"Last Dollar (Fly Away)" is a song written by Big Kenny, one half of the duo Big & Rich, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in January 2007 as the first single from his album '' Let It Go''. "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" reached Number One 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 ...

charts, becoming McGraw's first Number One country hit since "

Back When "Back When" is a song written by Stan Lynch, Stephony Smith, and Jeff Stevens and recorded by American country music singer Tim McGraw. It was released in August 2004 as the second single from McGraw's 2004 album ''Live Like You Were Dying ''Li ...

" in late 2004. Big Kenny later recorded the song for his 2010 album, ''Big Kenny's Love Everybody Traveling Musical Medicine Show Mix Tape, Vol. 1''.

Background

William Kenneth Alphin, otherwise known as Big Kenny, one-half of country rock duo Big & Rich, wrote "Last Dollar" after a disastrous night of gambling in Las Vegas on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

in 2002. He and his manager were in the city as part of the Alabama farewell tour. Alphin had $200 to his name and $140,000 in credit card debt, and in hopes of increasing his cash on hand, he went to the blackjack tables. At one point, he had won nearly $1,000, but instead of stopping, he continued to play. Eventually, he lost all but $21. He gave the dealer a $20 tip, leaving Alphin with literally his last dollar. "That night as I looked down at the sole breaking off of my shoe it hit me like a ton of bricks," Alphin said. "But with that realization came the freedom of knowing that I also had nothing to lose." From that point, Alphin's career took off, both as a songwriter and as part of the duo Big & Rich. Several years after the incident, he played some of his songs for McGraw. "I'll never forget the day I played him the song," Alphin said. "We were at Blackbird Studio and Tim was making a new album. As we sat together in my truck, I played him a couple of the songs that I was recording. The second song I played was "Last Dollar." He looked over at me and said, "Are you gonna let me record that?"

Content

The song is an up-tempo in the key of

E Major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

. Its lyrics take the point of view of a man who is "down to islast dollar", but still in a positive mood ("One, two, three, like a bird I sing / 'Cause you've given me the most beautiful set of wings"). McGraw's daughters, Gracie, Maggie, and Audrey, sing on the song's final chorus. When Alphin heard McGraw's final version, with the children joining in at the end, "I nearly lost it," he said. "That moment of reflection in Las Vegas all that time ago gave me the hope to keep going and now five years later, that hope is a hit song for my friend Tim McGraw."

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a B rating. He said the song is "a wry twist on the 'I’m poor, but rich because I have you' nonsense that often passes for a love song in country music." He then added that the only problem with the single is the high number of production tricks.

Music video

The music video is partially a live video, and was directed by Sherman Halsey, and it premiered on CMT on New Year's Day 2007. At the end, his kids, and his wife Faith Hill are shown, as well as producer

Byron Gallimore Byron Gallimore (born in Puryear, Tennessee) is an American record producer known for more than two decades of work in the field of country music. He has worked with artists Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sugarland, Lee Ann Womack, and Jo Dee Messina. F ...

and his kids. The video is very grainy and many of the shots are vintage-looking or very blurry. A 1940s style camera was used for the filming.

Track listing

US promotional CD single Curb CURBD-2015 # "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" Album Version 4:29 # "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" Radio Edit 3:57 # Suggested Callout Research Hook :10

Chart performance

"Last Dollar (Fly Away)" debuted at number 50 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs for the week of January 13, 2007. The song reached Number One on the ''

'' US Hot Country Songs chart dated April 14, 2007."Country Standard Time: Tim McGraw checks in at number one on Billboard overall, country music charts"
/ref> "Last Dollar" also entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 81 on April 7, 2007; one week later, it reached its peak at number 13 on that chart.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

"Last Dollar (Fly Away)"
video at CMT.com {{authority control 2007 singles 2007 songs Tim McGraw songs Songs written by Big Kenny Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Song recordings produced by Tim McGraw Curb Records singles Music videos directed by Sherman Halsey