me to the Ryman Auditorium. And he was like, ‘We always talk about how if it wasn’t for country music we never would have met. About 30 steps to our right is where Johnny [Cash] and June met.’ And he’s always idolized that love story.”

- Linda Lee, 99.5 WYCD