‘Old Tricks’ by Thomas Rhett & Niall Horan - Lyrics & Meaning

Thomas Rhett and Niall Horan have been buds for years now, with Rhett bringing out the former One Direction member during his C2C Festival set in London, UK back in 2023.

During the 2025 Masters, while hanging out with Rhett and Noah Kahan, Horan jokingly expressed his disappointment at not being asked by TR to sing on ‘Old Tricks’, which originally featured Blake Shelton instead. Rhett subsequently invited his pal to lay down some guest vocals, with Shelton taking part in a hilarious video promoting the new version on which he's replaced by his former The Voice USA co-judge.

The revamped version appears on TR's About A Woman (Deluxe) album, which also includes the stellar solo offerings, ‘Water’, ‘Chapter 10’ and ’On A River’, and top-shelf collaborations with Jordan Davis, Lanie Gardner, Teddy Swims and Tucker Wetmore.

‘Old Tricks’ is a classic, honky-tonkin’ anthem in the truest sense, with Rhett and Horan showcasing their shared penchant for playful, tongue-in-cheek country tunes. It sounds like it's been transported straight from the ‘90s onto our 2025 playlists, with Horan's jovial asides adding to the familial, buddied-up feel of the track.

Despite hailing from the pop world, Horan holds his own on this traditional-leaning country earworm, serving up a sleek guest verse. It's good-natured, light-hearted and utterly infectious, with Rhett reminding us once again just how versatile his songwriting is, flitting from R&B impulses to ‘90's country in the same breath.

‘Old Tricks’ finds Rhett and Horan lamenting the fact that the cheeky ways in which they used to get up to no good aren't flying anymore. It's a bittersweet ode to growing older, with Rhett kicking things off by bemoaning how he can no longer hold his liquor without an awful hangover the next day, while Horan is complaining about the fact that his partner now sees through his claims that a golf trip is for ‘business’. Also, a fun little easter egg: Shelton's original lyric is “huntin’ trip”, but given the fact that this collaboration was born from a conversation at the 2025 Masters, it feels apt that Horan swaps this out for “golfin’ trip’.

In an official statement ahead of the song's release, TR spoke endearingly about his close friendship with Horan, “Niall and I have been buddies for six or seven years now - anytime I’m over in the UK or he’s in Nashville, we always try to link up. We’d talked about doing something together for a long time, but I never imagined it would be this song. I was at the Masters this year and went to hang out with Niall and Noah Kahan, and out of nowhere Niall goes, ‘I’m so mad you didn’t ask me to sing on “Old Tricks.”’ I said, ‘Man, you were the last person I would've thought would even like this one!’ He kept texting me about it after and he knew all the words. With how fired up he was and his connection with Blake, it felt like a full-circle moment and turned into something really fun. I’m pumped it’s finally out there and hope y’all love it as much as we loved making it”.

Horan echoed Rhett's fond sentiments, “I’ve known Thomas Rhett for years now, and every time we’re in the same city, we end up catching up like no time’s passed. I actually heard ‘Old Tricks’ by accident one day when I was in the studio with my friend and producer Julian Bunetta who was working on the song. It came on and I was instantly hooked. I told Thomas Rhett straight up I was gutted he didn’t ask me to jump on it. I just loved everything about it, it's a proper country song. Next thing I know, I’m in the studio laying vocals down. It felt easy, natural, like it was always meant to happen. I’m buzzing for people to finally hear it”.

“I remember when

Weekends used to be
Two, three shots followed by a couple others
Wake up, have a beer, never needed to recover
A cold, red Gatorade and I'd feel great
Now it's a bottle of Advil and a whole next day

My old tricks don't work anymore
They don't get it done like they did before
Yeah, the cold, hard truth is gettin' harder to swallow
I guess the younger me is a hard act to follow
My old ways ain't workin' for me
Sometimes I still wakе up and think I'm twenty-three
All my elders usеd to tell me this would happen for sure
Now my old tricks don't work anymore, no, no

TR, you think that's bad?

Stupid jokes would make her laugh, compliments would make her smile
Kisses on her neck always used to drive her wild
All the things I used to do, I can't get away with
Like sayin' golfin' with the boys is a business trip

My old tricks don't work anymore
They don't get it done like they did before
Yeah, the cold, hard truth is gettin' harder to swallow
I guess the younger me is a hard act to follow
My old ways ain't workin' for me
Sometimes I still wake up and think I'm twenty-three
All my elders used to tell me this would happen for sure
Now my old tricks don't work anymore

Here we go
All my old, old tricks
They just don't work anymore
Break it down

My old tricks don't work anymore
They don't get it done like they did before
Yeah, the cold, hard truth is gettin' harder to swallow
I guess the younger me is a hard act to follow
My old ways ain't workin' for me
Sometimes I still wake up and think I'm twenty-three
All my elders used to tell me this would happen for sure
Now my old tricks don't work anymore, no, no

Haha
We ain't gettin' any younger, are we?
Hey”

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