“God’s Country” saw Blake Shelton top the Hot Country Songs charts for seven weeks in 2019. Though Shelton likely thinks of his native Oklahoma when he sings the lyrics to “God’s Country,” the song can be openly interpreted as a love letter to the south in general.
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The song went from the writer’s room to the charts in a matter of days. Who is the team behind this skyrocketing single? Find out below.
Who Wrote the Song
HARDY, Devin Dawson and Jordan Schmidt wrote “God’s Country” for Shelton. HARDY originally thought about recording the song under his own name, but the team of writers ultimately decided to push it elsewhere.
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“That was the first song I wrote [in 2019],” HARDY told The Boot. “I wrote it on Jan. 7, and if I’m not mistaken, it was mine, Devin Dawson and Jordan Schmidt, all three of our first writes of the year. We wrote it that day, and Jordan did the demo that day.
“I told the guys, ‘This sounds like something I would do,’” he continued. “‘Let’s see if we can get someone to bite on it first. If we go through a round of pitches and nobody likes it, I want it for myself.’ I’m still a songwriter at heart.”
After that, it was off to the races for “God’s Country.” Producer Scott Hendricks sent the song to Shelton the next day, who cut it and decided to make it a single within the week.
“For it to go from not existing on Jan. 1 to on the radio, and already in the Top 40 [in April of 2019]—I know it’s happened faster, but in my career, that’s as fast as I’ve ever had something come through,” HARDY said.
I saw the light in the sunrise
Sittin’ back in a 40 on the muddy riverside
Gettin’ baptized in holy water and ‘shine
With the dogs runnin’
Saved by the sound of the been found
Dixie whistled in the wind, that’ll get you Heaven bound
The Devil went down to Georgia but he didn’t stick around
This is God’s country
HARDY
HARDY, aka Michael Wilson Hardy, earned a degree in songwriting at Middle Tennessee State University. After graduating, he became one to watch in Nashville, creating songs for the likes of Florida Georgia Line, Morgan Wallen, LoCash, and more.
“First of all, I say ‘commercial songwriting,’ and half the people think I’m writing Hot Pockets jingles!” HARDY once said. “But I think it’s a cool thing to share with people that don’t know, even people that maybe wanna write songs or learn about it, to know that there’s a whole industry, and obviously, college majors based around it.”
Devin Dawson
Devin Dawson first started garnering a reputation after filming a mash-up of Taylor Swift’s songs with friend Louisa Wendorff on Youtube. He went on to release his debut single, “All on Me,” in 2017. The following year, Dawson shared his debut album, Dark Horse. It remains his only solo studio LP to date.
Jordan Schmidt has more than a few credits to his name. He has co-written, engineered, or produced songs for Kane Brown, Wallen, Jason Aldean, Hubbard, Kid Rick, Chris Lane, Old Dominion, and more.
Jordan Schmidt
Drawn to music at a young age, Schmidt, began recording local artists by the time he was 16. In 2006, he moved to Maryland where he took a job assisting fellow producer Matt Squire. He moved to Nashville in 2012 and kicked off his career writing songs for NCIS: New Orleans, Nashville, Catfish, and Jersey Shore.
In 2015, Schmidt signed a publishing deal with Tree Vibez Music, founded by Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard. He secured his first No. 1 with Jason Aldean in 2016 titled “Lights Come On.”
Photo by Erika Goldring/WireImage
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