Remember When Tim McGraw Got a Top 10 Hit for a Song He Didn’t Even Record in 2007?

In 2007, Tim McGraw proved that when a song has a powerful message that resonates with an entire country, you don’t necessarily need to follow traditional paths to a Top 10 hit. McGraw’s late-2000s win came from a live performance of “If You’re Reading This”, which he played at the Academy of Country Music awards on May 15.

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McGraw wrote “If You’re Reading This” from the perspective of a soldier who died overseas. In the song, the soldier is writing a letter to his partner that’s supposed to be sent if he passes. It’s a devastating song, enough to make someone cry even just by reading the lyrics.

“Lay me down in that open field out on the edge of town / and know my soul is where my momma always prayed that it would go / And if you’re reading this, I’m already home.”

Tim McGraw Earned a Top 10 Hit With “If You’re Reading This”

Under normal circumstances, an artist will cut a song in the studio and pitch it to radio stations and promoters as a single around the release of a full-length album. But Tim McGraw’s performance of “If You’re Reading This” at the 2007 ACM awards was so deeply moving that radio stations ripped audio from a live telecast of the ceremony and started playing that version on the air.

Once the live performance started picking up steam on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, McGraw’s team released another version of the song that removed some of the busier audience noise. The applause at the end—which erupted into a standing ovation that night in May—still closed the track.

By that fall, McGraw’s live performance of “If You’re Reading This” peaked at No. 3 on the country chart and at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single has a platinum certification in the United States.

The Country Star Ended Up Competing With Himself (And His Wife)

To say Tim McGraw dominated the country music charts in the 2000s is probably an understatement. McGraw’s live version of “If You’re Reading This” directly competed with (and eventually beat) another track of his that he released one month before the ACM awards, “I Need You”. This track was a duet with his wife, Faith Hill, who was also coincidentally competing with herself, thanks to her 2007 track, “Lost”, which she released on June 19, 2007.

While there is no denying that McGraw’s star power helped push these tracks to the forefront of the country music zeitgeist, it’s easy to see why “If You’re Reading This” resonated so deeply with American audiences. The United States was right in the middle of the Iraq War, which meant countless people across the country could relate to McGraw’s heartbreaking song. So much so that they were willing to listen to it any way they could, even if there was no studio version.

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