“I Hope You Dance,” recorded by Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert, and written by Tia Sillers and Mark D. Sanders, was one of the 2000s most successful singles in several genres and is one of only a handful of songs in the past two decades that can genuinely be considered a classic. The song ended up landing at the top of the Billboard country charts, where it stayed for an astonishing six weeks which was the debut single from and title track of Womack's third studio album, which has sold more than 3 million copies. Life-affirming music with an uplifting, timeless message; it’s based on the narration of a mother expressing the wish that her children will step out and embrace life and take a chance on love and faith.
It’s hard to imagine what would have happened with the song if Womack hadn’t been the one to record it, but following the old songwriting adage that a great song always finds a home, it seems likely that someone would have had some success with it. “Several people wanted it, and I’m really not sure Lee Ann wanted to record it,” Sillers recalled. “But [Womack’s producer] Mark Wright told her, ‘You need to record it.’ He booked a session for her and asked us if he could have the first crack at it. It just kept growing, and Mark was such a visionary with his production and arrangement. Lee Ann is always about lyrics first and did such a great job, and I don’t want to say it went in a pop direction, but it did end up being more pop. But to me, it was really more of a heartfelt folk song.” Womack has made some fine records since, but “I Hope You Dance” was something that every artist and writer dreamed of a classic career record that was a success worldwide and a song whose lyrics genuinely touched people.