"Don't Blink" is a song written by

Casey Beathard Casey Michael Beathard ( ; born December 2, 1965) is an American country music songwriter. The son of former National Football League general manager Bobby Beathard, and father of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback C. J. Beathard, and country mu ...

and Chris Wallin 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

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

. It was released in September 2007 as the second single from Chesney's 2007 album '' Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates''. The song became Chesney's thirteenth number one hit on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in late 2007. The song debuted at #16 on the U.S. ''

chart for the week of September 8, 2007, setting a new record for the highest debut on that chart since the inception of

SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellig ...

in 1990, beating a record set by

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...

's " Once in a Lifetime", which debuted at #17 in 2006. Chesney's record was broken one week later by

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

' "

More Than a Memory "More Than a Memory" is a song written by Lee Brice, Billy Montana, and Kyle Jacobs and recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on August 27, 2007 as his 51st single and first single from his third compilation albu ...

", which debuted at number one on the country charts, the first song to do so in the chart's history. The song also matches the fastest rising single of his career set in August 2007 with " Never Wanted Nothing More" taking eight weeks to reach number one. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Don't Blink" debuted at number 79 on the chart dated September 22, 2007.

Content

The song's lyrics tell of a younger man's encounter with a 102-year-old man who was being interviewed on the news. The interviewer wants to know the older man's "secret to life", and the older man responds with "don't blink".

Music video

The music video was directed by

Shaun Silva Shaun Silva is an American music video director who works primarily in the country music field. He has directed a number of music videos for many country music artists, including many of Kenny Chesney's music videos. His other clients include Jas ...

, and premiered on CMT on August 23, 2007. It features a man returning to his house where the news interview is playing on TV. He considers catching up on work, but what the old man says on TV apparently changes his mind and he decides to spend the time with his wife and son instead. Chesney performs the song outside the house, while home videos of life milestones for various people appear on the glass walls. The video was shot at the historical Farnsworth House, designed by Mies van der Rohe in the late 1940s. The house is located in Plano, Illinois, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago. The music video reached number 1 on CMT's ''Top Twenty Countdown'' for the week of October 25, 2007.

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' gave the song an A+ grade, saying that this song "makes hesneythink about the greater truths and examine isown life from a new perspective. "

Chart performance

"Don't Blink" debuted at number 16 on the U.S. ''

chart for the week of September 8, 2007.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2007 singles Kenny Chesney songs 2007 songs Country ballads 2000s ballads Songs written by Casey Beathard Music videos directed by Shaun Silva Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon BNA Records singles Songs written by Chris Wallin Songs about old age