"Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" is a

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 ...

song co-written by American songwriters Jim Collins and Marty Dodson. The song was initially to have been recorded by

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

for his 2008 album ''

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

'', but after Strait decided not to include the song on this album, it was recorded by

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 ...

instead. Released in August 2008, Chesney's rendition is his thirty-eighth Top 40 country hit and his fifteenth Number One hit. Chesney's version is the first single from his album '' Lucky Old Sun'', which was released on his own Blue Chair label in association with

BNA Records BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, was a label group that shared ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, ...

History

"Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" was co-written by Marty Dodson and Jim Collins, the latter of whom has previously co-written two other singles for Chesney: " She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" from late 1999-early 2000, and " The Good Stuff" from mid-2002. Initially,

had recorded the song for his 2008 album ''

''. Although Strait's version did not make the album's final cut, he nonetheless made his own rendition available as a digital download. Chesney then recorded his own version of the song, and released it as the first single from his studio album ''Lucky Old Sun'', his first project for his personal Blue Chair label (in association with

, the label to which he has been signed since 1995). Chesney's rendition of the song is a mid-tempo, set in a calypso orchestration with a slight reggae feel, and is backed by

The Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Rober ...

, who also sing the final chorus on the album version.

Content

The song is about a man detailing his life to a

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

who has told him to forgo a lifestyle of drinking alcohol and pursuing sexual desires, in favor of a more religious-oriented style. In the chorus, the narrator responds saying that "Everybody wants to go to heaven / But nobody wants to go now".

Critical reception

Matt C. of ''Engine 145'' gave the song a "thumbs down" rating. Although his review makes note of the song's "carefree sentiment that characterizes standards like 'Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young'", he considered the calypso orchestration "patently offensive". Alison Bonaguro, who contributes to the blog for the television network CMT, gave the song a more positive review. Although she referred to the instrumentation as "not-so-country", she described the song's sentiment favorably, comparing it to

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 ...

's 2004 single "

Live Like You Were Dying ''Live Like You Were Dying'' is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released on August 24, 2004, by Curb Records. It was recorded in a mountaintop studio in upstate New York. It entered the ''Billboard'' 2 ...

", but without a "preachy feel". Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' gave it a B grade. He said that the only problem with the song was the production, and that "the calypso trimmings used to be a distinctive trademark of Kenny Chesney records, but by now, they’re a crutch."

Music video

In August 2008, Chesney traveled to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

to film the song's

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

. The Wailers are featured in the video as well.

Charts

"Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" debuted at number 22 on the ''

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 dated for the week of August 16, 2008. For the chart week of October 18, 2008, it has become his fifteenth Number One hit. The next week, its second and final week at Number One, the song was credited as "Kenny Chesney with The Wailers". Prior to this, it had been credited to Chesney alone.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2008 singles George Strait songs Kenny Chesney songs Songs written by Jim Collins (singer) Music videos directed by Shaun Silva Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon MCA Records singles BNA Records singles Songs written by Marty Dodson 2008 songs Vocal collaborations Songs critical of religion