"I Saw God Today" is a song written by

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 ...

, Monty Criswell and Wade Kirby, 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

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

. It was released in February 2008 as the lead single from his album ''

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

''. The song debuted at number 19 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 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, giving Strait the highest chart debut of his career, as well as his 43rd ''Billboard'' Number One. "I Saw God Today" won Single of the Year at the 2008 CMA Awards.

Content

The song is a ballad in which the lead character is walking down the sidewalk after his wife has just had a baby, meanwhile noticing such things as a flower growing out of a crack in the sidewalk, a couple who are expecting a baby and the colors of a sunset. Finally, the song ends with the central character in the nursery of a hospital, looking at his own newborn baby girl. He cites each thing that he sees along the way — the flower, the couple, the sunset and his newborn daughter — as examples of how he saw God that day. According to Clawson, the idea for the song came from Criswell, who said that after unsuccessful hunting trips, he would often say that he "caught a glimpse of God today" despite not seeing any animals.

Critical reception

Matt C., a critic for Engine 145, gave "I Saw God Today" a thumbs-up rating. He said that although it was "similar to the ongsthat countless failed nineties hat acts used to 'launch' their short careers", that Strait's vocal performance nonetheless "makes the song listenable and the country pop lyric's contrast to the country-western material that comprises much of Strait's catalog actually makes this single more memorable than some stronger songs in his hits catalog."

Chart performance

Having reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts dated for the week of May 3, 2008, "I Saw God Today" is Strait's 43rd ''Billboard'' Number One hit. Counting the Number Ones that he has had on other U.S. trade charts (''

Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

'', ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' before its merger with ''Billboard'', and ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

''), "I Saw God Today" is Strait's 56th overall Number One hit, succeeding a record previously held by

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

for the most Number Ones by any country music artist.

Year-end charts

Certifications

Awards

The song was nominated for a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

for Country Recorded Song of the Year at the

40th GMA Dove Awards The 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 23, 2009 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2008. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Rebecca St. James, Matthew ...

.Nominations Announced for 40th GMA Dove Awards
at CBN.com

References

{{authority control 2008 singles 2008 songs George Strait songs Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) Songs written by Rodney Clawson MCA Nashville Records singles Songs written by Monty Criswell Songs written by Wade Kirby