"I Drive Your Truck" is a song written by

Jessi Alexander Jessica Leigh Alexander (born November 18, 1976) is an American country music artist and songwriter. Biography She has had her songs recorded by Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood and Little Big Town. She also launched her own recording career in 2 ...

, Connie Harrington, and

Jimmy Yeary James Earl Yeary (born in Hillsboro, Ohio) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 1994, Yeary moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to begin a career as a recording artist. Although he was signed to Atlantic Records, a change in label ...

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, ...

artist

Lee Brice Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: '' Love Like Crazy'', '' Hard to Love'', ...

. It was released in December 2012 as the third single from his album '' Hard 2 Love''.

Content

The song is about the narrator driving a truck owned by his brother, who died in action in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Co-writer Connie Harrington was inspired to write it after hearing an interview on '' Here and Now'' with a father, Paul Monti, whose son, Medal of Honor recipient

Jared Jared is a given name of Biblical derivation. Origin In the Book of Genesis, the biblical patriarch Jared (יֶרֶד) was the sixth in the ten pre-flood generations between Adam and Noah; he was the son of Mahalaleel and the father of En ...

, was killed in Afghanistan while trying to save a fellow soldier. In the interview, he states that he drives the truck to feel close to his son. The truck that appears in the music video is a late 1960s

Ford F-Series (fifth generation) The fifth generation of the Ford F-Series is a line of pickup trucks and commercial trucks that were produced by Ford from the 1967 to 1972 model years. Built on the same platform as the fourth generation F-series trucks, the fifth generation ha ...

. The actual truck driven by Jared Monti, and then his father, Paul, was a Dodge 4x4 Ram 1500 truck adorned with decals, including the 10th Mountain Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, an American flag and a "Go Army" decal. On September 1, 2022, Jared's truck was driven by two of his Army comrades during the funeral procession for Paul Monti.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' gave it 4.5 stars out of 5, saying that "Brice’s strong lyrical performance ��hould broaden the story’s scope, making it a big hit commercially and artistically." Tammy Ragusa of ''

Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overview ...

'' gave the single an A grade. She said that Brice "sings it like his life depends on it" and praised the detail of the lyrics. The song was awarded Song of the Year honors at the 47th annual Country Music Association Awards, as well as Song of the Year at the 49th annual

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academ ...

Music video

The video features Brice's brother, Lewis.

Commercial performance

The song gained sufficient airplay to debut on the Country Airplay for chart dated February 23, 2013, and eventually reaching No. 1 on this chart on April 20, 2013, making it his third consecutive No. 1. It also debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 91 in February 2013 and peaked at No. 47 on April 13, 2013. It reached No. 6 on the Hot Country Songs and No. 11 on the Country Digital Songs. The song has sold 870,000 copies in the US as of April 2014.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Lee Brice songs Songs written by Jimmy Yeary Songs written by Jessi Alexander Curb Records singles Songs written by Connie Harrington Country ballads 2012 songs