‘Number 3 and Number 7’ by Morgan Wallen & Eric Church - Lyrics and Meaning

One of the most eagerly anticipated collaborations on Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem, ‘Number 3 and Number 7’ finds the Sneedville megastar teaming up with his good buddy and Field & Stream co-owner, Eric Church. It marks the duo's second link-up, following One Thing At A Time's ‘Man Made a Bar’. Although he doesn't sing on it, Church also penned ‘Quittin’ Time’, the closer from Wallen's 2021 opus, Dangerous, with the two artists being pals for some time now.

It's a clever play on words, with Morgan Wallen recounting a fictional car crash which results from him mixing Number 3 - the number on legendary racing driver Dale Earnhardt's car - and Number 7 - Jack Daniels, i.e. mixing drinking and driving fast.

We see the return of the cushioning, layered production style that pervaded One Thing At A Time, which contrasts with the sparser, bare-bones feel that colours much of I'm the Problem. As is the case with ‘Man Made a Bar’, Wallen and Church's vocals combine powerfully, with the duo casting their drawls across the sinuous hook.

“Daddy’s truck

Daddy’s bottle

Open top

Open throttle

87 and 80 proof running through my veins

I’m drunk on speed

Drunk on whiskey

Ain’t no free

Quite like 16

Still had half a foot to grow

Makin’ grown man mistakes

Puttin’ Earnhardt to shame”

‘Number 3 and Number 7’ pivots around a fictional car-crash. The narrator laments their ill-fated decision to combine Number 3 - the number associated with famous racing driver, Dale Earnhardt, due to this being emblazoned on his car for most of his career - and Number 7 - the number you'll find on a bottle of Jack Daniels.

They play off this combination throughout the song, with witty lyrics such as “Open top / Open bottle” and “87 and 80 proof running through my veins”, with the latter referring to the speed at which he is driving, and the 80 proof alcohol in his blood.

“Up in my head I was in first

Whole pack of cars on that fourth turn

Burnin’ towards the checkered flag

I was on a record lap

Had my hand wrapped around that drink

‘Til that truck wrapped around that tree

Shoulda gone to Heaven fast

Learned a hard way lesson that

We all get more second chances than we should

And number three and number seven don’t add up to much good”

Partway through the hook, we get the sudden shift in tone from the free, jubilant spirit that permeates the first half, before the narrator reveals his behaviour led to a crash. The protagonist admits this should have led to him seeing the pearly gates, but for some reason, God offered him a second chance. As a result, he realises ‘Number 3 and Number 7’ aren't such a wise combination, after all.

“Flashin’ lights

Flashin’ memories

For my eyes

Torn up bench seat

Pickin’ glass out of my right arm

Made a never let you forget kinda scar

I lost that race when I let it start but”

Eric Church adds some further details to the scene of the accident, describing viscerally picking broken glass out of his arm, which left both a physical scar - and an emotional one.

During the album listening events at Morgan Wallen's This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen, the ‘Love Somebody’ hitmaker reflected on how ‘Number 3 and Number 7’ came about, and why it was a no-brainer to call up Eric Church and ask him to be a part of it, “I cut that song strictly because I wanted Eric Church on the song. So I asked him beforehand if he wanted to get on it, before I recorded it in the studio”.

He went on, “I've said many times how much of an impact Eric has had on me as a musician and as an artist, and now he's become one of my closest friends. Just to have a mentor and a friend like that is super special. I'm still a big fan of of his art, and the way that he evolves as a musician. I think as long as we keep making songs that fit well together, he's just going to be a staple on the things that I do for the future”.

“Daddy’s truck

Daddy’s bottle

Open top

Open throttle

87 and 80 proof running through my veins

I’m drunk on speed

Drunk on whiskey

Ain’t no free

Quite like 16

Still had half a foot to grow

Makin’ grown man mistakes

Puttin’ Earnhardt to shame

-

Up in my head I was in first

Whole pack of cars on that fourth turn

Burnin’ towards the checkered flag

I was on a record lap

Had my hand wrapped around that drink

‘Til that truck wrapped around that tree

Shoulda gone to Heaven fast

Learned a hard way lesson that

We all get more second chances than we should

And number three and number seven don’t add up to much good

-

Flashin’ lights

Flashin’ memories

For my eyes

Torn up bench seat

Pickin’ glass out of my right arm

Made a never let you forget kinda scar

I lost that race when I let it start but

-

Up in my head I was in first

Whole pack of cars on that fourth turn

Burnin’ towards the checkered flag

I was on a record lap

Had my hand wrapped around that drink

‘Til that truck wrapped around that tree

Shoulda gone to Heaven fast

Learned a hard way lesson that

We all get more second chances than we should

And number three and number seven don’t add up to much good (no)

-

Daddy’s truck

Daddy’s bottle

Open top

Open throttle

-

Up in my head I was in first

Whole pack of cars on that fourth turn

Burning towards the checkered flag

I was on a record lap (I was on a record lap)

Had my hand wrapped around that drink

‘Til that truck wrapped around that tree

Shoulda gone to Heaven fast (Shoulda gone to Heaven)

Learned a hard way lesson that

We all get more second chances than we should (yes, we do)

And number three and number seven don’t add up to much good

Don’t add up to much good (don’t add up to much good, no)”

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