"He Walked on Water" is a song written by

Allen Shamblin Allen Shamblin is a country music songwriter who was born in Tennessee, and was brought up in Huffman, Texas. After graduating from Sam Houston State University he worked in Austin as a real estate appraiser. In 1987, he quit his job and moved ...

, and recorded by American

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, ...

singer

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

. It was released in April 1990 as the third single from the album ''

No Holdin' Back ''No Holdin' Back'' is the fifth studio album by American country music singer Randy Travis. It was released on September 26, 1989, by Warner Bros. Records Nashville. Three singles were released from it, all of which charted on the Hot Country So ...

''. The song peaked at number 2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

(now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

) chart, and number 1 on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' country chart.

Content

The song is a ballad in which the narrator reminisces about his childhood admiration of his great-grandfather, a former

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

whom he idolized. It was the first successful cut for Nashville songwriter

, who told ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

'' in 1990 that his maternal great-grandfather, "Poppy" Fugate, was the inspiration behind the song. Fugate had been a cowboy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and had told stories about this lifestyle to a young Shamblin. When Travis heard the song, he chose to record the song because it reminded him of his own grandfather. "He Walked on Water" is composed in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

. It has a 4/4

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

and a moderate tempo of approximately 92

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. The song's verses follow the chord pattern of D-G-D-A-D-G-D-A-D.

Music video

A music video was made for the song. It features Travis singing the song on the front porch outside of his house. The video was nominated for Video of the year at the 1991 TNN Music City News Country Awards (now known as the

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes p ...

Critical reception

Kimmy Wix of ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazine reviewed the single favorably, stating in her review that "Such a ballad, with detailed lyrics to which we can all relate, certainly works well with Travis. This cut ..s no exception." Thom Jurek of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the song a mixed review in his review of ''

''. He stated that the song "was a bad choice, though it sold well." In 2012, Travis re-recorded the song as a duet with

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...

for the compilation album '' Anniversary Celebration''.

Chart positions

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1990 singles Randy Travis songs Country ballads Songs written by Allen Shamblin Song recordings produced by Kyle Lehning Warner Records singles 1989 songs Songs about cowboys and cowgirls