If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)

"If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Knows)"
Single by Rodney Atkins
from the album If You're Going Through Hell
Released	January 9, 2006 (2006-01-09)
Recorded	2005
Genre	Country
Length	3:36
Label	Curb
Songwriter(s)	Sam Tate, Annie Tate, Dave Berg
Producer(s)	Ted Hewitt Rodney Atkins [1]
Rodney Atkins singles chronology
"Monkey in the Middle" (2004) "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Knows)" (2006) "Watching You" (2006)

"If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Knows)" is a song written by Dave Berg, Sam Tate and Annie Tate, and recorded by American country music artist Rodney Atkins. It was released in January 2006 as the lead-off single to his second studio album If You're Going Through Hell . The song became Atkins' first number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, spending four weeks at that position. The song also peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. "If You're Going Through Hell" was named the number-one song of 2006 on the Billboard's year-end chart.

Content

The title was inspired by two quotes: one falsely attributed ^[2] to Winston Churchill ("If you're going through Hell, keep going.") and the other, an old Irish toast ("May you be in Heaven five minutes before the devil knows you're dead"). ^[3]

Music video

The music video was directed by Eric Welch and premiered on June 22, 2006. It starts out with Rodney Atkins's car tearing up, and he winds up walking on the road with a string of bad luck throughout the video, like losing his luggage when he throws it in the back of someone's car which winds up taking off on him. The video features Atkins's band and Atkins singing the song under an old gas station sign.

The video peaked at number 1 on CMT's Top Twenty Countdown for two consecutive weeks in September 2006.

Chart performance

"If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Knows)" debuted at #53 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of January 21, 2006.

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Canada Country ( Billboard ) [4]	1
US Billboard Hot 100 [5]	33
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [6]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2006)	Position
US Country Songs ( Billboard ) [7]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [8]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. If You're Going Through Hell (Media notes). Rodney Atkins. Curb Records. 2006. 78945.
2. "Quotes Falsely Attributed to Winston Churchill". International Churchill Society. International Churchill Society. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
3. Horner, Alanna (2006). "Story Behind the Song: "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)"". Country Weekly . 13 (19): 64.
4. "Rodney Atkins Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
5. "Rodney Atkins Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
6. "Rodney Atkins Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
7. "Best of 2006: Country Songs". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. 2005. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
8. "American single certifications – Rodney Atkins – If You're Going Through Hell". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved March 31, 2016.