Who Is ‘Joe’? Chase Rice Reveals Origins of His Tragic New Buddy Song [EXCLUSIVE]

Chase Rice's new song "Joe" ends with tears in a duck blind. Coincidentally, that's just how it began.

The singer tells Taste of Country's Evan Paul he was hunting with his brother and their Carolina friends in North Dakota last fall. He was feeling tremendous gratitude and as the sun rose, this concept him square in the heart.

Guns were firing. Friends were yelling at him to start shooting ducks.

Rice was fighting back tears, trying to put lyrics to paper.

His first in-studio performance of "Joe" is below. The full interview is available here, or at the Taste of Country Nights On Demand podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts etc ...

Who Is "Joe"? Chase Rice Song Lyrics Uncovered:

Joe is real, but the version of him that Rice sings about is an amalgamation of people he and his brothers know, plus a touch of fiction.

"He doesn't have cancer, which is great," Rice says of his friend, "and his wife's name is not Katherine, which is not great. She wasn't happy about that."

The name "Katherine" was a subtle hat-tip to a song that helped Rice in the months and years after his father's death. Darryl Worley sings, "But if somethin' should happen / Stop in some time and say hello to Catherine" during his 2004 hit "If Something Should Happen."

There are more Easter eggs hidden in the lyrics and music video.

"The good, better, best chant was our high school, that was our high school football chant. We'd say it after wins," Rice recalls adding that the camera footage was from his school's 1999 team, on which his brothers played.

Baseball trips organized by a different friend found their way into this hometown tribute. A thread through all of it is how they remained close, even through Hurricane Helene.

Fans will remember the end however.

"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," he sings.

Don't look for "Joe" on an upcoming Rice album. He says he's done making albums for awhile but plans to release independent singles with regularity.