"When I Get Where I'm Going'" is a song written by George Teren and

Rivers Rutherford Melvern Rivers Rutherford II (born June 17, 1967) is an American country music songwriter. Has been writing country songs since the mid-1990s as a songwriter, he has written several number one country hits, including "Ain't Nothing 'bout You" by B ...

, 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

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

. It was released in October 2005 as second single from his album '' Time Well Wasted'' and is his 14th career single (not counting album cuts). The song features harmony vocals from

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

. The song was Parton's 25th '' Billboard'' No. 1 (and her first since 1991's " Rockin' Years"), and Paisley's fifth.

Music video

The video of this song was directed by Jim Shea, and features footage of Paisley singing in a forest, as well as home movies of himself with his grandfather, Warren L. Jarvis. He also holds up photos of himself with Jarvis and his aunt Rita Takach. The video was filmed in Northern California. The extended version of the video ends with Jarvis in a home movie saying "Come on in and rock a while!" and Paisley smiling when he looks up from his guitar playing and sees this. It also features many different people holding photographs of loved ones who have presumably died. Two notable people featured in this video are

Michael Reagan Michael Edward Reagan (born March 18, 1945) is an American political commentator, Republican strategist, and former radio talk show host. He is the adopted son of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman. He w ...

, who is shown holding a photograph of his father Ronald Reagan, and

Teresa Earnhardt Teresa Earnhardt (née Houston; born October 29, 1958) is the third wife and widow of Dale Earnhardt. She is the biological mother of Taylor Nicole Earnhardt (born December 20, 1988) and she is the stepmother of Kerry Earnhardt, Kelley Earnhardt ...

, who is shown sitting in front of a painted portrait of her husband,

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

driver Dale Earnhardt. Although she does vocals on the song, Dolly Parton is off camera singing in the video. However, she is shown holding a picture of her grandfather, Rev. Jake Owens, who'd died a few years earlier. She kisses her hand then touches the photograph in this scene. Figure Skater Scott Hamilton is shown holding a picture of his mother.

John Carter Cash John Carter Cash (born March 3, 1970) is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. He is the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and the grandson of Maybelle Carter. Biography For several years after his birth, his fathe ...

is featured holding a photo of his parents, Johnny Cash and

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prio ...

. Also in the video is

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

director

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter (; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios ...

holding up a picture of co-director and fellow

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

alumnus

Joe Ranft Joseph Henry Ranft (March 13, 1960 – August 16, 2005) was an American screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and voice actor. He worked for Pixar Animation Studios and Disney at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation ...

who suddenly died in 2005 in a car accident. Various unknown people hold up photos of relatives who have passed on throughout as well. In 2007, after the

Virginia Tech massacre The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Seung-Hui Cho, an ...

, the last slide was dedicated to those lost with the VT emblem shining brightly. On tour in 2008, Paisley also added a picture of late actor

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a negative rating. He says that Dolly Parton helped "get this song across the finish line" and states that Paisley is "essentially

Bob Saget Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget played Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'' (1987-1995), and reprised the role for its Netflix sequel '' Fulle ...

in a cowboy hat." Dan MacIntosh of ''

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a ...

'' was more positive, calling the song a "certified inspirational winner".

Awards

The song was nominated for a Dove Award for Country Recorded Song of the Year at the 37th GMA Dove Awards.37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominations & Winners
on About.com; Jones, Kim It won 2

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academ ...

for Video of the Year, Vocal Event of the Year and was nominated for Song of the Year. The song also won a

Country Music Association Award The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

for Vocal Event of the Year and was nominated for Single and Video of the Year.

Cover versions

This song was covered by contemporary Christian music artist

Geoff Moore Geoff Moore (born February 22, 1961) is an American contemporary Christian music singer. He began recording as a solo artist in 1984. In 1987, he formed Geoff Moore and The Distance, his touring band, which released eight albums generating a st ...

in 2007 on his album ''Speak to Me''. Moore's version was a Top 15 hit on the Hot Christian Songs and Hot Christian Adult Contemporary charts. In 2007,

Christian contemporary Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

trio

33Miles 33Miles is a contemporary Christian band with country music influences from Franklin, Tennessee. Background The band began playing in Nashville and signed to INO Records, who released the band's debut album, '' 33Miles'', in 2007. The album ...

covered "When I Get Where I'm Going" on their

self titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album. This song was also covered by Susie McEntire on her latest album ''Passages'' in 2010. In 2015, Chris Crump and Krista Hughes make a song choice selected covered the battle song in

The Voice (U.S. season 9) The ninth season of the American Reality television, reality talent show ''The Voice (American TV series), The Voice'' premiered on September 21, 2015 on NBC. Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Pharrell Williams returned as coaches for the season. Gwe ...

Chart performance

Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton version

The song debuted at number 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week ending October 8, 2005. It has sold 1,021,000 digital copies in the US as of October 2015.

Year-end charts

Geoff Moore version

Certifications

References

External links

"When I Get Where I'm Going" lyrics at Dolly Parton On-LineReuters Music Article
{{CMA Musical Event of the Year 2005 singles Brad Paisley songs Dolly Parton songs Geoff Moore songs Male–female vocal duets Songs written by George Teren Songs written by Rivers Rutherford Song recordings produced by Frank Rogers (record producer) Arista Nashville singles 2005 songs