Don't Take The Girl by Rhonda_Kaye

Rhonda_Kaye - Don't Take The Girl

Rhonda_Kaye

Jun 07, 2026 03:46pm

I love this gender bender, added some harmony and tyfl! From Wikipedia, "Don't Take The Girl" is a song written by Craig Martin and Larry W. Johnson, and recorded by American <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">country music</a> artist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_McGraw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tim McGraw</a>. It was released in March 1994 as the second single from his album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_a_Moment_Too_Soon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Not a Moment Too Soon</a>. The song was McGraw's fifth single overall, and his first number-one single on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Country_Songs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hot Country Songs</a> chart. It reached number one on the Canadian country charts as well and it was also a successful pop song, reaching number 17 on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Billboard</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Hot 100</a>. The song tells the story of two young lovers dealing with difficult scenarios at three different stages in their lives. In each situation, the man does all he can to make sure that different entities "don't take the girl."In the first verse, the young man (Johnny) is eight years old, about to go on a fishing trip with his father. A young, unnamed girl, apparently Johnny's age, is also present, with a fishing pole in her hand. Johnny doesn't want the girl to come fishing with them. So he begs his father to "take any boy in the world / Daddy, please, don't take the girl".The song's second verse finds Johnny and the girl ten years later, now as teenagers. The two have since fallen in love and are now dating. As Johnny and his girlfriend are on a date at the "picture show" (i.e., the movie theater), they encounter a stranger with a gun. The man grabs the girl's arm and tells Johnny to give in to his demands. Johnny surrenders his money, wallet, credit cards, a watch that his grandfather gave him, and even his car keys so that the girl would be safe (in the music video, the crook's seen running away with only the wallet).Verse three takes place five years after the second verse. At this point, Johnny and the girl are now (presumably) married and expecting their first child, and the girl is eventually rushed to the hospital to have her baby delivered. The baby, a boy, is safely delivered, but the doctor informs Johnny that his wife is "fading fast" (presumably dying from childbirth complications). Johnny then collapses to his knees and prays to God that his wife survives, even asking that his own life be taken instead of his wife's, as long as she's okay.The song ends with a repeat of the song's opening line: "Johnny's daddy was taking him fishin' when he was eight years old".