3 Songs You Didn’t Know Kenny Chesney Wrote for Other Artists

In 2004, Kenny Chesney teamed up with one of his heroes, Jimmy Buffett for a rendition of Hank Williams‘ 1951 hit “Hey Good Lookin’,” along with Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, George Strait, and Clint Black. Just two years later, he joined Tim McGraw for an alternate version of country artist Tracy Lawrence’s single “Find Out Who Your Friends Are,” and took it to No. 1.

Chesney’s collaborations have also stretched across work with Reba McEntire, Rascal Flatts and a number of other artists over the years, including joining Old Dominion in 2022 for a cover of “Beer With My Friends,” originally released by Shy Carter with Cole Swindell and David Lee Murphy a year earlier.

Along the way, Chesney has also written a small number of tracks outside of his own catalog for other artists.

Here’s a look at three of those songs that Chesney penned from the mid-’90s through 2000s.

 1. “When He Was My Age,” Confederate Railroad (1995)
Written by Kenny Chesney, David Lowe, and Billy Lawson

Featured on the third album by the Grammy-nominated country band Confederate Railroad, “When He Was My Age” is told from the perspective of a son, reflecting on all the things his father did, when he was his age. The Georgia-bred band, which originally formed in 1987, have released seven albums together, including their most recent Lucky to Be Alive in 2016.

He worked all week for a hard day’s pay
Walked to school five miles one way
It must have rained every day
When he was my age

He quit school early to help Grandpa
He was one man short on a crosscut saw
There was wood to cut and ground to break
When he was my age

2. “One Sip,” Sammy Hagar and The Wabos (2006)
Written by Kenny Chesney and Sammy Hagar

Along with his band The Waboritas (The Wabos), Sammy Hagar’s 14th solo album Livin’ It Up boasts is about living the good life, while knocking a few back on the Chesney-penned “On Sip.” An ode to the fine art of imbibing, the harder “One Sip” is a song Jimmy Buffett may have recorded if he had access to it first.

Hagar pulled in more country on Livin’ It Up with a cover of Keith’s “I Love This Bar” from his 2003 album Shock’n Y’all. He also covers Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12/#35” and shares his take on The Staple Sisters’ hit “I’ll Take You There” with “Let Me Take You There.”

Get your mind off that barstool
Before you spend your last dime
And that little buzz you’re feelin’
Will be right there every time, that’s right

And one sip and you’ll surrender
One taste and you will fall
My love won’t hurt you in the morning
My love will never hurt at all

3. “Take Me There,” Rascal Flatts (2007)
Written by Kenny Chesney, Neil Trasher and Wendall Mobley

The lead-off single on Rascal Flatts‘ fifth album Still Feels Good, “Take Me There” became the group’s eighth No. 1 hit. Working with a collection of musicians and singers on Still Feels Good, actor and singer Jamie Foxx also guests vocals on the track “She Goes All the Way.”

I wanna know everything about you then
And I wanna go down every road you’ve been
Where your hopes and dreams and wishes live
Where you keep the rest of your life hid
I wanna know the girl behind that pretty stare
Take me there

Photo: Danny Clinch / Courtesy of EBM Media PR