He learned to be fearless in the rodeo arena but kept his heart locked up. This song is Cody Johnson’s confession about the moment he realized one woman had quietly saved the life he was trying to throw away.
He admits that she saw beauty where he only saw empty space and that she kept adding light to places he planned to leave dark. She talks about tomorrow like she is flipping through a magazine, brave enough to circle every dream and act like it is possible.
Country fans know Cody for tough, full throttle shows and real country music that hits like a stampede. Here he lets that same voice crack open and tell the truth about the one person who would not let him stay broken.
Cody Johnson – The Painter (Official Music Video)
The confession in The Painter only feels more real when you see Cody carry it onto a live stage. Before the music video ever came out, he brought this song to the 2023 CMA Awards and used country’s biggest night to introduce it to the world. No actors, no storyline, just Cody, a full band, and that raw, cracked voice trying to say thank you to the woman who saved him.
Cody Johnson – The Painter (2023 CMA Awards)
And if you have ever wondered how a kid from dusty Texas arenas ended up pouring his heart out on country’s biggest stage, there is one more chapter behind all of this. Dear Rodeo: The Cody Johnson Story goes back to the first dream he ever loved and had to let go, and shows how losing rodeo cleared the path for the life he sings about now.