Dustin Lynch feels very fortunate that two important people signed off on the lyrics to his new radio single, "Chevrolet."
"That song is a classic," he tells Taste of Country, but he's not referring to his own song.
"Chevrolet" borrows the melody from Dobie Gray's 1973 hit "Drift Away." Jessi Alexander, Chase McGill and Hunter Phelps added a new lyric that tells a story of a guy meeting a seemingly metropolitan kind of girl in a bar, only to realize she prefers the country. They hit it off and presumably live happily ever after.
"The fact that they were cool and trusted us with the melody to go in and re-write the lyric for 'Chevrolet' is just awesome," Lynch adds. "It's an honor."
Mentor Williams wrote "Drift Away," a song that expresses how music can turn a bad day around. It became a pop hit for Gray in 1973 and a country hit for Narvel Felts that same year. Michael Bolton achieved international success several years later, and Uncle Kracker brought the song back to country and pop charts in 2003.
Jelly Roll sings a fresh second verse on the Lynch revision. His part certifies the song as a love story and not another love-for-a-night kind of lyric. Talking to Taste of Country Nights' Evan Paul, Lynch reveals that his label mate cut his part at an Austin, Texas, studio the night before he recorded his popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast interview.
"Hopefully we continue that song's life into this next generation of country music fans," the "Stars Like Confetti" singer says. "Getting to do that with Jelly Roll was a lot of fun. He's one of my favorite humans on Earth."
Dustin Lynch (Feat. Jelly Roll), "Chevrolet" Lyrics:
She was dressed to kill, I was in my boots / So I had to pay for the uptown talk, yeah / But we talked for a while in a corner booth / Before closing time, she caught me by surprise.
Chorus:
She said give me a dirt road, the windows down / Wanna get lost on the edge of town / In your Chevrolet / She said give me a six pack, some Brooks & Dunn / If you want a country girl, you just found one / Let's slip away, yeah / In your Chevrolet.
I think I fell in love right then and there / We were at the door before the end of the song / I said, where to, she said, I don't care / Just don't take me home, what you waiting on.
Repeat Chorus
Lord knows I been praying for the day / A girl like her would say.
Repeat Chorus X 2
The Top 40 Country Songs of 2023, Ranked
The best country songs of 2023 fit snugly over your life and experiences. Each is written from personal experiences, but somehow, translate as if they were custom to each of us.
We've loved, we've longed, we've lost and we've cut loose in the country.
Airplay charts, sales data and streaming numbers helped make this list of country music's Top 40 songs of 2023, but staff and Taste of Country reader opinion were most influential. Songs included on previous Top Country Songs lists were not eligible. A song may have been released in 2022, but it had to have the majority of recorded airplay or impact this year to count.Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
ncG1vNJzZmiskajBprvFnKaupqSnxm%2BvzqZmna2jqbavecuypZygXZ%2ByrbjYZqmopJxisKmx1aumpZ2kYrm6vsicqmg%3D