"Joe" by Chase Rice follows a tight group of Carolina friends from a heartbreaking 2004 football loss through annual trips built around baseball and hunting, until Joe reveals a stage 4 diagnosis in 2025. The repeated realization that none of it was really about the sport or the hunt sharpens into the truth that the bond itself was the prize. Joe's calm smile and his request to care for Katherine and his son show trust earned over decades, and the friends' quiet loyalty answers that trust without needing words.
Joe Lyrics by Chase Rice
It was 2004 we were at it again
One game away another ring on our hands
But that hook and ladder, it ended the dream
Was the end of an era, the end of a team
We sat there in silence heads hangin low
Just like that clockwork stood up old Joe
He said I love you men been a hell of a ride
We yelled good better best for the very last time
Carolina boys come one come all
Tougher than buckshot when our backs at the wall
Little red on our necks from the weight of the haul
Turns out the damn thing wasn’t bout football at all
Turns out the damn thing wasn’t bout football at all
Some went to Furman most went to State
Some stayed right here some moved away
But our group of guys we was thicker than thieves
Joe had the idea in 2013
We made us a pact one trip every year
So we started in Georgia, third row Turner Field
But Kershaw was hot the Braves did it again
Just like us in ’04 fell short of the win
We were Carolina boys come one come all
Tougher than buckshot when our backs at the wall
Little red on our necks from the weight of the haul
Turns out the damn thing wasn’t about baseball at all
Turns out the damn thing wasn’t about baseball at all
Fast forward twelve years to 025
Joe broke the news as the sun broke the sky
They call it stage 4 I’ve had the time of my life
Won’t ya take care of Katherine, get my boy in a blind
We sat in that A-frame didn’t say a thing
I looked at ole Joe he had a smile on his face
He knew we had his back if its the last thing he knew
Cause that right there’s just what Carolina boys do
Carolina boys come one come all
Tougher than buckshot when our backs at the wall
Little red on our necks from the weight of the haul
Turns out the damn thing wasn’t bout ducks after all
Turns out the damn thing wasn’t bout ducks after all
