Bradley Gaskin, ‘Mr. Bartender’ – Lyrics Uncovered

Newcomer Bradley Gaskin dives into the inspiration behind his debut single, 'Mr. Bartender,' and the lyrics that make up the song we can all relate to.

'Mr. Bartender,' a clear-cut song with a classic sound, is a song about losing the one you care about most and drowning the pain in a bit of alcohol. Gaskin may have been down and hurting when he penned the original song in 2005, but since then, he's had very little reason to weep. The 30-year-old hopeful, who was discovered at a John Rich talent search, signed his first record deal just this year.

"What made me want to write the song was I'd just came home after hanging sheet rock, and sat down and wanted to write a song kinda like the style of traditional music -- wanted to hear something that I grew up listening to," Gaskin tells Taste of Country of the song, which was inspired by his idols George Jones, Merle Haggard and Keith Whitley.

He continues, "So I sit down to write that song, and I remember strumming the guitar in 2005, and the opening line of the song was 'Mr. Bartender.' When I said that, the song just started flowing: 'Could you pour me one round? Something strong to turn this frown I'm wearing upside down / Oh please, could you give me the best drink you got / Mr. Bartender, take me out with one shot.'"

Clearly, Gaskin is a natural. As his premiere single 'Mr. Bartender' climbs the country charts and impresses new fans everywhere, the Duck Springs, Ala. family man reveals that he thought up the lyrics straight from his head and never physically wrote them down. "My dad came back in the house, I had wrote this song and I played it for him, and he said, 'Bradley, did George Jones or Merle Haggard do that song?' And I remember by his reaction, by him saying that to me, that I might have just sat down and wrote the very thing that I wanted to write," he reveals.

Because he's very new to the Nashville game, Gaskin is still struggling to get used to hearing his own voice coming from his radio speakers. "For me, I've been playing that song since '05, and all my friends and family [have] heard the song," he says. "And now to hear it for the first time -- I was in Duck Springs with my wife and little girl -- and to hear that on the radio, I could never put into words what kind of feeling that is."

Gaskin is said to be recording his debut full-length album, and hopes to have it on the shelves later this year.