"Raymond" is a song co-written 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

Brett Eldredge Brett Ryan Eldredge (born March 23, 1986) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer. Eldredge has had five No. 1 singles on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart, three of which came from his debut album, '' Brin ...

. It was released on September 27, 2010, as his debut single from his debut studio album '' Bring You Back''. Eldredge wrote the song with Brad Crisler.

Content

"Raymond" tells the story of a maintenance worker at a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

and his relationship with a patient with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, who believes that the maintenance worker is her son Raymond, who was a private

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

in 1971. Eldredge was inspired to write the song because his grandmother had Alzheimer's disease for several years.

Critical reception

Bobby Peacock of ''Roughstock'' gave the song four and a half stars out of five, calling it "one of those rare debut singles that gets your attention right away, while at the same time showing off a great deal of vocal and songwriting talent." The song also received a "thumbs up" from ''Engine 145'' reviewer Janet Goodman, who wrote that it "is an impressive debut single with a vocal performance that blends earthiness with emotional highs, and a message that manages to remain sugar-free while leaving us with its hopeful refrain of kindness."

Music video

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 ...

directed the music video which premiered in October 2010.

Chart performance

"Raymond" debuted at number 52 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 for the week of October 16, 2010.

Year-end charts

References

{{Brett Eldredge 2010 songs 2010 debut singles Brett Eldredge songs Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Brad Crisler Songs written by Brett Eldredge Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Music videos directed by Shaun Silva Songs about mental health Songs about old age Songs about the military Songs about soldiers Songs of the Vietnam War Works about Alzheimer's disease