"Take a Little Ride" is a song written by Dylan Altman,

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 ...

and Jim McCormick 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

Jason Aldean Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...

. It was released on July 16, 2012, as the first single from his fifth studio album '' Night Train''.

Content

The song "Take a Little Ride" revolves around the happenings of a man getting off work, and going to pick up his love interest that night to take her out for a drive in his Chevy truck. It is in the key of

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

with a chord pattern of E-G-D-A. Eight days after the song's release, Broken Bow Records released a re-recording of the song, in which the line "a little

Shiner Bock Spoetzl Brewery (originally Shiner Brewing Association) is a brewery located in Shiner, Texas, United States. It produces a diverse line of Shiner beers, including their flagship Shiner Bock, a dark lager that is now distributed throughout the US ...

" is changed to "a couple Rocky Tops", in reference to Coors beer. This re-recording was done because Aldean had signed an endorsement deal with Coors.

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 "Take a Little Ride" a four-star review, praising the song's "colorful" and "welcoming" verses, and stating how "ballads like ' Laughed Until We Cried' balance rockers like '

She's Country "She's Country" is a song written by Danny Myrick and Bridgette Tatum and recorded by American country music artist Jason Aldean. It was released in December 2008 as the first single from Aldean's 2009 album '' Wide Open''. The song became Aldean' ...

,' but he’s at his best on songs that find the sweet middle". It received three out of five stars from Jessica Nicholson 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''. Overvie ...

'', who thought that the lyrics were "a little generic" but said that the "in-your-face production and signature

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...

groove combine to make this unmistakably Jason's." Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' gave the song a four-star review, saying that Aldean was "relaxed, confident, and deliver da song that fits exactly what we've come to expect from a superstar."

Music video

The music video was directed by

Shaun Silva Shaun Silva is a music video director who works primarily in the country music field. He has directed a number of music videos for many country music artists, including many of Kenny Chesney's music videos. His other clients include Jason Aldean, ...

and premiered on August 10, 2012.

Chart performance

"Take a Little Ride" debuted at number 19 on the ''Billboard'' Country Songs chart for the week of August 4, 2012. It also debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number 12, and the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

chart at number 22 the same week, Aldean's highest debut in Canada thus far. The song also made history on Country Digital Songs, moving 189,000 downloads during the tracking week ending July 22, marking the biggest opening week by a male artist. On the country chart dated October 6, 2012, "Take a Little Ride" became his eighth number-one single. The song has sold over a million digital downloads as of January 2013.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Jason Aldean 2012 singles Jason Aldean songs BBR Music Group singles Songs written by Rodney Clawson Songs written by Jim McCormick (songwriter) Music videos directed by Shaun Silva Song recordings produced by Michael Knox (record producer) 2012 songs Songs about cars