"The Road You Leave Behind" is a song written and recorded by American
country music artist
David Lee Murphy. It was released in July 1996 as the second single from his album ''
Gettin' Out the Good Stuff
''Gettin' Out the Good Stuff'' is the second studio album by American country music artist David Lee Murphy. The tracks " Every Time I Get Around You" and " The Road You Leave Behind" were both Top 5 hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singl ...
''. The song peaked at number 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and number 12 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks chart.
Content
Murphy described the song as "a real good kind of 'do the right thing' song," saying that its subject matter made it different from the content of his first album.
Critical reception
Larry Flick, of ''
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 ...
'' magazine reviewed the song favorably calling it "one of those philosophical life-lesson kinds of songs, but Murphy's vocal honesty keeps it from sounding preachy or schmaltzy."
['']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 ...
'', July 27, 1996
Music video
The music video was directed by
Michael Salomon and made its debut on
Country Music Television
Country Music Television (CMT) is an American pay TV network owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched on March 5, 1983, as Country Music Television, CMT was the first nationally available channel devoted to coun ...
on August 8, 1996.
Chart positions
"The Road You Leave Behind" debuted at number 62 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of August 3, 1996.
Year-end charts
References
1996 singles
1996 songs
David Lee Murphy songs
Songs written by David Lee Murphy
Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer)
MCA Records singles
Music videos directed by Michael Salomon
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