Two legends…that don’t mix very well.
Morgan Wallen of course dropped his highly-anticipated 37-song album I’m The Problem today, his fourth studio album and his first since One Night At A Time back in 2023.
He released several songs from the album before it actually dropped, and also teased collabs with a few of the biggest names in music including Tate McRae, Post Malone, HARDY, and Eric Church.
Morgan and Church have become close friends (and business partners after teaming up to buy Field & Stream), and collaborated together for “Man Made A Bar” on Morgan’s last album. And this time they partnered up for a sobering new song called “Number 3 and Number 7.”
As soon as I saw the title I assumed it was some kind of tribute to Dale Earnhardt in his #3 car and Jack Daniel’s Old #7. And I was right – sort of. While it’s a nostalgic song of sorts, it’s also a cautionary tale about the life-changing consequences of mixing “number 3 and number 7.”
Written by Rocky Block and Blake Pendergrass, the song tells the story of feeling free and invincible drinking #7 while thinking you’re #3, until reality hits you…or more accurately, until you hit it:
“Flashin’ lights, flashin’ memories
‘Fore my eyes, torn up bench seat
Pickin’ glass out of my right arm
Made of never let you forget kinda scars
I lost that race when I let it start, but
Up in my head, I was in first
Whole pack of cars on that fourth turn
Burnin’ towards the checkered flag
I was on a record lap
Had my hand wrapped around that drink
‘Til that truck wrapped around that tree
Should have gone to Heaven fast
Learned a hard way lesson that
We all get more second chances than we should
And number three and number seven don’t add up to much good”
I’ll be honest, I haven’t listened to much of the rest of the album yet, but from what I’ve heard this sounds like one of the better songs off the new project. A lot of Morgan’s music is about reflecting on the past and learning from mistakes, and this one certainly fits that theme of self-reflection.
Speaking on the song, Morgan said that he recorded it simply because he wanted Church on it with him:
“I cut that song strictly because I wanted Eric Church on the song. So I asked him beforehand if he wanted to get on it, before I recorded it in the studio.”
I’ve said many times how much of an impact Eric has had on me as a musician and an artist, and now he’s become one of my closest friends. Just to have a mentor and a friend like that is super special. I’m still a big fan of of his art and the way that he evolves as a musician. I think as long as we keep making songs that fit well together he’s just going to be a staple on the things that I do for the future.”
The song is one that almost feels like it would be more at home on Church’s earlier albums like Carolina or Chief than it is on Morgan’s project. And at least for me, that’s a good thing.
