Thomas Rhett drops references to no less than 16 country hits in his new single, “What’s Your Country Song.” Everyone from the Hanks Williams to Jake Owen and Ricky Skaggs to Garth Brooks earns a nod in this upbeat ode to the songs that soundtrack our lives.
Like what Walker Hayes did in his 2018 single “90’s Country,” Rhett turns the titles of a bevy of famous country songs into questions about a beloved’s life, proclaiming in the chorus, “Everybody got a small-town anthem / Everybody got a story to tell / Everybody got a hallelujah / Everybody been through a little hell.” He penned the song while in Dallas, Texas, for his 2019 summer tour, with his father, Rhett Akins — whose own ’90s hit “That Ain’t My Truck” gets a nod in the second verse — Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley and Parker Welling.
“I noticed that whether I was in Los Angeles or New York, or Seattle or Nashville, or anywhere in between, I noticed that everybody had some country in them, you know? Whether you live in the city or wherever you live, I think everybody has a little bit of country inside their bones,” Rhett shares, explaining that each of the songs included “really shaped me as an artist.”
“What’s Your Country Song” is Rhett’s lead single from his upcoming fifth studio album, the details of which have yet to be announced. He’s already earned 16 No. 1 songs throughout his career, dating back to 2013’s “It Goes Like This,” his third career single.
Did You Know?: Rhett first shared a snippet of “What’s Your Country Song” via Instagram in April, while quarantining during the early weeks of the novel coronavirus pandemic. It’s gone from a slower, acoustic track to an upbeat jam, but Jimmie Allen and Jake Owen were originally among those giving him props for the tune.
Thomas Rhett, “What’s Your Country Song” Lyrics:
Did you grow up on a tractor? / Did your daddy let you drive? / Are you whiskey bent and hellbound, even though your mama tried? / Did you cruise down a backroad with your Dixieland delight? / Are you on the Chattahoochee on a barefoot blue jean night?
Chorus:
Everybody got a small-town anthem / Everybody got a story to tell / Everybody got a hallelujah / Everybody been through a little hell / When you’re rollin’ down a two-lane highway and you turn your radio on / Tell me which one hits you, baby / Yeah, what’s your country song? / Yeah, what’s your country song?
Do your exes live in Texas? / Are you so lonesome you could cry? / Are you heartbroke ’cause you know that ain’t your truck in her drive? / Are your friends all in low places, underneath a neon moon? / Were you already country back when country wasn’t cool?
Repeat Chorus
Who’s your strawberry wine? / What’s your family tradition? / What makes you turn it up, make you raise your cup every time you listen?
Repeat Chorus
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