‘California Sober’ by Post Malone & Chris Stapleton - Lyrics & Meaning

One of the many tracks Post Malone teased via his socials ahead of the arrival of his debut country album, F-1Trillion, ‘California Sober’ features a blockbuster appearance from Chris Stapleton. Posty immerses himself in Stapleton's world for ‘California Sober’, with the track taking on a rugged Southern Rock ambience.

Although we had to wait until the album's release date of August 16th to hear the full studio version of ‘California Sober’, Post Malone performed the live debut of the track with The War and Treaty during his Grand Ole Opry debut two days earlier.

‘California Sober’ carries that twangy, Southern Rock bounce that Post Malone has spoken so fondly of in past interviews. The undulating, sashaying bass and the pining electric guitar combine to create an infectious backdrop, against which Posty and Stapleton flex their storytelling muscles. The melody of each verse remains roughly the same, with the driving instrumental creating the feeling of travelling hazily down the highway that they namecheck in the opening verse.

Unlike some of the other star-studded F-1Trillion collaborations, such as ‘Never Love You Again’ with Sierra Ferrell, throughout which Ferrell provides backing vocals, on ‘California Sober’, Chris Stapleton plays a much more prominent role. His unmistakable Kentucky drawl complements Post Malone's charismatic rasp, with ‘California Sober’ serving as one of the rawer, rockier stand-outs from the project.

“California sober on the Highway 1

Over on the shoulder thought I saw some fun

Looking for a ride

Trouble in some daisies holding out her thumb

Stole some sucker's money now she's on the run

And she wanna get high”

The protagonist confesses that he's ‘California Sober’ as he drives along the Golden State's famous Highway 1, which takes you along the scenic, bucolic and sun-soaked coastline. Being ‘California Sober’ is another way of saying you've been smoking some marijuana, but not drinking any alcohol or doing any other drugs.

The narrator spots someone by the side of the road, holding out her thumb and indicating she needs a ride to her destination. He portrays her as a hippie, given the reference to there being daisies, a common symbol of hippies during the 1960s. This in turn accentuates the decidedly retro atmosphere that pervades ‘California Sober’.

He learns that she stole someone's money, and she intends to use it to get high with our protagonist. These first few lines foreshadow the amusing conclusion to the song.

“She said, ‘I'll take you on a little trip’, come on give these lips a try

She drank up all my whiskey, blew down all my smoke

I became the punchline of some cosmic joke

Damn bottle was dry, kinda wanted to cry”

The woman promises to take the protagonist on a ‘trip’, both as a result of them smoking marijuana together, and because she'll spin him around on a wild emotional journey during their brief time together. She then drinks all the man's whiskey and smokes his cigarettes, leaving him feeling like “the punchline of some cosmic joke”.

“She whispered, ‘Pull it over’, I said, ‘You're the boss’

In a Southern drawl, said, ‘Here's where I get off’

I've enjoyed the time

She said, ‘Baby, give me one more kiss, before I kiss your ass goodbye’”

As their encounter draws to an end, the woman instructs him to drop her off, with Posty and Stapleton offering a satisfying piece of juxtaposition between her request for one final kiss, which precedes her swaggering promise to “kiss your ass goodbye”.

“Needed me some diesel just to get back home

Tried to pay the man and found my money gone

Had to thumb a ride

So if you see them daisies walkin’ round, son, you're best just passing by

And if you see a wallet on the ground, I bet your ass that shit is mine”

This sepia-tinged cautionary tale ends with the woman doing exactly what she did to the man she met prior to our protagonist, stealing the narrator's wallet as she disappears for good. The man frustratedly complains that now he's unable to drive home, as he can't pay for his diesel - with the reference to ‘diesel’ rather than ‘petrol’ again consolidating the enchantingly old-timey feel of ’California Sober’.

He concludes by delivering a warning to any other drivers that might spot one of these hippies - or as he calls them, ‘daisies’, linking back to the opening verse - thumbing a lift by the side of the road to heed his words and keep on driving past.

During Post Malone's Grand Ole Opry debut in August, before playing ‘California Sober’ with The War and Treaty, he touched on how he penned the track with Chris Stapleton, “This next song we wrote with Chris Stapleton...and we wrote this song and Chris couldn't be here tonight. But I've recently made some friends, and I am so honoured to know these people and they can sing their ass off”.

He went on to underline, “I am so honoured to bring up to stage right now, my new friends, and I can't wait to have a night with y'all after this, The War and Treaty, ladies and gentlemen...We're gonna sing this song called ’California Sober’, and I promise you, I won't mess up the words. I've never played this song live”.

“California sober on the Highway 1

Over on the shoulder thought I saw some fun

Looking for a ride

-

Trouble in some daisies holding out her thumb

Stole some sucker's money now she's on the run

And she wanna get high

-

She said, ‘I'll take you on a little trip’, come on give these lips a try

She drank up all my whiskey, blew down all my smoke

I became the punchline of some cosmic joke

Damn bottle was dry, kinda wanted to cry

-

She whispered, ‘Pull it over’, I said, ‘You're the boss’

In a Southern drawl, said, ‘Here's where I get off’

I've enjoyed the time

She said, ‘Baby, give me one more kiss, before I kiss your ass goodbye’

-

Needed me some diesel just to get back home

Tried to pay the man and found my money gone

Had to thumb a ride

-

So if you see them daisies walkin’ round, son, you're best just passing by

And if you see a wallet on the ground, I bet your ass that shit is mine”

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