| "Give It Away" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byGeorge Strait | ||||
| from the albumIt Just Comes Natural | ||||
| Released | July 8, 2006 | |||
| Genre | Country,talking blues[1] | |||
| Length | 3:30 | |||
| Label | MCA Nashville | |||
| Songwriters | Bill Anderson Buddy Cannon Jamey Johnson | |||
| Producers | George Strait Tony Brown | |||
| George Strait singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Give It Away" is a song recorded by Americancountry music artistGeorge Strait, written byJamey Johnson,Bill Anderson andBuddy Cannon. It was released in July 2006 as the lead single from the albumIt Just Comes Natural.
The song became Strait's 41st No. 1 single on the U.S.BillboardHot Country Songs chart, setting a new record for most No. 1 singles on that chart. Previously,Conway Twitty held that record with 40 number-one singles.[2]
The song, inspired by Johnson's divorce at the time and including a recitation that was out of style in the late 2000s,[3] is sung from the point of view of a man whose wife is leaving him. As she departs, he asks why she is not taking any of their possessions, and what he should do with them. She replies to him to each item to "give it away," because nothing in the house is worth the argument, since the two have worn themselves out arguing in the lead-up to the divorce. In the end, the man is left with all of his possessions, but a lonesome, broken heart—and he "can't even give it away."
Co-writerJamey Johnson andLee Ann Womack covered the song from the television special George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert.
Inthe 58th Annual Country Music Awards, Johnson covered the song.
"Give It Away" is widely regarded as one of Strait's best songs.Billboard andAmerican Songwriter both ranked the song number seven on their lists of the 10 greatest George Strait songs.[4][5]
Deborah Evans Price ofBillboard reviewed the song favorably, calling it "a leavin' song that would've worked in any decade."[6]
At theAcademy of Country Music awards in 2007, "Give It Away" won both the Single of the Year and Song of the Year awards; the song also won Song of the Year honors at theCountry Music Association Awards the same year.[7][8] "Give It Away" received a nomination forBest Male Country Vocal Performance at the2008 Grammy Awards.
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| CanadaCountry (Billboard)[9] | 1 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] | 1 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[11] | 35 |
| USBillboardPop 100 | 47 |
| Chart (2006) | Position |
|---|---|
| USCountry Songs (Billboard)[12] | 14 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[13] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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