Freedom Was A Highway
by Jimmie Allen (featuring Brad Paisley)

Album: Bettie James (2020)
Charted: 45
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Songfacts®:

  • Jimmie Allen co-wrote this breezy and nostalgic song with his manager/producer Ash Bowers and the songwriter Matt Rogers (Randy Houser's "We Went," Brett Eldredge's "The Long Way"). It finds him singing of being 17 and driving his first car while loved up with the girl next door.
  • When Allen was writing the tune with his co-writers, it reminded him of his teenage days driving down his favorite roads in his home state of Delaware. "This song takes me back to simpler moments such as my innocent, childhood crush on the next-door neighbor or feeling freedom in the wind as you drive with the windows," he said.
  • The song is a duet with Brad Paisley, who contributes both vocals and a guitar solo after the bridge. Paisley said that he used his signature instrument to bring some of his own personality to the track. "I use my guitar to make a record sort of sound like I'm on it even before you hear me sing, and I love this guitar solo," he explained.
  • Allen recorded the song for his Bettie James EP. The record title comes from the names of Allen's grandmother and father, who both passed away. They each had a deep influence on Jimmie's life; the name "Bettie" is on his guitar strap. His father, James "Big Jim" Allen, died in September 2019 at just 65 years old.

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