‘Bitin’ List’ by Tyler Childers - Lyrics & Meaning

Tyler Childers has always had a wonderfully quirky sense of humour, and this is on full display throughout ‘Bitin’ List’, one of the stand-outs from his 2025 album, Snipe Hunter.

It's one of the most unhinged songs in Childers’ eclectic repertoire, with the Kentucky maverick warning an adversary that he is at the top of his ‘Bitin’ List’, should he ever get rabies. It's outrageous and bonkers, but it's also incredibly catchy, with the track epitomising the built-out, frenetic production style that pervades Snipe Hunter.

With fabled super-producer Rick Rubin taking the helm for Snipe Hunter, long-time fans of Tyler Childers were anxious to see if Rubin would instigate a dramatic new sound. Ultimately, ‘Bitin’ List’ captures the Snipe Hunter modus operandi, which is seemingly to delight Childers’ true fanbase, and antagonise listeners that claim he made better music when he was addicted to pills and continually disrupt his live shows by demanding he play ‘Feathered Indians’. The somewhat chaotic composition of ‘Bitin’ List’ mirrors the frenzied feel of the lyrics, with Childers’ impassioned, distinctive croons cutting through the feverish instrumental.

“To put it plain, I just don't like you
Not a thing about the way you is
And if there ever come a time I got rabies
You're high on my bitin' list”

During the ‘Bitin’ List’ hook, Tyler Childers does not mince his words as he outlines his distaste for the subject of the track. He stresses that there's nothing about them that he likes, before dropping the hilarious titular line - “And if there ever come a time I got rabies / You're high on my bitin’ list”. Of course, if you are bitten by a dog - or any creature, for that matter - with rabies, it can be fatal.

“Yeah, you're high on the list of people gettin' bit
If they gave me a week or two
Before my brain was so inflamed
The spirit left my shoes

I'd wanna kiss my wife, I'd wanna hug my baby
But when my goodbyes are through
Foamin' at the mouth, high in the hackles
Motherfucker, I'ma come for you”

In case you thought this was just a random, idle whim, Childers makes it clear he's thought this through in detail, with the ‘In Your Love’ crooner clarifying - somewhat morbidly - that he would make time to say a proper goodbye to his beloved wife and child, before heading out on his rabid, final quest to try and infect his nemesis.

“Seizure-fraught spinal rot
I'd wanna be with the ones I love
But in the light of the moon, with everybody sleepin'
I'd draw me a little bit of blood

My time's so small, the list ain't many
My list is short and few
And the thing about it is
Everybody on the list is comin' in after you”

As the song progresses, Childers doubles-down on this tongue-in-cheek narrative, describing some typical symptoms of rabies, before explaining how he would embark on his vindictive mission under the cover of nightfall. He then reassures any concerned listeners by outlining that there aren't many people on his ‘Bitin’ List’.

As the song progresses and Childers becomes increasingly furious with the person he is singing to, it remains clear that he's just messing around. He wouldn't actually bite anyone (we hope...!), he's just highlighting how much he detests this person. It's light-hearted, eccentric and riotous - and a gem in the Snipe Hunter tracklist.

“To put it plain, I just don't like you
Not a thing about the way you is
And if there ever come a time I got rabies
You're high on my bitin' list

-

To put it plain, I just don't like you
Not a thing about the way you is
And if there ever come a time I got rabies
You're high on my bitin' list

-

Yeah, you're high on the list of people gettin' bit
If they gave me a week or two
Before my brain was so inflamed
The spirit left my shoes

-

I'd wanna kiss my wife, I'd wanna hug my baby
But when my goodbyes are through
Foamin' at the mouth, high in the hackles
Motherfucker, I'ma come for you

-

To put it plain, I just don't like you
Not a thing about the way you is
And if there ever come a time I got rabies
You're high on my bitin' list

-

To put it plain, I just don't like you
Never really have, and never really did
And if there ever come a time I got rabies
You're high on my bitin' list

-

Seizure-fraught spinal rot
I'd wanna be with the ones I love
But in the light of the moon, with everybody sleepin'
I'd draw me a little bit of blood

-

My time's so small, the list ain't many
My list is short and few
And the thing about it is
Everybody on the list is comin' in after you

-

To put it plain, I just don't like you
Not a thing about the way you is
And if there ever come a time I got rabies
You're high on my bitin' list

-

To put it plain, I just don't like you
Not a thing about the way you is
And if there ever come a time I got rabies
You're high on my bitin' list

-

You're high on my bitin' list
You're high on my bitin' list”

For more on Tyler Childers, see below: