Music has a way of touching the soul like nothing else can. It can be a therapeutic way to work through all kinds of emotional trauma including the loss of a loved one. This year’s Song of the Year at the Country Music Awards was a powerful ballad by Lee Brice on the subject of grief and mourning.
‘I Drive Your Truck’ is a song inspired by the true story of Jared Monti, a soldier in the United States Army who was killed in action in 2006. The sergeant was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for attempting to rescue a badly wounded comrade when his unit was attacked by a group of enemy insurgents. Monti ran out three times into a hail of bullets and grenades. On his last attempt to save the private, he was killed.
Two years later, Nashville songwriter Connie Harrington was driving in her car, listening to the radio, when she heard an interview with Monti’s father, Paul. “He mentioned that he drove his son’s truck,” Harrington says. “And he went on to describe the truck.” During the radio broadcast, Paul said his reason for driving the truck his son left behind was simple: “What can I tell you? It’s him. It’s got his DNA all over it. I love driving it because it reminds me of him.”
Harrington was moved by what she heard and scribbled down everything she could remember. A few days later, with the help of two co-writers, the hit country song was born.
All that remains to be said is: listen to the song!
