"Drugs or Jesus" is a song written by Brett James, Troy Verges, Aimee Mayo and Chris Lindsey, and recorded by American country music singer Tim McGraw. It was released in January 2005 as the third single from his album Live Like You Were Dying. It peaked at number 14, thus becoming his first single since "Two Steppin' Mind" in 1993 to miss the top ten (not counting "Tiny Dancer").^[1]

Content

The narrator talks about how in his hometown, people follow their own paths in life and either choose drugs or Jesus.

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a positive rating. He says that the song is one of McGraw's best performances ever.^[2]

Music video

The music video was directed and produced by Sherman Halsey, and premiered on CMT on January 21, 2005. It shows McGraw walking through an old house. He does not wear a cowboy hat, but rather a knit cap.

Chart positions

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Canada Country (Radio & Records)^[3]	6
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[4]	14
US Billboard Hot 100^[5]	87

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)^[6]	55

References

^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
^ Coyne, Kevin John (2005-02-11). "Tim McGraw - "Drugs or Jesus"". Country Universe. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
^ "Canada Country Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. May 13, 2005. p. 44. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
^ "Tim McGraw Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
^ "Tim McGraw Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Best of 2005: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2005. Retrieved July 11, 2012.

v t e Tim McGraw singles
Singles discography
Tim McGraw	"What Room Was the Holiday In" "Welcome to the Club" "Memory Lane" "Two Steppin' Mind"
Not a Moment Too Soon	"Indian Outlaw" "Don't Take the Girl" "Down on the Farm" "Not a Moment Too Soon" "Refried Dreams"
All I Want	"I Like It, I Love It" "Can't Be Really Gone" "All I Want Is a Life" "She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart" "Maybe We Should Just Sleep on It"
Everywhere	"It's Your Love" "Everywhere" "Just to See You Smile" "One of These Days" "Where the Green Grass Grows" "For a Little While"
A Place in the Sun	"Please Remember Me" "Something Like That" "My Best Friend" "Some Things Never Change" "My Next Thirty Years"
Set This Circus Down	"Grown Men Don't Cry" "Angry All the Time" "The Cowboy in Me" "Unbroken"
Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors	"Red Rag Top" "Tiny Dancer" "She's My Kind of Rain" "Real Good Man" "Watch the Wind Blow By"
Live Like You Were Dying	"Live Like You Were Dying" "Back When" "Drugs or Jesus" "Do You Want Fries with That" "My Old Friend"
Reflected: Greatest Hits Vol. 2	"When the Stars Go Blue" "My Little Girl"
Let It Go	"Last Dollar (Fly Away)" "I Need You" "If You're Reading This" "Suspicions" "Kristofferson" "Let It Go" "Nothin' to Die For"
Southern Voice	"It's a Business Doing Pleasure with You" "Southern Voice" "Still"
Number One Hits	"Felt Good on My Lips"
Country Strong	"Me and Tennessee"
Emotional Traffic	"Better Than I Used to Be"
Two Lanes of Freedom	"Truck Yeah" "One of Those Nights" "Highway Don't Care" "Southern Girl"
Sundown Heaven Town	"Lookin' for That Girl" "Meanwhile Back at Mama's" "Shotgun Rider" "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools"
Damn Country Music	"Top of the World" "Humble and Kind" "How I'll Always Be"
The Rest of Our Life	"Speak to a Girl" "The Rest of Our Life"
Here on Earth	"I Called Mama" "Undivided" "7500 OBO"
Standing Room Only	"Standing Room Only"