Luke Combs Shares Story Behind Unreleased Ballad, ‘Joe’
Get the scoop about this powerful ballad of addiction and recovery.
Back in April, Luke Combs shared a powerful ballad that’s never been released on the Grand Ole Opry, painting a vivid picture of a recovering addict with the song “Joe.” And in a recent episode of Audacy’s Coop’s Rockin’ Country Saturday Night, he explained the heart behind it.
Performing the unheard track on the Opry House stage, Combs revealed “Joe” as a tender acoustic tribute to getting back on track. The character sketch was all about humanizing a guy who’s battled with alcohol and come up short, but is now clean and sober. And the honest example of compassion clearly moved the audience.
Nobody knew any more about the song after that, until Combs was asked to explain how the tale of second chances came to be. And it turns out he’s got some skin in the game.
“I’ve got some history of that kind of thing in my family and it’s something that I’m always cognizant of,” Combs said, chiming in around the four-and-a-half-minute mark. “We do sing about drinking beer and having a good time all the time, and I’ve had some friends go through some struggles with that and I want them to know that’s ok, too. It’s ok to have a problem, it’s ok to get better, it’s ok to be trying to get better.”
The hit maker behind tracks like “Beer Never Broke My Heart” went on to say he credits co-writer Erik Dylan for the idea, who started the song with James Slater before bringing it to Combs. It now stands as a dose of classic country from a modern star.
“My friend Erik Dylan brought me a sketch out of that song and I was like, ‘Dude, I gotta be a part of this,’” Combs went on. “It’s so well-written and it just spoke to me on a personal level, and I think it’s something that people should hear and people that are struggling with something like that need to know that’s alright, and there is a light on the other side.”
“Joe” arrives on the other side of the country spectrum from the latest single by Luke Combs, which is his romantic radio hit, “Forever After All.” That track became Combs’ 11th straight Number One in early June, and he performed the bold “Cold As You” on the 2021 CMT Music Awards.
