"Live Like You Were Dying" is a song recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw for his eighth studio album Live Like You Were Dying (2004). It was written by the songwriting team of Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. The duo crafted the song based on family and friends who learned of illnesses(cancers), and how they often had a new perspective on life upon learning they had limited time. They decided to write a song based on the concept, hoping that it might inspire someone in such a situation. The song's lyrics center on experiencing life to its fullest, while also becoming a better person.

Released in June 2004 as the lead single from the album, the song became an enormous success in the U.S. It spent seven weeks atop of the Billboard country music charts; the magazine later dubbed it the biggest country song of the year. "Live Like You Were Dying" won several awards, including Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2004 Country Music Association Awards and at the 2004 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Country Song. The music video, directed by Sherman Halsey, was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2004 Academy of Country Music Awards. It has sold over two million copies in the U.S.

The song was written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. The duo had a friend who received a medical misdiagnosis regarding a form of lung cancer. Wiseman and Nichols began discussing family members and friends who learned of illnesses, and how they often had a new perspective on life upon learning they had limited time. They decided to write a song based on the concept, hoping that it might inspire someone in such a situation. After they came up with the title, they began writing the first verse and chorus. They found themselves attached to the song, and continued to write in late into the night over the phone. "I remember going in my totally dark living room, laying on the floor, and we wrote the second verse on the phone," Wiseman recalled. The inclusion of the lyric about riding a bull was intended as a sort of "palette cleanse," as they felt the chorus was growing too sentimental. The duo judged its creation as a "really spiritual thing, because it came strong. Me and Tim's instincts and intuitions just kept leading us."

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