"Bible and A .44" was written by Ashley McBryde about her father, William McBryde, who taught her how to hunt, pray, and spot a lie. He carried a bible a .44 pistol, meaning he was a godly man you didn't want to cross. McBryde recorded the song for her 2016 Jalopies & Expensive Guitars EP. It generated a buzz when country star Eric Church invited the singer on stage during his Holdin' My Own Tour to duet the song. The video went viral, and her career was given a huge boost.

When this song took off, McBryde earned a record deal with Warner Bros. Nashville and released her first album, Girl Going Nowhere, in 2018. It didn't disappoint, earning Ashley the CMA for New Artist Of The Year and also a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album. Still, her father wasn't impressed. "You can say anything you want about the music business and about us, but my daddy doesn't approve of it," she said on CBS This Morning in 2019.

Trisha Yearwood discovered the song through her singer-songwriter stepdaughter, Allie Colleen, and covered the tune for her 2019 Every Girl album. "It doesn't have to specifically fit your dad for you to find your dad in it," she told ABC Audio. "I did change a couple lyrics... to make it more my dad." "But it's that song that just talks about that person in your life that you looked up to that had your back," Yearwood added.