Alan Jackson has proven time and again that he can pull stories from his life and turn them into timeless country songs. For instance, he wrote “I’d Love You All Over Again” and “Remember When” about his marriage. Both of those songs became hits. However, in 2002, he showed the world that he could turn pain and grief into a moving and enduring hit as well. He penned “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” as a tribute to his late father. Decades later, it is still as moving as it ever was.

In 2021, 19 years after Jackson released Drive and its deeply personal title track, he performed during A Capitol Fourth. The annual concert brought some of the biggest names in music to the west lawn of the United States Capitol Building and shared those performances with the nation via PBS.

“Drive (For Daddy Gene)” stands apart from other songs written for late loved ones because it’s not a sad song. Instead, it sees Jackson taking a trip down memory lane, reliving special moments with the man who raised him and taught him how to drive, among other important life lessons. It’s not a tearful funeral dirge. Instead, it’s a celebration of a life well lived. However, it took Jackson quite some time to finally find the words.

Alan Jackson Struggled to Write a Tribute to His Late Father

During a 2001 interview with Billboard, Alan Jackson discussed what “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” means to him and why it took him so long to write it.

“My daddy died a few years ago, and I wanted to write something for him. I tried a couple of times, and I always ended up writing some sad dying song,” he recalled. “I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to write something nice. Daddy didn’t say much, but one of the things he really gave me is my love for cars,” he added. About the lyrics, Jackson said, “This whole song is a bunch of facts, really.”