Highway Don't Care

The song is a mid-tempo ballad where the male narrator is separated from his lover who is driving. Throughout the verses, he tells her what he "bets" she is feeling, when a song comes on her radio (its part sung by Swift) containing the lines "I can't live without you, baby." He also says that the highway she's driving on doesn't care if she's alone or if she's going home, but he does. The song is in D major with a main chord pattern of D-B{{sub|m}}7-G{{sub|sus2}}-A.{{cite web|url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0116258&|title=Tim McGraw "Highway Don't Care" Sheet Music in D Major (transposable) – Download & Print|first=Irwin|last=Mark|website=Musicnotes.com|date=9 April 2013|access-date=2013-04-17|archive-date=2021-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423191100/https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0116258|url-status=live}} Keith Urban plays lead guitar on it.

In his review of the album, Thom Jurek of AllMusic wrote that "the hook is irresistible and McGraw's vocal, paired with the young singer's, is a perfect match."{{cite web|last=Jurek|first=Thom|title=Two Lanes of Freedom – Tim McGraw|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0002474140|work=Allmusic|access-date=March 13, 2013|archive-date=January 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109034024/http://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0002474140|url-status=live}} Chuck Dauphin of Roughstock also reviewed the song favorably, saying that "this song flows well, with winning performances from two of the format's top vocalists."{{cite news|last=Dauphin|first=Chuck|title=The Weekly Single Recap: February 22, 2013: Tate Stevens, Tim McGraw & Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean & More|url=http://www.roughstock.com/blog/the-weekly-single-recap-february-22-2013-tate-stevens-tim-mcgraw-taylor-swift-jason-aldean-more|access-date=March 13, 2013|newspaper=Roughstock|date=February 22, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301044322/http://www.roughstock.com/blog/the-weekly-single-recap-february-22-2013-tate-stevens-tim-mcgraw-taylor-swift-jason-aldean-more|archive-date=March 1, 2013}} Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song five stars saying that the track is arguably "one of the best collaborations of the decade – maybe even ever. Each artist brings his or her best effort to the song from McGraw's Two Lanes of Freedom album. 'Highway Don't Care' feels like a special moment from the very first listen, and only becomes more cathartic with time."{{cite web|last=Dukes|first=Billy|title=Tim McGraw (Feat. Taylor Swift and Keith Urban), 'Highway Don't Care' – Song Review|url=http://tasteofcountry.com/tim-mcgraw-taylor-swift-highway-dont-care/|access-date=March 14, 2013|newspaper=Taste of Country|date=February 25, 2013|archive-date=March 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323221718/http://tasteofcountry.com/tim-mcgraw-taylor-swift-highway-dont-care/|url-status=live}} Jeff Benjamin of Fuse said the track has "major crossover potential".{{cite web|last=Benjamin|first=Jeff|title=Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift & Keith Urban Want You Home Safe in "Highway Don't Care" Video|url=http://www.fuse.tv/videos/2013/05/tim-mcgraw-taylor-swift-keith-urban-star-in-emotional-highway-don-t-care-video|access-date=May 7, 2013|newspaper=Fuse.tv|date=May 7, 2013|archive-date=June 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621085456/http://www.fuse.tv/videos/2013/05/tim-mcgraw-taylor-swift-keith-urban-star-in-emotional-highway-don-t-care-video|url-status=live}} The song was ranked 30th best country song of the 2010s by Taste Of Country.{{Cite web|url=https://tasteofcountry.com/best-country-songs-2010s/|title=It's Official: We've Picked the 50 Best Country Songs of the 2010s|last=Dukes|first=Billy|website=Taste of Country|language=en|access-date=2019-12-16|archive-date=2019-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216234043/https://tasteofcountry.com/best-country-songs-2010s/|url-status=live}}

"Highway Don't Care" debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and number 43 on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week of February 23, 2013, due to unsolicited airplay seven weeks before being released to radio.{{cite news|last=Morris|first=Edward|title=Tim McGraw's Two Lanes of Freedom Is Week's No. 1 Country Album|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1702109/tim-mcgraws-two-lanes-of-freedom-is-weeks-no-1-country-album.jhtml|access-date=March 13, 2013|newspaper=Country Music Television|date=February 16, 2013|archive-date=March 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326092300/http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1702109/tim-mcgraws-two-lanes-of-freedom-is-weeks-no-1-country-album.jhtml|url-status=dead}} It also debuted at number 59 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 23 on the Canadian Hot 100 for the week of February 23, 2013. The single also debuted at number one on the US Billboard Country Digital Songs chart with 86,000 downloads for the week of February 13, 2013.{{cite news|last=Bjorke|first=Matt|title=Country Chart News – The Top 30 Digital Singles: The Week of February 13, 2012: Tim McGraw & Taylor Swift #1; Lady Antebellum #2|url=http://www.roughstock.com/blog/country-chart-news-the-top-30-digital-singles-the-week-of-february-13-2012-tim-mcgraw-taylor-swift-1-lady-antebellum-2|access-date=March 28, 2013|newspaper=Roughstock|date=February 13, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411190147/http://www.roughstock.com/blog/country-chart-news-the-top-30-digital-singles-the-week-of-february-13-2012-tim-mcgraw-taylor-swift-1-lady-antebellum-2|archive-date=April 11, 2013}} On October 17, 2017, the single was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and streaming data of over three million units.{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=&ti=highway+don%27t+care&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section|title=RIAA Certifications – Keith Urban|website=Recording Industry Association of America|access-date=March 1, 2020|archive-date=April 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423191100/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=&ti=highway+don%27t+care&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section|url-status=live}} As of November 2017, the song has sold 2.3 million copies in the United States.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8046939/taylor-swift-career-album-song-sales-ask-billboard |title=Ask Billboard: Taylor Swift's Career Album & Song Sales |date=November 26, 2017 |access-date=November 26, 2017 |first=Gary |last=Trust |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=November 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126192431/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8046939/taylor-swift-career-album-song-Sales-ask-billboard |url-status=live }}

The music video was directed by Shane Drake and premiered on May 6, 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/videos/tim-mcgraw/906464/highway-dont-care.jhtml|title=CMT : Videos : Tim McGraw : Highway Don't Care|publisher=Country Music Television|access-date=May 6, 2013|archive-date=May 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509163053/http://www.cmt.com/videos/tim-mcgraw/906464/highway-dont-care.jhtml|url-status=dead}} The music video for the song features Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban, as well as actors portraying the song's narrator and his lover. It was made in partnership with Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee and highlights the dangers of driving while distracted, particularly texting and driving. In the video, the narrator's lover mentioned in the song is driving, crying, and texting the narrator. After dropping her phone and trying to retrieve it, she drifts into the wrong lane while reaching across her car and collides with oncoming traffic. She is then airlifted by a Vanderbilt LifeFlight helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she is treated in the Adult Emergency Department. The video implies that she survives as the doctor comes out to see the girl's parents and the narrator, after which they are seen smiling happily and embracing that their daughter's going to be okay.

The structure of the video at first seems to imply that Tim McGraw (as the singer/narrator and a character in the video) is the boyfriend who keeps being texted by the female driver. Upon the LifeFlight helicopter arriving at the hospital, the viewer realizes that Tim McGraw's character is actually the physician who saves the driver's life, and the texts he had been receiving earlier in the video were from the hospital paging/notifying him about this emergency. Taylor Swift was standing in the bedroom-curtain. Keith Urban was standing on the beach.{{cite web|url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/05/09/vanderbilt-county-superstar-tim-mcgraw-share-important-message-regarding-dangers-of-distracted-driving/|title=Vanderbilt, country superstar Tim McGraw share important message regarding dangers of distracted driving|first=Jennifer|last=Wetzel|website=Vanderbilt University|date=9 May 2013 |access-date=2017-09-04|archive-date=2017-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904062939/https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/05/09/vanderbilt-county-superstar-tim-mcgraw-share-important-message-regarding-dangers-of-distracted-driving/|url-status=live}}

• Album version (4:36)
• Radio edit (4:14)
• Duet with Brazilian singer Paula Fernandes, a Porglish version (4:38)

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{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Highway Don't Care"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Platinum|artist=Tim McGraw|title=Highway Don't Care|certyear=2023|access-date=November 30, 2023}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United States|artist=Tim McGraw|title=Highway Don't Care|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=2013|certyear=2017|access-date=May 9, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true | nosales=true | noshipments=true}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Tim McGraw singles}}

{{Taylor Swift songs}}

{{Keith Urban singles}}

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Category:2013 songs

Category:2013 singles

Category:2010s ballads

Category:Tim McGraw songs

Category:Taylor Swift songs

Category:Male–female vocal duets

Category:Songs written by Josh Kear

Category:Songs written by the Warren Brothers

Category:Songs written by Mark Irwin (songwriter)

Category:Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore

Category:Song recordings produced by Tim McGraw

Category:Music videos directed by Shane Drake

Category:Country ballads

Category:Big Machine Records singles

Category:Vehicle wreck ballads

Category:Vocal–instrumental collaborations