Live Like You Were Dying ( song ) - wikipedia Live Like You Were Dying ( song ) `` Live Like You Were Dying '' Single by Tim McGraw from the album Live Like You Were Dying B - side `` Just Be Your Tear '' Released June 7, 2004 ( 2004 - 06 - 07 ) Format CD single Recorded January 2004 Genre Country pop Length 4 : 58 ( Album Version ) 4 : 28 ( Radio Mix ) Label Curb Songwriter ( s ) Tim Nichols Craig Wiseman Producer ( s ) Byron Gallimore Tim McGraw Tim McGraw singles chronology `` Watch the Wind Blow By '' ( 2003 ) `` Live Like You Were Dying '' ( 2004 ) `` Back When '' ( 2004 ) `` Watch the Wind Blow By '' ( 2003 ) `` Live Like You Were Dying '' ( 2004 ) `` Back When '' ( 2004 ) `` Live Like You Were Dying '' is a song recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw, and was the lead single from his eighth album of the same name ( 2004 ). It was written by the songwriting team of Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. The duo crafted the song based on family and friends who learned of illnesses ( cancers ), and how they often had a new perspective on life upon learning they had limited time. They decided to write a song based on the concept, hoping that it might inspire someone in such a situation. The song 's lyrics center on experiencing life to its fullest, while also becoming a better person. Released in June 2004 as the lead single from the album, the song became an enormous success in the U.S. It spent seven weeks atop of the Billboard country music charts ; the magazine later dubbed it the biggest country song of the year. `` Live Like You Were Dying '' won several awards, including Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2004 Country Music Association Awards and at the 2004 Academy of Country Music Awards and the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Country Song. The music video, directed by Sherman Halsey, was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2004 Academy of Country Music Awards. It has sold over two million copies in the U.S. Contents 1 Background 2 Content 3 Commercial performance 4 Music video 5 Charts 5.1 Weekly chart 5.2 Year - end charts 5.3 Certifications 6 References Background The song was written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. The duo had a friend who received a medical misdiagnosis regarding a form of lung cancer. Wiseman and Nichols began discussing family members and friends who learned of illnesses, and how they often had a new perspective on life upon learning they had limited time. They decided to write a song based on the concept, hoping that it might inspire someone in such a situation. After they came up with the title, they began writing the first verse and chorus. They found themselves attached to the song, and continued to write in late into the night over the phone. `` I remember going in my totally dark living room, laying on the floor, and we wrote the second verse on the phone, '' Wiseman recalled. The inclusion of the lyric about riding a bull was intended as a sort of `` palette cleanse, '' as they felt the chorus was growing too sentimental. The duo judged its creation as a `` really spiritual thing, because it came strong. Me and Tim 's instincts and intuitions just kept leading us. '' The song was demoed within a few days of its writing by Wiseman, and was chosen by McGraw to be his next lead single. Wiseman remembered the song had personal significance for McGraw, who commented that he himself had gone fishing with his father prior to a quadruple bypass surgery. Content `` Live Like You Were Dying '' tells the story of a man in his early forties who gets the news that his father has an unspecified, life - threatening illness. His father 's message is to live life to the fullest and do things that he had always wanted to do, such as skydiving, mountain climbing, fishing, and bull riding. He also says that he became a better husband and friend. McGraw then switches perspective to himself, talking about how going fishing with his dad stopped being an imposition and how he finally, after reading the Bible, took a long hard look back over his life and took his father 's advice by going skydiving, mountain climbing, horse, bull riding, and so much more. This song is often associated with McGraw 's father, Tug McGraw, who was hospitalized with a brain tumor on March 12, 2003. It was revealed that he had cancer. He was given three weeks to live by the doctors, but surprisingly survived nine months. He died on January 5, 2004. Commercial Performance `` Live Like You Were Dying '' debuted at number 36 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the chart week of June 5, 2004. It reached No. 1 on the chart dated July 17, 2004. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA on December 1, 2009, and it has sold 2,313,000 copies in the US as of July 2016. Music video The music video features Tim McGraw singing in an infinity cove with video clips added by CGI. The alternate version of the video, directed by Sherman Halsey, McGraw 's usual director of choice, ends with a clip of the late Tug McGraw pitching the final strike for the 1980 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, which, at the time, was the team 's only World Series Championship. The video was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards. Charts Weekly chart Chart ( 2004 -- 05 ) Peak position US Billboard Hot 100 29 US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) US Mainstream Top 40 ( Billboard ) 37 US Adult Top 40 ( Billboard ) 21 Year - end charts Chart ( 2004 ) Position US Country Songs ( Billboard ) US Billboard Hot 100 81 Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United States ( RIAA ) Platinum 2,313,000 sales figures based on certification alone shipments figures based on certification alone sales + streaming figures based on certification alone Preceded by `` Whiskey Girl '' by Toby Keith `` Somebody '' by Reba McEntire Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number - one single July 17 -- July 31, 2004 ( first run ) August 14 - September 4, 2004 ( second run ) Succeeded by `` Somebody '' by Reba McEntire `` Girls Lie Too '' by Terri Clark Preceded by `` My Front Porch Looking In '' by Lonestar Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number - one single of the year Succeeded by `` That 's What I Love About Sunday '' by Craig Morgan Preceded by Next Big Thing by Vince Gill Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance 2005 Succeeded by You 'll Think of Me by Keith Urban References ^ Jump up to : Doug Waterman ( May 3, 2012 ). `` Extended Q&A : Craig Wiseman ''. American Songwriter. Retrieved October 11, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Jake Brown ( 2014 ). Nashville Songwriter : The Inside Stories Behind Country Music 's Greatest Hits. BenBella Books. p. 19 -- 20. Jump up ^ Vi - An Nguyen ( September 8, 2014 ). `` Songwriters Reveal the Story Behind ' Live Like You Were Dying ' by Tim McGraw ''. Parade. Retrieved October 11, 2015. Jump up ^ http://philadelphia.about.com/b/a/055282.htm Archived 2006 - 02 - 08 at the Wayback Machine. Philadelphia.com Jump up ^ `` Hot Country Songs ''. Billboard. July 17, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` American single certifications -- Tim McGraw -- Live Like You Were Dying ''. Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH ^ Jump up to : Bjorke, Matt ( July 26, 2016 ). `` Top 30 Digital Country Singles Chart : July 26 ''. Roughstock. Jump up ^ `` Tim McGraw Chart History ( Hot 100 ) ''. Billboard. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Tim McGraw Chart History ( Hot Country Songs ) ''. Billboard. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Tim McGraw Chart History ( Adult Contemporary ) ''. Billboard. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Tim McGraw Chart History ( Pop Songs ) ''. Billboard. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Tim McGraw Chart History ( Adult Pop Songs ) ''. Billboard. Retrieved 2010 - 08 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Best of 2004 : Country Songs ''. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2004. Retrieved July 11, 2012. Tim McGraw singles Discography Not a Moment Too Soon `` Indian Outlaw '' `` Do n't Take the Girl '' `` Down on the Farm '' `` Not a Moment Too Soon '' `` Refried Dreams '' All I Want `` I Like It, I Love It '' `` Ca n't Be Really Gone '' `` All I Want Is a Life '' `` She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart '' `` Maybe We Should Just Sleep on It '' Everywhere `` It 's Your Love '' ( with Faith Hill ) `` Everywhere '' `` Just to See You Smile '' `` One of These Days '' `` Where the Green Grass Grows '' `` For a Little While '' A Place in the Sun `` Please Remember Me '' `` Something Like That '' `` My Best Friend '' `` Some Things Never Change '' `` My Next Thirty Years '' Set This Circus Down `` Grown Men Do n't Cry '' `` Angry All the Time '' `` The Cowboy in Me '' `` Unbroken '' Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors `` Red Rag Top '' `` Tiny Dancer '' `` She 's My Kind of Rain '' `` Real Good Man '' `` Watch the Wind Blow By '' Live Like You Were Dying `` Live Like You Were Dying '' `` Back When '' `` Drugs or Jesus '' `` Do You Want Fries with That '' `` My Old Friend '' Reflected : Greatest Hits Vol. 2 `` When the Stars Go Blue '' `` My Little Girl '' Let It Go `` Last Dollar ( Fly Away ) '' `` I Need You '' ( with Faith Hill ) `` If You 're Reading This '' `` Suspicions '' `` Kristofferson '' `` Let It Go '' `` Nothin ' to Die For '' Southern Voice `` It 's a Business Doing Pleasure with You '' `` Southern Voice '' `` Still '' Number One Hits `` Felt Good on My Lips '' Country Strong `` Me and Tennessee '' ( with Gwyneth Paltrow ) Emotional Traffic `` Better Than I Used to Be '' Two Lanes of Freedom `` Truck Yeah '' `` One of Those Nights '' `` Highway Do n't Care '' ( with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban ) `` Southern Girl '' Sundown Heaven Town `` Lookin ' for That Girl '' `` Meanwhile Back at Mama 's '' ( with Faith Hill ) `` Shotgun Rider '' `` Diamond Rings and Old Barstools '' ( with Catherine Dunn ) Damn Country Music `` Top of the World '' `` Humble and Kind '' `` How I 'll Always Be '' The Rest of Our Life `` Speak to a Girl '' ( with Faith Hill ) `` The Rest of Our Life '' ( with Faith Hill ) Guest singles `` Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me '' ( with Faith Hill ) `` Let 's Make Love '' ( with Faith Hill ) `` Bring On the Rain '' ( with Jo Dee Messina ) `` Over and Over '' ( with Nelly ) `` Like We Never Loved at All '' ( with Faith Hill ) `` Find Out Who Your Friends Are '' ( with Tracy Lawrence and Kenny Chesney ) `` Nine Lives '' ( with Def Leppard ) `` Feel Like a Rock Star '' ( with Kenny Chesney ) `` Lovin ' Lately '' ( with Big & Rich ) `` May We All '' ( with Florida Georgia Line ) Other songs `` City Lights '' `` The Ride '' `` California '' Billboard Year - End Hot Country Songs number one single of the year 1980 -- 1989 1980 : `` My Heart '' -- Ronnie Milsap 1981 : `` Fire and Smoke '' -- Earl Thomas Conley 1982 : `` Always on My Mind '' -- Willie Nelson 1983 : `` José Cuervo '' -- Shelly West 1984 : `` To All the Girls I 've Loved Before '' -- Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson 1985 : `` Lost in the Fifties Tonight ( In the Still of the Night ) '' -- Ronnie Milsap 1986 : `` Never Be You '' -- Rosanne Cash 1987 : `` Give Me Wings '' -- Michael Johnson 1988 : `` Do n't Close Your Eyes '' -- Keith Whitley 1989 : `` A Better Man '' -- Clint Black 1990 -- 1999 1990 : `` Nobody 's Home '' -- Clint Black 1991 : `` Do n't Rock the Jukebox '' -- Alan Jackson 1992 : `` I Saw the Light '' -- Wynonna Judd 1993 : `` Chattahoochee '' -- Alan Jackson 1994 : `` I Swear '' -- John Michael Montgomery 1995 : `` Sold ( The Grundy County Auction Incident ) '' -- John Michael Montgomery 1996 : `` My Maria '' -- Brooks & Dunn 1997 : `` It 's Your Love '' -- Tim McGraw and Faith Hill 1998 : `` Just to See You Smile '' -- Tim McGraw 1999 : `` Amazed '' -- Lonestar 2000 -- 2009 2000 : `` How Do You Like Me Now ? ! '' -- Toby Keith 2001 : `` Ai n't Nothing ' bout You '' -- Brooks & Dunn 2002 : `` The Good Stuff '' -- Kenny Chesney 2003 : `` My Front Porch Looking In '' -- Lonestar 2004 : `` Live Like You Were Dying '' -- Tim McGraw 2005 : `` That 's What I Love About Sunday '' -- Craig Morgan 2006 : `` If You 're Going Through Hell ( Before The Devil Even Knows ) '' -- Rodney Atkins 2007 : `` Watching You '' -- Rodney Atkins 2008 : `` Just Got Started Lovin ' You '' -- James Otto 2009 : `` I Run to You '' -- Lady Antebellum 2010 -- 2019 2010 : `` Love Like Crazy '' -- Lee Brice 2011 : `` Crazy Girl '' -- Eli Young Band 2012 : `` Time Is Love '' -- Josh Turner 2013 : `` Cruise '' -- Florida Georgia Line 2014 : `` This Is How We Roll '' -- Florida Georgia Line featuring Luke Bryan 2015 : `` Take Your Time '' -- Sam Hunt 2016 : `` H.O.L.Y. '' - Florida Georgia Line Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Live_Like_You_Were_Dying_(song)&oldid=818543555 '' Categories : 2004 singles Tim McGraw songs Billboard Hot Country Songs number - one singles Billboard Hot Country Songs number - one singles of the year Songs written by Craig Wiseman Songs written by Tim Nichols Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Curb Records singles Music videos directed by Sherman Halsey Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance winners Country ballads 2004 songs Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100 Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Billboardcountrysongs Singlechart usages for Billboardadultcontemporary Singlechart usages for Billboardpopsongs Singlechart usages for Billboardadultpopsongs Certification Table Entry usages for United States Talk Contents About Wikipedia Հայերեն Português Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 4 January 2018, at 04 : 34. 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Question: when was live like you were dying written
Answer: 2004