If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)

"If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)"
Single by Rodney Atkins
from the album If You're Going Through Hell
Released	January 9, 2006
Format	CD single, Music download
Recorded	2005
Genre	Country
Length	3:33
Label	Curb
Writer(s)	Sam Tate, Annie Tate, Dave Berg
Producer(s)	Ted Hewitt
Rodney Atkins singles chronology
"Monkey in the Middle" (2004) "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" (2006) "Watching You" (2006)

"If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" is a song written by Dave Berg, Sam Tate and Annie Tate, and recorded by American country music artist Rodney Atkins. It was released in January 2006 as the lead-off single to his second album If You're Going Through Hell. The song became a number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, spending four weeks at the top, in addition to reaching the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. "If You're Going Through Hell" was named the number-one song of 2006 on the Billboard's year-end chart.

Content

The title was inspired by two quotes: one from Winston Churchill ("If you're going through Hell, keep going.") and the other, an old Irish toast ("May you be in Heaven five minutes before the devil knows you're dead").^[1]

Music video

The music video was directed by Eric Welch. It starts out with Rodney Atkins's car tearing up, and he winds up walking on the road with a string of bad luck throughout the video, like losing his luggage when he throws it in the back of someone's car which winds up taking off on him. The video features Atkins's band and Atkins singing the song under an old gas station sign.

Chart performance

"If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" debuted at #53 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of January 21, 2006.

Chart (2006)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[2]	33
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2006)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[4]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[5]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. Horner, Alanna (2006). "Story Behind the Song: "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)"". Country Weekly 13 (19): 64.
2. "Rodney Atkins – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Rodney Atkins. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
3. "Rodney Atkins – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Rodney Atkins. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
4. "Best of 2006: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2005. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
5. "American single certifications – Rodney Atkins – If You're Going Through Hell". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 31, 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics