"Sacred Ground" is a

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, ...

song, co-written and originally recorded by American

singer

Kix Brooks Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's ''American Country Co ...

, prior to his joining

Ronnie Dunn Ronald Gene Dunn (born June 1, 1953) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record executive. Starting in 2011, Dunn has worked as a solo artist following the temporary dissolution of Brooks & Dunn. He released his self-titled deb ...

in the duo

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...

. Brooks' version was issued in 1989 as a single, and was included on his 1989 self-titled debut album. A second version was recorded three years later by the American country music band

McBride & the Ride McBride & the Ride is an American country music band consisting of Terry McBride (lead vocals, bass guitar), Ray Herndon (background vocals, guitars), and Billy Thomas (background vocals, drums). The group was founded in 1989 through the assista ...

. Released in 1992, that version would become the group's highest-charting hit, reaching a peak of #2 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts.

Content

"Sacred Ground" is a mid-tempo ballad centralizing on a male narrator, who is talking to another man with whom it is implied that his wife had an emotional (and possibly physical) affair. In the first verse, the singer tells of how he married at an early age, and had to work various jobs to sustain his family. In the second chorus, he expresses his intention to reconcile with his wife and asks the other man to not interfere (possibly out of concern that the wife may continue the affair or at least not discourage his continued attention). He defends his relationship with his wife in the chorus: "We were joined in the eyes of the Lord in the eyes of our hometown / Why don't you leave her alone / You're treadin' on sacred ground".

Kix Brooks version

Kix Brooks' version was released in 1989. It was the second and final single from his debut album ''

'', and it reached a peak of 87 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles 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 sa ...

charts. It was his last solo release before he founded

with

. Brooks did not chart another solo single until "New to This Town" in 2012.

Chart positions

McBride & the Ride version

Three years after Brooks's version charted,

recorded its own version of "Sacred Ground." It was released in March 1992 as the lead-off single to the band's second album, also titled '' Sacred Ground''. The song reached a peak of #2 on the ''Billboard'' country charts (having been blocked from #1 by

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

' debut single "

Achy Breaky Heart Achy may refer to: * Suffering from pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associate ...

"), representing the band's highest chart peak.

Music video

The music video was directed by Bill Young and premiered in early 1992.

Chart positions

Year-end charts

References

{{McBride & the Ride 1989 singles 1992 singles Kix Brooks songs McBride & the Ride songs Songs written by Kix Brooks Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) Capitol Records Nashville singles MCA Records singles 1989 songs