Nineteen (song)

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title: "Nineteen (song)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["songs-about-teenagers", "songs-about-the-military", "music-about-the-september-11-attacks", "2007-singles", "2007-songs", "2011-singles", "taylor-hicks-songs", "billy-ray-cyrus-songs", "songs-written-by-jeffrey-steele", "song-recordings-produced-by-buddy-cannon", "songs-written-by-tom-hambridge", "songs-written-by-gary-nicholson", "walt-disney-records-singles", "american-football-music"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_(song)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

Field	Value
name	Nineteen
cover	BRC Nineteen.jpg
border	yes
type	single
artist	Billy Ray Cyrus
album	I'm American
released	September 26, 2011
genre	Country
length	3:18
label	Buena Vista Records
writer	Tom Hambridge, Jeffrey Steele, Gary Nicholson
producer	Buddy Cannon
prev_title	Runway Lights
prev_year	2011
next_title	Change My Mind
next_year	2012
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::callout[type=note]

"Nineteen" is a song written by Tom Hambridge, Jeffrey Steele, and Gary Nicholson, which has been recorded by multiple American country music artists. The song was originally recorded by the duo Waycross. It was then recorded by singer Billy Ray Cyrus, on his album I'm American, which was released on June 28, 2011. Cyrus' version of the song was released as the album's second single on September 26, 2011.

History

"Nineteen" was written by Tom Hambridge, Jeffrey Steele, and Gary Nicholson. The song is a ballad about a teenager who is a star in high school football, but after being inspired by the September 11 attacks, he turns down an athletic scholarship in favor of serving in the United States Marine Corps. He dies in combat and is referred to as "nineteen", the number of his football jersey, throughout.

The original version of the song was by Waycross, a duo from Nashville, Tennessee, consisting of Ted Moxley and Ben Stennis.

Taylor Hicks later recorded the song on his 2009 album The Distance, although his version of the song was not released as a single. Clayton Bellamy also recorded it on his 2012 album Everyone's a Dreamer.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of Taste of Country reviewed the Cyrus version favorably, as he considered the existence of other recordings prior to Cyrus's as proof that the song had appeal to country audiences. He also praised the "sincerity" of Cyrus's vocals.

Chart performance

Waycross's rendition of "Nineteen" reached number 54 on Billboard Hot Country Songs in 2007, representing the duo's only single.

Cyrus's version of the song debuted at number 58 on the same chart for the week ending October 8, 2011. It was Cyrus' first chart entry since "A Good Day" peaked at number 59 on the country chart in September 2009.

Waycross

::data[format=table] | Chart (2007) | Peak position | |---|---| | US Country Songs (Billboard) | 54 | ::

Billy Ray Cyrus

::data[format=table] | Chart (2011) | Peak position | |---|---| | | | ::

References

Whitburn, Joel. (2017). "Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2017". Record Research, Inc.
(7 July 2007). "Hot Country Songs for July 7, 2007". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "''The Distance''". Allmusic.
Dukes, Billy. (August 24, 2011). "Billy Ray Cyrus, "Nineteen" - Song Review". Taste of Country.
"A Good Day - Billy Ray Cyrus". [[Prometheus Global Media]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::