Brad Paisley’s ‘Bucked Off’ Is His Turbo Honky-Tonk Song [Listen]
Brad Paisley's "Bucked Off" is a country heartbreaker, but you might have too much fun listening to notice.
The singer and CMA Awards host explains that it's his version of a rodeo song, with the hero tripping over dirt at the exact moment he's supposed to take off his hat and ride away. Guitar swirls around a country-rock arrangement that's built for his live show. There's even a live audience piped in during the electric intro and at various points thereafter.
Fiddle and steel pin this song to a simpler time in country music, when you could make do with five guys, a few amps and a stage. The '90s country aesthetic is increasingly popular but Paisley's "Bucked Off" may be the first single to actually recall that golden era of George Strait and Garth Brooks.
Did You Know?: "Bucked Off" is the lead single from Paisley's next studio album, which he says he's cut four or five songs for.
Brad Paisley Talks About "Bucked Off"
Brad Paisley's "Bucked Off" Lyrics:
It’s been a great ride but here we sit tonight / The look in her eyes says something’s wrong / This ain’t a wild bull, it’s just a bar stool / But it’s all I can do to just hang on / And George Strait’s on the jukebox in the corner Singing about cowboys riding away, but …
Chorus:
This ain’t my first rodeo / Someone’s gonna get hurt / Whenever someone says we need to talk / It feels like there’s a number / Pinned on to the back of my shirt / ‘Cause this is where the cowboy gets bucked off / Yeah, this is where the cowboy gets bucked off.
You can go to Houston, Vegas or San Antone / And watch a bull rider hit the dirt / Or head down to this bar for a little cover charge / You can watch me get thrown by her / George Strait’s on the jukebox again / Says if I leave now I can still make Cheyenne, but …
I think about those nights in Marina Del Rey / As this beautiful cowgirl slips away / But pain only lasts so long / And when you get bucked off you get back on.