This Incredible George Strait Hit Was Inspired by a Tom Hanks Film

In 1996, George Strait released “Blue Clear Sky”. The song, written by John Jarrard, Mark D. Sanders, and Bob DiPiero, is the title track of Strait’s sixteenth studio album.

A twist on “clear blue sky”, the more common phrasing, “Blue Clear Sky” says, “Here she comes a walkin’ talkin’ true love / Sayin’ I been lookin’ for you love / Surprise your new love has arrived / Out of the blue clear sky.” According to DiPiero, country music fans have a Tom Hanks movie to thank for the clever wording.

“This song got written because I went to see the movie Forrest Gump,” DiPiero tells The Boot. “In the movie, Forrest talks about, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates.’ And also, he was talking about his girlfriend, Jenny, and how she would come and go out of his life. At one point, he says, ‘And out of the blue clear sky, Jenny came back.’ And I was listening, thinking, ‘Hey! It’s clear blue sky, it’s not blue clear sky!’ Just that little turn of phrase stuck in my head.”

What George Strait Said When He Recorded “Blue Clear Sky”

Strait loved the uptempo song and went into the studio to record it, although he first questioned the phrasing in “Blue Clear Sky”

“About a month later, I got a phone call from [producer] Tony Brown,” DiPiero remembers. “He said, ‘I’m in the studio with George Strait, and we want to cut your song, but George has a question for you.’ So George comes on the phone and says, ‘I’m from Texas … and Texas is clear blue sky. You think it ought to be clear blue sky?’ And I was shocked by the fact that George Strait was on the phone asking about this.”

DiPiero told Strait about going to see Forrest Gump and that he said “blue clear sky” in the film, instead of the other way around.

“I told him the song is all about just giving up on love and then, out of nowhere, out of the blue clear sky, comes the love of your life,” DiPiero says. “And George was kind of quiet for a while, and then he says, ‘Well, you think there’s many Gumpsters out there?’ And I said, ‘Well, yeah, I do!’ And he says, ‘Well, all right then. We’ll be Gumpsters!’ And he said, ‘Adios,’ and he hung up.”

Blue Clear Sky also had “Carried Away” and “I Can Still Make Cheyenne”, both big hits for Strait.

Photo by Smiley N. Pool/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

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