Highway 20 Ride

Album: The Foundation (2009)
Charted: 40
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This reflective piece is the fourth single from Zac Brown Band's first major-label studio album, The Foundation. The band's lead singer Zac Brown penned the song with his usual songwriting partner, Wyatt Durrette.
  • The song's lyric is about the shared custody of a child. The narrator is a divorced father who still loves his son and ponders about the situation on his long fortnightly drive down Highway 20 to see him.
  • Highway 20 is a major east–west Interstate road in the southeastern United States that runs 1,535 miles (2,470 km) between Texas and South Carolina.
  • When this song drove from #11 to #9 on the Country chart, the Zac Brown Band became the first group to send four songs from a debut album into the top 10 since Rascal Flatts netted their fourth top 10 hit in 2002.
  • This was the third single taken from The Foundation to top Country Songs. The previous major label debut album to yield at least three #1s on the Country chart was Carrie Underwood's 2005 long player, Some Hearts.
  • This was the second song with a highway number in its title to reach #1 on the Country chart. The previous one was "Highway 40 Blues" by Ricky Skaggs, which travelled to the peak position on the week ending July 9, 1983.
  • Wyatt Durrette told The Boot about the inspiration for this song: "'Highway 20 Ride' is a song I started writing when I was probably a year into making the drive from Atlanta to Augusta, Georgia [to see my son]. I had gone through a divorce. She moved back to where she was from in South Carolina, and the halfway point was Augusta. I was bartending and took every other weekend off to spend time with him. It was a very painful time in my life, not having enough time together and having to bring him back. I worried about how he will perceive me as a father. Am I doing the right thing? I was going through all the things everybody goes through in that situation.

    That song started on Interstate 20 in Georgia. I brought [what I had started] to Zac. He was there as a friend. He went through it with me on my end. He is also a son of the same situation - a divorce - with his father. He saw the other side, so it wasn't a hard song for him to help me write. He sings it with a lot of passion. He was there as a child, and he was there when I was going through it.

    I now refer 'Highway 20 Ride' as a love song to my kid to let him know I'll always be there no matter how far we travel. I just try to give him love and respect, and let him know he is loved. No matter what [his mother and I] are both there because we care about him. He didn't do anything to deserve it. Through love, communication and respect for each other, it can be okay."

Comments: 3

  • Carol A from Oliver, BcAbsolutely beautiful, definitely pulls on the heartstrings. My son is co sharing our Grandson with the Mom. Good friends , which really helps.
    Thank you for sharing your story with us.
  • Megan from Stevenson, AlThis song makes me cry! I love this:)
  • David from Madison, WiThis song was wrote for Wyatt Durett, who co-wrote this song with Zac Brown, because he has to drive every other weekend to see his son. Zac Brown was the child of that situation when he was growing up. So, they both had background stories. They depict this really well in the music video.
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