"Me and Tennessee" is a song written by

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...

and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 17 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, five for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums have reached number one on ...

and actress

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow ( ; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress and businesswoman. The daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, she established herself as a leading lady appearing in mainly mid-budget and perio ...

. It is included on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the film ''

Country Strong ''Country Strong'' is a 2010 American drama film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester. The film, about an emotionally unstable country music star who attempts to revive her faltering career, was directed an ...

'' (2010), in which the two star. It peaked at number 34 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart and at number 63 on the UK Singles chart.

History

McGraw said that he had difficulty recording the song with Paltrow because he thought that "it's such a moving song" and said that he wanted to sing as well on it as she did. The song is the final cut on the ''

'' soundtrack. Paltrow's then-husband,

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

, wrote it.

Critical reception

Blake Boldt of Engine 145 gave the song a "thumbs down", calling the lyrics "hackneyed" and saying that the song "moves along without pause or purpose." Bobby Peacock of Roughstock was more positive, rating the song three-and-a-half stars out of five. He wrote that it was a "by-the-numbers breakup song, but the execution is where it shines", and praised both McGraw's and Paltrow's vocals and the "darker" sound.

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs Tim McGraw songs Gwyneth Paltrow songs Male–female vocal duets Songs written for films Songs written by Chris Martin Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Song recordings produced by Tim McGraw RCA Records singles Country ballads