"Amarillo Sky" is a song written by

Big Kenny William Kenneth Alphin (born November 1, 1963), best known by his stage name Big Kenny, is an American country music singer. He and John Rich comprise the duo Big & Rich, who recorded four studio albums and charted fifteen singles on the '' Bill ...

and

John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After d ...

(of

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

), along with

Rodney Clawson Rodney Dale Clawson (born in Gruver, Texas, United States) is an American country music songwriter. Clawson has written singles recorded by Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Faith Hill, George Strait and Luke Bryan, among others. Biography Clawson w ...

and Bart Pursley. It was originally recorded by Rich for his album ''Rescue Me'' in 2001.

McBride & the Ride McBride & the Ride is an American country music band consisting of Terry McBride (musician), Terry McBride (lead vocals, bass guitar), Ray Herndon (background vocals, guitars), and Billy Thomas (background vocals, drums). The group was founded in ...

also recorded a version and released it as a single in 2002 from their album of the same name.

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...

later covered the song for his 2005 self-titled debut album, and his version was released as its third single in June 2006. It earned Aldean two nominations at the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards for Video of the Year and Song of the Year, as well as video with the best direction at the CMT Music Awards.

McBride & the Ride version

In 2002,

recorded a version of the song for their Comeback album of the same name and released it as a single.

Content

The song tells the story of a farmer who works on his family's farm near

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

, where co-writer John Rich is from. The farmer is enduring one of the droughts that plague the Panhandle of Texas, where co-writer Rodney Clawson grew up (as a native of

Gruver, Texas Gruver is a city in Hansford County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,162 at the 2010 census. Farwell, in the center of Hansford County about 3 miles east of what became Gruver, was established in 1880 by the Canott family of Illinois, ...

). The song mentions the various hardships that the farm has faced, such as a damaging

hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

storm in 1983 and an increase in the price of

diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...

. In the chorus, the farmer prays to

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

that the farm will remain viable ("He says 'Lord, I never complain, I never ask why / Please don't let my dreams run dry / Underneath, underneath this Amarillo sky.'").

Jason Aldean version

In 2005,

artist

covered the song for his Self-titled debut album and his version was released as its third single in June 2006. It earned Aldean two nominations at the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards for Video of the Year and Song of The Year as well as video with the best direction at the CMT Music Awards.

Music video

The music video was directed by Wes Edwards. It features Jason Aldean and his band playing the song under an old, torn-up barn. It shows young farmers from central Illinois who help take care of their farm. At the beginning of the video (which was cut from the video at times), the young farmers tell their stories of how they grew up on their farms, and how much their farms meant to them. The video premiered on CMT's Top 20 Countdown on the week of 17 August 2006.

Chart performance

"Amarillo Sky" debuted at number 52 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs for the week of July 15, 2006.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2002 singles 2006 singles Country ballads 2000s ballads John Rich songs McBride & the Ride songs Jason Aldean songs Music videos directed by Wes Edwards Songs written by John Rich Songs written by Big Kenny Songs written by Rodney Clawson Songs about Texas BBR Music Group singles Song recordings produced by Michael Knox (record producer) 2001 songs