"I'm Movin' On" is a song written by Phillip White and D. Vincent Williams 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 ...

group

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...

. It was released on October 8, 2001, as the fourth and final single from the band's self-titled debut album. The song reached number 4 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 early 2002. In 2025, Rascal Flatts re-recorded the song with

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

, as part of their eleventh studio album '' Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets''.

Content

"I'm Movin' On" is a mid-tempo ballad in

triple meter Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row ...

, accompanied by

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

. In it, the narrator starts off with stating of the troubles he's had ("I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons"). He states that he is "at peace" with himself because he is moving out of the town in which he lives ("I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong / I'm movin' on"). However, this could also refer to an emotional state—as in a relationship he once believed to be his "emotional" home has become a place he doesn't "belong" in.

Jay DeMarcus Jay DeMarcus (born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.; on April 26, 1971) is an American musician, vocalist, record producer and songwriter. He is a member of the country music band Rascal Flatts. Early life DeMarcus was born in Columbus, Ohio. He grad ...

said of the song, " t's a song that just drains everything out of you."

Recording

While recording the song and trying to perfect the vocals,

Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console l ...

frequently became emotional, later saying "I was getting choked up recording it after singing it over and over and trying to get it right." According to Joe Don Rooney, "D. Vincent and Phillip

he writers He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

came in and listened to the final mix. D. Vincent had been having some tough times when he wrote that song. When he got up, he was walking out and said, 'Boys, I got to get me a beer. That one hit too close to home. But I do love it.' He shook our hands and walked out. That was very, very touching."

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, ...

had the song on hold first but decided to let Rascal Flatts have the song out of respect for Rooney, who, like Brooks, is a native of the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Critical reception

The song won the Song of the Year award at the 38th annual

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

awards, at which Rascal Flatts also won Top Vocal Group. Joe Don Rooney, Rascal Flatts' lead guitarist, said in an interview with ''

USA Weekend ''USA Weekend'' was an American weekend newspaper magazine published from 1953 to 2014. Founded as ''Family Weekly,'' it was purchased in 1985 by the Gannett Company, which turned it into a sister publication to Gannett's flagship newspaper '' ...

'' that he considers the song an example of how the band interacts with their fans: "One time, a guy told us he was addicted to drugs and was considering suicide, then he heard our song 'I'm Movin' On.' He didn't say that the song alone changed his life. But it opened his mind to the thought that he could change his life, and he did."

Music video

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 ...

directed by Shaun Silva was released for the song. It debuted on November 16, 2001 during CMT Most Wanted Live. The video features footage of a live performance of the song, mixed with scenes of instruments being played and various views of the band members going about their daily lives. DeMarcus is seen exiting an elevator and riding on a subway train, LeVox is frequently seen talking on the phone, and Rooney is shown in a tattoo parlor. Throughout the video, the colors of everything change frequently.

Chart performance

"I'm Movin' On" debuted at number 57 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the chart week of October 13, 2001.

Year-end charts

Rascal Flatts and Kelly Clarkson version

In 2025, Rascal Flatts re-recorded the song with pop singer

, as part of their eleventh studio album, '' Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets''. The song was released on March 14, 2025.

Background and composition

In March 2025, Rascal Flatts announced their eleventh studio album '' Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets''. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, the album will feature nine re-recordings of some of their past hits with nine other artists. On this version, Clarkson sings lead on most of the song with

taking over on the bridge. Rascal Flatts sings harmony through the song. This version is twenty seconds shorter and produced by

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I'm Movin' On (Rascal Flatts Song) 2000 songs 2001 singles 2025 singles Country ballads Big Machine Records singles Kelly Clarkson songs Lyric Street Records singles Music videos directed by Shaun Silva Rascal Flatts songs Song recordings produced by Mark Bright (record producer) Songs written by D. Vincent Williams