Cody Johnson, Carrie Underwood ‘I’m Gonna Love You’ Is an Instant Wedding Classic [Listen]

Cody Johnson's much-anticipated duet with Carrie Underwood is a love song called "I'm Gonna Love You." It's bound to be a wedding soundtrack staple for as long as the bond the two hitmakers describe.

This forever love song finds the traditionalist and contemporary singer meeting squarely in the middle. Lyrically, each take a verse describing inevitabilities we take for granted — sun and stars type of stuff — before delivering, "And I'm gonna love you."

This is the pledge two lovers make when they get married. It's an essential first dance song for weddings in 2024.

• Johnson has been talking about recording with Carrie Underwood for over a year, initially saying the song would be on Leather.
• Upon the album's November 2023 release, he clarified that a Part B of some sort would come later, and their song would be on that project.
• Both singers began to tease the song on Sept. 16.

Related: 40 First Dance Songs for a Country Fan's Wedding

The "Dirt Cheap" singer shared the news of the song's arrival on social media alongside photos of what looks like a music video shoot. On Friday (Sept. 27), he'll release the music video, but the song became available at all other digital streaming platforms hours earlier.

"Stars are gonna light up a midnight sky / The sun's gonna burn on the Fourth of July / Tides are gonna turn with the pull of the moon / And I'm gonna love you," he sings.

Prior to 2023 CMA Fest, Johnson revealed that another artist wrote the song, and after learning he'd chosen not to release it, the Texan put it on hold. Travis Denning appears to be that artist. Per Pulse Music Board, he wrote the song with Kelly Archer and Chris Stevens.

Related: The 50 Greatest Country Love Songs

A video at Johnson's Instagram story confirms Denning wrote it. He's found talking about cutting it in 2019, before "After a Few" was a hit. The original demo had a female on harmonies, but it was not a duet. It didn't make an album.

"I said I didn't wanna record it unless I could have Carrie on it," Johnson told select media in 2023. "And you know, I've loved Carrie's music, but it's not like — I don't have her poster on my wall, you know? But when I heard this song, I heard her voice, and I just knew that it was gonna work out."

"The Painter" and "Dirt Cheap" are the two hit songs from Leather, an album that also features collaborations with Jelly Roll and Brooks & Dunn. No information about Johnson's next project is available yet.

Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood "I'm Gonna Love You" Lyrics:

Cody Johnson:
Stars are gonna light up the midnight sky / The sun’s gonna burn on the Fourth on the July / Tides are gonna turn with the pull of the moon / And I’m gonna love you.

Carrie Underwood:
Birds are flyin’ south when the winter comes / Snow’s gonna fall and rivers gonna run / April’s gonna rain and flowers gonna bloom / And I’m gonna love you.

Chorus (Both):
So good that it almost hurts / Steady and true as a Bible verse / My heart skips just thinking of you / Go on and bet it all baby we can’t lose.

Johnson:
Earth’s gonna shake every now and then / Some runaway roads are gonna dead end / And on those days when the world feels cruel / I’m gonna love you.

Repeat Chorus

Both:
Time’s gonna put a few lines on our face / We can cover it up but hair’s gonna gray / Life’s gonna fly and be gone too soon / And I’m gonna love you / Baby, I’m gonna love you.