LISTEN: Jamey Johnson and Riley Green Unite For Gritty New Song ‘Smoke’

Alabama natives Jamey Johnson and Riley Green unite on an attitude-filled breakup song, “Smoke.”

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The swampy, Southern rock anthem finds the two crooning their way through heartbreak, using “smoke” as a double meaning throughout the song. From the dust kicked up by her tires as she drives away to the haze of a cigarette used to numb the pain, the word changes throughout the story, but one thing’s for sure: rather than facing the heartbreak head-on, they choose to hide behind the smoke.

Jamey Johnson, Riley Green; Photo Courtesy Jamey Johnson

“Couldn’t see which way she went/ Or which way I went wrong/ Couldn’t see why she left so early/ Or why she stayed so long/ There was something burning my eyes/ Turning my head to stone/ I bet it would’ve hurt to watch her go/ Good thing I can’t see through all this smoke,” the longtime friends sing.

Co-written by Johnson and Green and Erik Dylan, “Smoke” came to life inside two legendary spaces: The Cash Cabin and Big Gassed Studios. The track was produced by Kyle Lehning and Jim “Moose” Brown, with T.W. Cargile handling recording and mixing. While Jamey Johnson had previously teamed up with Lehning for a Randy Travis tribute project, “Smoke” marks the first time the two collaborated from start to finish on one of his own songs.

“It was just a blast getting to write with Riley and Erik and a great song to get to record with Kyle and Moose at the helm,” Johnson shared.

The “In Color” singer revealed that the song was initially Green’s idea.

“He called me and we booked some time to get together with Erik Dylan. We sat down and scribbled it out over the course of about an hour,” Johnson recalled. “It has an interesting sound to it, with one part going down while the other part is going up. I like the whole concept of this guy not being too upset about whatever she is mad at. That smoke probably has a lot to do with it.”

“Writing this song with Jamey was a lot of fun,” Green added. “After spending time on the road together earlier this year, it just felt natural to get in the studio and make some country music together.”

Johnson cut the song in the studio the week after it was written and later called Green to explain.

“I guess I should have talked to him before I ran into the studio and recorded it,” he admitted. “But I did what I did! I called and said, ‘Hey, where are you? I just recorded it.’ If he was thinking about recording it and putting it on his record, I guess I ruined that! My apologies to Riley Green.”

He later joked, “I probably owe Riley a song!”