"Trail in Life" is a song written and recorded by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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

Dean Brody Dean Brody (born August 12, 1975) is a Canadian country music artist who has won 16 CCMA Awards and 2 JUNO Awards. Originally signed to Broken Bow Records in 2008, Brody made his debut later that year with the single "Brothers". This song, a Top ...

. It was released in October 2010 as the third single to his 2010 album ''

Trail in Life ''Trail in Life'' is the second studio album by Canadian country music artist Dean Brody. It was released on August 17, 2010 via Open Road Recordings under the production of Matt Rovey. The album includes the singles "Wildflower," "Roll That Barre ...

''. The song reached number 81 on 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 ...

in early 2011.

Content

The narrator is a man who wonders what happened to his teenage mother who gave him up for adoption.

Reception

Roughstock critic Matt Bjorke called it a "beautifully written and sung song that recalls

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

’ "

What She's Doing Now "What She's Doing Now" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released in December 1991 as the third single from his album ''Ropin' the Wind''. It spent four weeks at the top of the '' Billboard'' ...

" in some parts but is a much, much more interesting song in that the verses discuss different parts of the narrator's life, from that first love to that college best friend to his life as an adopted child in a loving family." He goes on to call it "personal and intimate."

Music video

The music video was directed by

Jeth Weinrich Jeth Weinrich is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, and music video and commercial director. Early life Weinrich was born in Pittsburgh in 1951 and grew up in Calgary; he was valedictorian of his graduating class at Viscount Bennett High School i ...

and premiered in November 2010. The music video was filmed in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

Montauk, New York Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...

, the video also features scenes set at

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

’s

Deep Hollow Ranch Montauk County Park, formerly known as Theodore Roosevelt County Park, is located approximately east of Montauk, New York. The park is in size, running from Montauk Highway north to Block Island Sound and is bordered on the east by Montauk Poi ...

Chart positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trail in Life (song) 2010 singles Dean Brody songs Open Road Recordings singles 2010 songs Songs written by Dean Brody Canadian Country Music Association Single of the Year singles Canadian Country Music Association Songwriter(s) of the Year winners