"Why" is a song written by

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 ...

Vicky McGehee Vicky Lynn McGehee is an American country music songwriter. Among the songs that McGehee has written are "Heart Hold On" by The Buffalo Club, "All Jacked Up" by Gretchen Wilson, "Holy Water" by Big & Rich, "Why" by Jason Aldean, "Like We Neve ...

, and

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

's John Rich 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 in November 2005 as the second single from Aldean’s 2005 self-titled debut album. The song became Aldean's first number one hit on the U.S. ''

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 ...

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.

Content

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

backed by

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

, the song centralizes on the male character who has finally come to the realization that he has caused his lover emotional pain. He then asks himself why he lets himself treat her wrongly, and why he takes so long to show his feelings for her.

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a positive review, saying that it is "interesting" and sounds "very real and sincere".

Music video

The music video was directed by Wes Edwards. It premiered in the week of November 14, 2005.

Chart performance

"Why" debuted at number 49 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs for the week of December 3, 2005. As of April 2015, the song has sold 675,000 digital copies in the United States.

Year-end charts

Other versions

Country music singer

Shannon Brown Shannon Brown (born November 29, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2003, and played college basketball for Michigan State ...

recorded the song for her 2006 album '' Corn Fed''.

References

{{Jason Aldean 2005 singles 2005 songs Country ballads 2000s ballads Jason Aldean songs Songs written by John Rich Songs written by Rodney Clawson Songs written by Vicky McGehee Song recordings produced by Michael Knox (record producer) Music videos directed by Wes Edwards BBR Music Group singles