Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven by Kenny Chesney

Album: Lucky Old Sun (2008)

Charted: 41

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

This was written by the Nashville songwriters Jim Collins and Marty Dodson. Collins' songwriting credits include Chesney's "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" and "The Good Stuff." Dodson's credits include Billy Currington's Country #1 "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right."
Chesney explained the song in its press release: "Everything in that song is everything we all think. I don't know anyone who doesn't want to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go today. If you could pick, you wouldn't pick right now. You'd want to live, to do more things, to have more fun. And that's sort of the point of the song, too. It's one of those songs that says, 'I'm not only not ready, I've got a little bit more fun to have.' It's certainly the way me and the people around me try to live, to pack as much as we can into every day... and it's the way I think our fans are living. You can tell when you get out in the parking lot, these are people who have come to have fun, to make a few memories with their friends, and I think that's a great way to live."
George Strait recorded this for his 2008 Troubadour album, but when he decided not to release it on the album, Chesney decided to record it instead. Strait's version is available as a digital download.
This song is set to a calypso orchestration and features Bob Marley's former backing band, The Wailers.
This was officially credited as Kenny Chesney featuring The Wailers and when this topped the Country chart Bob Marley's former backing band became the first reggae act to reach #1 on this tally. It was also the first time that an act from Jamaica reached the summit of the Country chart.
This was the second Hot 100 song that The Wailers appeared on, the previous one being Bob Marley's "Roots, Rock, Reggae" back in 1976. The gap of 32 years between their first two Hot 100 debuts is the longest for an artist in the chart's history.

Comments: 1

Garrett from Phenix City, AlI think this is an awesome song. I was never a fan of much of Kenny's later music, but this is just one of those catchy tunes that you just can't help but get stuck in your head, and you always find yourself singing of humming it. Since then, I have tried to keep an open mind about his music. He's still not one of my favorites, but I do love the song. I dig the fact that he used the Jamaican dialect in saying, Everybody Wanna go to heaven, but nobody Wanna go now. That is what set the mood for the song, and the chorus was always the part I would find myself singing at the most random times.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Blaze Of GloryJon Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi earned his first movie credit - Young Guns II - by writing "Blaze Of Glory" for the film.

Forever In Blue JeansNeil Diamond

Despite his hit "Forever In Blue Jeans," Neil Diamond was rarely seen in denim. He said the jeans are a symbol for how "the simple things are really the important things."

Right Here, Right NowJesus Jones

The Jesus Jones song "Right Here, Right Now" was conceived as an optimistic version of Prince's "Sign O' The Times."

Louie LouieThe Kingsmen

"Louie Louie" was first recorded in 1955 by an R&B singer named Richard Berry, and his lyrics are easy to understand. When The Kingsmen recorded the hit version, their lyrics were indecipherable.

Twilight ZoneGolden Earring

"Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring was inspired by the Robert Ludlum novel The Bourne Identity, not by the TV show.

A Little Less ConversationElvis Presley

Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" was just a minor hit when it was released in 1968, but a 2002 remix made the song a global smash, taking it to #1 in a number of countries, including Australia and the UK.