'Buck On The Wall' by HARDY - Lyrics & Meaning

Since releasing his THIS OLE BOY EP in October of 2018, HARDY has been breaking barriers and paving new paths left, right and center in the country genre.

Almost feeling like a rollercoaster of musical mastery, the 'wait in the truck' hitmaker has evolved from a mainstream country sound to a metal-infused concoction and back again a few times over the years, all leading to his debut rock record, Quit!!, in mid-2024.

Now, showing that he can excel at both sides of that musical coin, HARDY is getting back to his roots with the announcement of his COUNTRY! EP in May. Dropping two new songs to ring in the news–'Favorite Country Song' and 'Buck On The Wall'–it's evident that the good ole southern boy from Mississippi is back and better than ever as we head into 2025.

With an electric guitar strum opening the track, the first seconds of 'Buck On The Wall' feel like old HARDY from the jump.

Calling back to a lot of the same sound and vibe found on 2020's A ROCK, the 2025 song brings back the same masterful mix of country and rock that the award-winning hitmaker has become synonymous with, yet took a break from last year with her debut rock record, Quit!!

Featuring big, arena-ready, rock-tinged production, 'Buck On The Wall' finds HARDY returning to the kind of songs that made him such a household name in the country genre over the last few years.

“There's a house in the woods
That my old man's old man
Built the best that he could
Out of trees off that land
Foundation's got a few cracks
Tin roof just trying to survive
Yeah, it ain't much to look at
But if you look inside"

Painting a portrait of his childhood, HARDY takes us into the woods of his grandfather's house.

Out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature, the artist explains that generations that came before him built the house with his own hands, and he and his family have been there ever since.

While it may not be perfect, it's home and the memories and stories that reside inside are much more important than how it might look on the outside.

“There's a buck on the wall that my granddaddy killed
Back in '79 up on that power line hill
And it won't be the same
Yeah, it's a damn shame he ain't around this fall
Since he can't no more, you can bet your ass
I'll put another buck on the wall”

Taking us right into the heart of that old family home, HARDY draws special attention to the taxidermied buck on the wall dating back to 1979 that his beloved grandfather shot.

Surrounded by all of the memories of his grandfather and their time spent together, it's apparent that no hunting season will ever be the same now that he's gone, but HARDY will never stop trying to live up to that legacy and make him proud... in this case, by adding another buck to the collection.

“I'm gonna live in those trees
Call in sick with no pay
I don't care if it's zero degrees
I'll sit there all day
And when I track him on down
I'll hold his horns up with pride
And drain my whole bank account
Just to put one beside”

Hunting is a critical pillar to HARDY's life, and clearly a big connection he had with his grandfather, so in his memory, the genre-bending entertainer explains that he'll spend all day, every day out there in the woods if that's what it takes.

Calling out of work, freezing his tail off, it'll all be worth it to snap that coveted photo of his trophy, and no amount of money will be too much to place it right beside the ones that his grandfather killed before him.

"That buck on the wall that my granddaddy killed
Back in '79 up on that power line hill
And it won't be the same
Yeah, it's a damn shame he ain't around this fall
Since he can't no more, you can bet your ass
I'll put another buck on the wall"

To announce his forthcoming COUNTRY! EP, the country-rocker took to socials to share the news, offering a video of him dusting off his large collection of CMA, ACM and BMI trophies.

"I'm dropping two songs tonight and I'm extremely excited about it," HARDY shared on April 10. "They're both going to be a part of an EP that I'm putting out on May 2nd. Five-song EP titled COUNTRY!"

Teasing that there will be plenty more in store for the Mississippi hitmaker later this year, he added, "I couldn't get my album done in time for the tour, but I put my foot down and I was like, 'I want to have music before this tour. That fans deserve it. I want to play new songs. It's a new chapter in my life, let's do it'... I promise you there is a big ol' album coming out later this year."

HARDY first dropped hints about 'Buck On The Wall' at the top of 2025, taking to his Instagram to share an old hunting photo with the caption, "I’ve got a song on my next record called 'Buck On The Wall' that perfectly describes this deer and the story behind it. Some of you know, but my grandfather passed away a year ago.

"In 1989 he built our family a little cabin which we have used as our deer camp for the last 35 years, where there are 30-40 bucks mounted on the wall. This fall/winter season is the first one he hasn’t been a part of, and I wish so bad he could’ve seen this deer, but I’m damn proud to keep our family tradition alive and keep putting bucks on the walls that he built." He wrote, "This one’s for him... Love you Pop."

In a statement announcing both the singles and his forthcoming EP, HARDY added that "both songs remind me of a very special place, the place where I grew up, the place where I became who I am—my deer camp. It's now the only place I have to go home to since somebody lives in my childhood home. I feel like it's been a long time coming to put out some music that gets back to my roots.”

There's a house in the woods
That my old man's old man
Built the best that he could
Out of trees off that land
Foundation's got a few cracks
Tin roof just trying to survive
Yeah, it ain't much to look at
But if you look inside

There's a buck on the wall that my granddaddy killed
Back in '79 up on that power line hill
And it won't be the same
Yeah, it's a damn shame he ain't around this fall
Since he can't no more, you can bet your ass
I'll put another buck on the wall

I'm gonna live in those trees
Call in sick with no pay
I don't care if it's zero degrees
I'll sit there all day
And when I track him on down
I'll hold his horns up with pride
And drain my whole bank account
Just to put one beside

That buck on the wall that my granddaddy killed
Back in '79 up on that power line hill
And it won't be the same
Yeah, it's a damn shame he ain't around this fall
Since he can't no more, you can bet your ass
I'll put another buck on the wall

It's the least I can do
To keep doing what he did
Just hurts me like hell
That he won't get to see it
That he won't get to see it

Oh, there's a buck on the wall that my granddaddy killed
Back in '79 up on that power line hill
And it won't be the same
Yeah, it's a damn shame he ain't around this fall
Since he can't no more, you can bet your ass
I'll put another buck on the wall

I'll put another buck on the wall
I'll put another buck on the wall

––

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