Where the Green Grass Grows

"Where the Green Grass Grows" is a song written by Jess Leary and Craig Wiseman, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released on July 13, 1998, as the fifth single from McGraw's Everywhere album. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart and peaked at number seventy-nine on the Hot 100.^[1] It also reached number one on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.

"Where the Green Grass Grows"
Single by Tim McGraw
from the album Everywhere
Released	July 13, 1998
Genre	Country
Length	3:21
Label	Curb
Songwriter(s)	Jess Leary Craig Wiseman
Producer(s)	Byron Gallimore Tim McGraw James Stroud
Tim McGraw singles chronology
"Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me" (1998) "Where the Green Grass Grows" (1998) "For a Little While" (1998)

Content

The song tells the story of a man leaving the big city by going back out into the country.

The song is referenced and sampled in McGraw's 2021 single, "7500 OBO".

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song an A grade, saying it is "tightly produced, with an instantly recognizable opening fiddle." He went on to say that the lyrics are "cleverly constructed" and "brilliantly contrasted."^[2]

Chart performance

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[3]	1
US Billboard Hot 100[4]	79
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1998)	Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[6]	26
US Country Songs (Billboard)[7]	17

Certifications

Certifications for Where the Green Grass Grows

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[8]	2× Platinum	2,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Parodies

• American country music parody artist Cledus T. Judd released a parody of "Where the Green Grass Grows" titled "Where the Grass Don't Grow" on his 1999 album Juddmental.