‘Ten Pairs Of Boots’ by Riley Green - Lyrics & Meaning

One of the few outside cuts on Riley Green's 2026 studio album, That's Just Me, ‘Ten Pairs Of Boots’ serves as the grand finale. And after listening, it's clear why Green was willing to record this powerful, full-circle tale, despite not being a writer on it.

Penned by Joe Fox, Seth Ennis, Chase McGill and Josh Miller, ‘Ten Pairs Of Boots’ is one of the most beautifully structured songs on the album, and feels like a fitting conclusion.

Throughout ‘Ten Pairs Of Boots’, Green sings each verse with virtually the exact same core melody, with his weather-worn croons mirroring the simple, undulating guitar riff.

It gives the song the feel of a nursery rhyme, which reflects the full-circle nature of the narrative. The pared-down composition reflects the unassuming yet elegant story, highlighting how there is beauty in the seemingly mundane tapestries of our lives.

It follows a narrator looking back at all the pairs of boots he's worn over the years, and the different experiences he had in them. It's a moving story of a young man who grows up in the church, but then strays from his path after discovering alcohol. He starts to lean into his wild side, sleeping with multiple women and drinking heavily, with our protagonist describing the Devil as walking alongside him.

Then, after being faced with an unexpected pregnancy, he decides to look in the mirror and face up to God's plan for him. He manages to turn his life around, with the song concluding with him picking out a pair of boots for his four-year-old child, linking back to the first verse, in which his father was choosing boots for him.

“Ten pairs of boots ago
Co-op seven years old
Got ‘em with room to grow
‘Cause daddy told me so
-
If I wasn’t Jake The Snake in ‘em
I was damn John Wayne in ‘em
By the time I turned eight in ‘em
Thought I was grown as I was only
-
Eight pairs of boots ago
Halfway past twelve years old
Baptist church stained, glass glow
Went down to save my soul
-
Man, I swore I felt the call in ‘em
I was gonna walk the walk in ‘em
I never touched alcohol in ‘em
But like them Justin’s messed that up just
Six pairs of boots ago
-
Eighteen met Jack and Coke
And tore off down that road
Heart head as them steel toes
Left under beds left cold
-
Different girl every night in ‘em
I was kickin’ out the lights in ‘em
Devil walking by my side in ‘em
Next four pairs just led me nowhere
-
Two pairs of boots ago
She said it’s mine she knows
I damn near dropped the phone
I thought my life was gone
-
I was thinking “aww damn” in ‘em
Had to face God’s plan in ‘em
But I became a man in ‘em
Came full circle found my purpose
-
One pair of boots ago
Co-op with my four year old
I said leave room to grow
I know how that story goes”

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