Down the Road (song)

Down the Road (song)
"Down the Road"
Single by Mac McAnally
from the album Simple Life
Released June 1990
Format CD single
Genre Country
Length 2:42
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Mac McAnally
Producer Jim Ed Norman
Mac McAnally
Mac McAnally singles chronology
"Back Where I Come From"
(1990)
"Down the Road"
(1990)
"Live and Learn"
(1992)

"Down the Road" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Mac McAnally. McAnally has charted with the song on two separate occasions. The first of these two versions was released as the second single from his 1990 album Simple Life, and was a minor chart single for him that year. Eighteen years later, McAnally re-recorded the song as a duet with Kenny Chesney on Chesney's 2008 album Lucky Old Sun. This rendition is also McAnally's highest charting country hit, having reached Number One in February 2009.

Contents

Content

"Down the Road" is a mid-tempo ballad. In it, the male narrator describes his childhood love interest — a girl who lives down the road from him. Eventually, the narrator proposes to marry her, only to find out the expectations her parents have of him.

In the second verse, the narrator is now an adult, and his daughter has a love interest who lives down the road. He then explains that he has the same expectations that the parents in the first verse had, but he will still let her go down the road.

According to Country Weekly magazine, McAnally was inspired to write the song one Christmas morning after thinking about what his two daughters' lives would be like in the future (he has since had a third).[1]

Mac McAnally version

Mac McAnally's original version is the second single from his 1990 album Simple Life, his only album for Warner Bros. Records. It debuted at #72 on the Billboard country charts for the week of July 7, 1990, fell to #75 a week later, and then reached its peak of #70 on the chart week of July 21. McAnally also re-recorded this song for his 1994 album Knots, which was subsequently sent to radio as a promotional single.

Music video

McAnally's rendition also features a music video, directed by John Lloyd Miller. It features McAnally performing the song on a porch while playing electric guitar.

Chart positions

Chart (1990) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks 70
Canadian RPM Top Country Tracks 73

Kenny Chesney version

"Down the Road"
Single by Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally
from the album Lucky Old Sun
Released November 10, 2008 (2008-11-10)
Format CD single
Genre Country
Length 2:59
Label Blue Chair/BNA
Producer Buddy Cannon
Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney singles chronology
"Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven"
(2008)
"Down the Road"
(2008)
"Out Last Night"
(2009)
Mac McAnally singles chronology
"Not That Long Ago"
(1993)
"Down the Road"
(2008)
"You First"
(2009)

In 2008, Kenny Chesney covered the song on his album Lucky Old Sun. Chesney's version features guest vocals from McAnally, who sings the second verse and chorus. Unlike McAnally's original which is accompanied by electric guitar, Chesney's rendition is more acoustic in nature, featuring only accompaniment from two steel-string acoustic guitars and congas. According to McAnally, the song "was not supposed to be a duet", but he agreed to record it as a duet on Chesney's album.[1] Chesney and McAnally were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals on December 2, 2009.[2]

Critical reception

Chesney's rendition received a thumbs-up rating from The 9513. Critic Jim Malec said that the song "provid[ed] him a comfortable pocket from which he can weave a tale" and added, "'Down The Road' brings together the best of Chesney with the best of McAnally, a songwriter whose greatest strength is his ability to breath [sic] life into characters that seem unquestionably real, and which help us discuss life’s essential and often bittersweet truths." He also said that it was Chesney's "best vocal performance in years".[3] Jacob Crogie of 411 Mania gave the Chesney version a four-out-of-five rating, saying "This re-recording is a classic example of good country! It's got some solid musicality and is acoustic based to suit the subject matter. McAnally's writing provides solid, believable, sympathetic characters which allows the listener to connect to the song emotionally."[4]

Chart positions

The Kenny Chesney version of the song made its chart debut at #59 on the country charts dated for November 1, 2008. It fell from the charts the next week, then re-entered at #38 for the week of November 15. It is McAnally's second Top 40 country chart entry, eighteen years after his previous one, the #14 "Back Where I Come From" in 1990. The duet version reached Number One on the country chart dated for February 28, 2009, giving Chesney his sixteenth Number One and McAnally his first.

Chart (2008-2009) Peak
position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[5] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 47
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[7] 57
Preceded by
"Feel That Fire"
by Dierks Bentley
Billboard Hot Country Songs
number-one single

February 28, 2009
Succeeded by
"God Love Her"
by Toby Keith

Other versions

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band covered the song on their 1998 album Bang Bang Bang, as did Restless Heart on their 2004 album Still Restless and Marty Raybon on his 2006 album When the Sand Runs Out. Dennis Agajanian also covered this song on his album Come On Home.

References

  1. ^ a b Conaway, Alanna (2009-04-20). "Story Behind the Song: The Gift of Christmas Past". Country Weekly 16 (10): 28. 
  2. ^ "The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List", Grammy.com, December 2, 2009
  3. ^ Malec, Jim (2008-11-04). "Kenny Chesney & Mac McAnally - "Down the Road"". The 9513. http://www.the9513.com/kenny-chesney-mac-mcanally-down-the-road/. Retrieved 2008-11-05. 
  4. ^ Crogie, Jacob (2008-12-10). "The Singles Guy 12.10.08: I'm Bored, I'm Bored, Come On Let's Get High!". 411 Mania. http://www.411mania.com/music/columns/92091/The-Singles-Guy-12.10.08:-I%5C%5Cm-Bored,-I%5C%5Cm-Bored,-Come-On-Let%5C%5Cs-Get-High!.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-12. 
  5. ^ "Kenny Chesney Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Country Songs for Kenny Chesney. Prometheus Global Media.
  6. ^ "Kenny Chesney Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Kenny Chesney. Prometheus Global Media.
  7. ^ "Kenny Chesney Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Kenny Chesney. Prometheus Global Media.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Down the Road — may refer to: Down the Road (Manassas album) (1973) Down the Road (Larry Stewart album) (1993) Down the Road (song), a 1990 single by Mac McAnally from his 1990 album Simple Life, later covered by Kenny Chesney (as a duet with McAnally) on… …   Wikipedia

  • Down the Road a Piece — Single by Will Bradley Trio B side Celery Stalks at Midnight Released 1940 (1940) Format …   Wikipedia

  • Down the Road (Van Morrison album) — Down the Road Studio album by Van Morrison Released May 14, 2002 Recorded …   Wikipedia

  • The Old Man Down the Road — Song infobox Name = The Old Man Down the Road Artist = John Fogerty Album = Centerfield Released = January 15, 1985 track no = 1 Recorded = 1984 Genre = Rock Length = 3:34 Label = Warner Bros. Writer = John Fogerty Producer = John Fogerty prev =… …   Wikipedia

  • Down the Road I Go — Studio album by Travis Tritt Released October 3, 2000 Genre …   Wikipedia

  • Ease on Down the Road — Infobox Single Name = Ease on Down the Road Artist = Diana Ross and Michael Jackson from Album = Released = September 21, 1978 Format = 7 Genre = R B, soul Length = 3:19 Label = MCA Writer = Charlie Smalls Producer = Quincy Jones Tom Bahler Misc …   Wikipedia

  • Comin' Down the Road — Video by John Fogerty Released November 3, 2009 Recorded 2008 …   Wikipedia

  • Somewhere Down the Road — This article is about the Amy Grant song. For the 1982 hit single by Barry Manilow, please see Somewhere Down the Road (Barry Manilow song). Infobox Single Name = Somewhere Down the Road Artist = Amy Grant from Album = Behind the Eyes Released =… …   Wikipedia

  • Somewhere Down the Road (Barry Manilow song) — Somewhere Down the Road is a popular song written by Cynthia Weil and Tom Snow and most famously recorded in 1981 by Barry Manilow. Weil wrote the song s lyrics, and Snow wrote the melody. The song was chosen for Barry Manilow by Arista Records… …   Wikipedia

  • Don't Let Me Down (The Beatles song) — Don t Let Me Down Single by The Beatles with Billy Preston A side Get Back …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”