Toby Keith, ‘Drunk Americans’ [Listen]
The bar has provided inspiration for many of Toby Keith's most recent radio singles, and the good times don't appear to be coming to an end. 'Drunk Americans' is his latest. The woozy waltz adds a hint of inclusive social commentary to allow it to stand out from the rest.
Keith's Irish influences also step forward. Heavy accordion opens and then pins down this arrangement. Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and Bob DePiero wrote the lyrics.
"We ain’t East, we ain’t West / We ain’t left, we ain’t right / We ain’t black, we ain’t white / We just came here to drink," Keith says to open. "We’re all mud-flapped Suburbans / All ball caps and turbans / All prom queens and strippers / We’re the whole kitchen sink / We’re here, we’re the same / Everyone knows your name."
More one-word characterizations follow in the second verse, but it's the chorus that fans will look forward to every time 'Drunk Americans' plays on the radio. Clark said her song feels like a country music 'Piano Man,' and she's right. One easily imagines a room full of smiling inebriates, arm in arm singing:
We just rise up our glass / We don’t give a rat’s ass / If you’re a Democrat or Republican / We’re happy to be here as much as you can see / We’re all drunk Americans."
Why Fans Will Love It: Toby Keith has picked a theme and stuck with it over the last decade (see below). 'Drunk Americans' is a singalong style drinking song with more than a hint of social commentary.
Key Lyrics: "We just rise up our glass / We don’t give a rat’s ass / If you’re a Democrat or Republican / We’re happy to be here as much as you can see / We’re all drunk Americans"
Did You Know?: Since 2003, Toby Keith has released 10 singles that directly reference alcohol in the title, plus several other party songs.
Listen to Toby Keith, ‘Drunk Americans’
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