When Cody Johnson released “Travelin’ Soldier,” his single “The Fall” was making its way up the charts. Johnson was also taking time off, after having ear surgery, and had just welcomed his third child, and first son, with his wife, Brandi. In other words, Johnson had every reason to not record “Travelin’ Soldier.” But he chose to, for one reason: the fans.

“The ’Travelin’ Soldier’ cover that we did was kind of one of those things that I knew people wanted to hear,” Johnson explains. “It was very apparent at our shows. And I thought, you know what? If they ask for it, you must deliver, because are we not in the entertainment business? We have to give people what they want.”

By the time Johnson recorded “Travelin’ Soldier,” he had already been performing it in his live shows.  He previously revealed he recorded his own version because of his loyal fans.

“We recorded this song in 2020 on a live stream during COVID, and then it kind of went viral,” Johnson says. “I’ve traveled all over the world, and there are signs in the crowd that say ‘Play Travelin’ Soldier.’ And people come to the meet and greets, [and ask for] ‘Travelin’ Soldier.’ It just kind of turned into this thing like, I guess we’re going to have to record this song. … This is just because we love you guys and figured we’d give you what you want.”

What Cody Johnson Says About HIs Current Single, “The Fall”

Johnson currently has a Top 20 hit with ‘The Fall.” Written by Bobby Pinson, Jeremy Stover, and Ray Fulcher, the song is on his Leather Deluxe Edition album. Once again, Johnson looked to his fans for guidance in what to record, and release.

“I was in the mode of cutting an album, and saying, ‘This is what I want people to hear,’” Johnson says. “I want people to know that the ride is worth the fall, the hardships, the things that you can look that, yeah, it feels like hell when you’re going through the hardships. When you look back at them, without those hardships, you wouldn’t have the successes that you have, and you wouldn’t appreciate them as much.”

When Johnson first released “The Fall,” the Texan said he loved the message in the lyrics. The song says, “The ride was worth the fall / The fall was worth the smiles / The smiles were worth the tears / Tears were worth the miles / Miles were worth the pain / Pain was worth it all / It’s all worth this life / Life is worth the ride / The ride is worth the fall.

“’The Fall’ is one of those songs that I feel like should be on a movie soundtrack,” Johnson says. “It should be on a movie soundtrack because it paints that picture of — you can see the struggle to get to the success. And I think for me, I picture guys like Michael Jordan. You see all the work and all the tired and the angry and the tears and the blood, and you get to the successful moment. And you can even apply that to relationships too, but it has that overall movie quality about it.”

Photo Credit: CMA / Robby Klein