"Joe Knows How to Live" is a 1988 single written by Troy Seals

Troy Seals

Troy Seals is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.He is a member of the prominent Seals family of musicians that includes, Jim Seals and Dan Seals and Brady Seals...

, Max D. Barnes

Max D. Barnes

Max D. Barnes was a country music singer and songwriter.As a songwriter, Barnes composed many familiar songs of the '80s and '90s, receiving 42 songwriter awards in his career...

, and Graham Lyle and recorded by Eddy Raven

Eddy Raven

Edward Garvin Futch is an American country music artist known professionally as Eddy Raven. Known for his Cajun-influenced country music, Raven has been a recording artist since 1962...

. "Joe Knows How to Live" was Eddy Raven's fourth number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the country chart .

Song meaning

The song is told by Raven as the point of view of a blue collar worker envious of one of his co-workers, Joe. Joe's free-spirited ways are evidenced by Raven singing "Well I hate to admit it, but Joe sure knows how to live". Joe tells his linemates of a trip to Mexico he's taking with Becky, a waitress at a diner that all are familiar with. He later returns with photos and a hat he purchased in Mexico.

The trip Joe has taken was presumably done with ill-used sick days, as Raven says in the spoken-word fading end of the song, "well, they would have fired me if I'd have done something like that". It also suggests that Joe is married, as Raven asks rhetorically "you think Joe's wife knows about that yet?" before the song completely fades.

Chart performance

Chart (1988)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1