"Where I Come From" is a song written and performed 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, ...

singer

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

. It was released in July 2001 as the third single from his album '' When Somebody Loves You''. In November 2001, the song became Jackson's 18th #1 hit 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 ...

'' country charts, his only number one from the album.

Content

The song is a moderate up-tempo which finds the narrator, a

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

, traveling across the United States and finding himself in various situations that make him think about how life in other places is different from his Southern lifestyle. The first verse finds him pulled over by a police officer in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, who says that he "don't know about that accent". In the second verse, the narrator stops at a diner near

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

to have a

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

dinner, which he claims is not like his mother would make it. In the third verse, he is stopped in Ventura after losing his

universal joint A universal joint (also called a universal coupling or U-joint) is a joint or coupling connecting rigid shafts whose axes are inclined to each other. It is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges lo ...

, when he is met by a lady who asks if "he has plans for dinner”, and finally, in the fourth and final verse, he is driving through

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

when asked on the

CB radio Citizens band radio (also known as CB radio), used in many countries, is a land mobile radio system, a system allowing short-distance person-to-many persons bidirectional voice communication among individuals, using two way radios operating on ...

if he is from

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. After each verse comes a chorus where the narrator explains how the road life is different.

Critical reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Thom Jurek described the song favorably in his review of the album, calling it a "redneck anthem" that "rocks a little harder with a

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

-styled guitar".

Chart performance

"Where I Come From" re-entered the chart as a single at number 58 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of July 14, 2001. The song reached its peak position of number 1 on the ''

'' country charts for the week of October 13. It held the position on October 20, then fell to number 2 on October 27, with

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 solo ...

's " Only in America" taking over at Number One. The next week, "Where I Come From" returned to number 1 for a third and final week at the top.

Year-end charts

References

{{Alan Jackson singles 2001 singles 2000 songs Alan Jackson songs Songs written by Alan Jackson Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Arista Nashville singles Citizens band radio in popular culture Songs about truck driving