| The Best Day | |
| Cover: | George Strait - The Best Day cd single.png |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | George Strait |
| Album: | Latest Greatest Straitest Hits |
| Released: | January 3, 2000 |
| Recorded: | August 31, 1999 |
| Genre: | Country |
| Length: | 3:24 |
| Label: | MCA Nashville |
| Producer: | Tony Brown George Strait[1] |
| Prev Title: | What Do You Say to That |
| Prev Year: | 1999 |
| Next Title: | Go On |
| Next Year: | 2000 |
"The Best Day" is a song written by Dean Dillon and Carson Chamberlain, and recorded by American country music singer George Strait. It was released in January 2000 as the first single from his compilation album Latest Greatest Straitest Hits. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
The song is about a father, who recalls his son describing the activities of his life. The first verse recalls a father-son campout, and the young man looks forward to a weekend of fishing, conversation, bonding, and other camping-related activities. The second verse shows the son becoming a teenager and getting a Chevrolet Corvette from his father. The third and final verse is set on the son's wedding day. As he and his father stand in a room of the church in their tuxedos, the son reflects on what he learned in childhood and plans to apply it to his new marriage: "I'm the luckiest man alive, this is the best day of my life". The song is in the key of A major with a 4/4 time signature and a slow tempo of about 66 beats per minute. Its intro uses the pattern A-Aaug-D-E7, and the verses use a pattern of A-D-E-A.[2]
Larry Flick, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "well-written tale that listeners will find easily relatable, and the chorus makes this the ultimate feel-good tune to kick off the millennium." He goes on to say that Strait's "warm-throated delivery is all honest emotion."[3]
The song entered the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart at number 48 on the chart dated January 1, 2000, and spent 29 weeks on the chart. The song also climbed to number 1 after spending 17 weeks on the chart, where it held number 1 for three weeks on the chart dated April 22, 2000. In addition, this song became Strait's 36th Billboard Number One as a solo artist.
| Chart (2000) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks[4] | 6 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] | 80 |