"Written in the Sand" is a song 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, ...

group

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

. It was released in September 2017 as the second single from their second major-label album ''

Happy Endings A happy ending is a type of plot conclusion. Happy Ending or Happy Endings may also refer to: Film and television * ''Happy Ending'' (film), a 2014 Bollywood film * ''Winter Passing'', a 2005 American film released in the UK in 2013 as ''Happy ...

''. Group members

Matthew Ramsey Matthew Thomas Ramsey (born October 21, 1977) is an American country music singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of his band Old Dominion, with several hit songs on country radio to his credit. Early life Ramsey gr ...

Trevor Rosen Trevor Joseph Rosen (born February 18, 1975) is an American country music songwriter and musician. He is also a member of the American country music band Old Dominion, in which he plays guitar and keyboards. Early life Trevor Rosen grew up in W ...

, and Brad Tursi wrote the song with

Shane McAnally Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 " Are Y ...

, who also produced it. The track is about a relationship being questioned about its future. "Written in the Sand" gave the group their fourth number one hit on the ''Billboard''

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart and reached number 3 on the

Hot Country Songs 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 sal ...

chart. It also peaked outside the top 50 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart. The song was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), and has sold 246,000 copies in the United States as of April 2018. It achieved similar chart success in Canada, garnering the group their second number one hit on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart and peaking at number 83 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 ...

. The song received a gold certification from

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

, denoting sales of over 40,000 copies in that country.

Content

Liv Stecker of ''The Boot'' wrote that the song is "a mellow, reflective tune that questions the future of a relationship", in which the narrator asks "''Are we written in the stars, baby, or are we written in the sand?''" The song features "snaps and gentle, fingerpicked acoustic guitar". Lead vocalist

wrote the song with group members

and Brad Tursi, along with

, who produced it. ''Sounds Like Nashville'' writer Cillea Houghton cited the song as an example of the band's use of wordplay in their material.

Commercial performance

On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the track debuted at number 99 on the week of December 9, 2017. Eleven weeks later, it peaked at number 51 the week of February 17, 2018 and stayed on the chart for twenty weeks. The song has sold 246,000 copies in the United States as of April 2018. It was certified Platinum on August 22, 2018. In Canada, "Written in the Sand" debuted at number 97 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart dated January 13, 2018, peaked at number 83 the week of February 17, and remained on the chart for eight weeks.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles Country ballads 2010s ballads Old Dominion (band) songs RCA Records Nashville singles Songs written by Matthew Ramsey Songs written by Trevor Rosen Songs written by Brad Tursi Songs written by Shane McAnally Song recordings produced by Shane McAnally