‘Few Good Stories’ by Kenny Chesney - Lyrics & Meaning

‘Few Good Stories’, the fourth song from Kenny Chesney's 2024 album, BORN, finds the No Shoes Nation flag-bearer toasting the memories he's made - and the ones he's still got to come.

‘Few Good Stories’ serves as the response to the probing, philosophical album opener, ‘Born’. On the latter, Kenny asks whether he's been overthinking life, and he leans into this mentality on ‘Few Good Stories’, deciding that the litmus test for a life well lived is the number of unforgettable tales you're left with after it all.

Kenny Chesney's distinctive, charismatic vocals coast jauntily across the sashaying, twangy electric guitar pattern and the accompanying simple, uptempo drum beat.

Although Kenny Chesney and his longtime co-producer, Buddy Cannon, opt for weighty electric guitars to lead ‘Few Good Stories’, Kenny's playful delivery and lyrics balance out the gravitas of the backing, making the overarching mood one of levity.

“I’m gonna put a million miles on these cowboy boots

And a real big dent in my revenue

If I ain’t done it all, just means I ain’t done it yet

When I look back, I don’t wanna have one single regret

I’m gonna”

Kenny Chesney steps into the shoes of the protagonist on ‘Wasted’, as he sets out his intentions to throw caution to the wind and make the most of each day, regardless of the fact that it'll put a “real big dent in my revenue”. He underlines that there are still plenty of items he's yet to tick off his bucket list, conveying this through the clever transition from the phrase ‘If I ain't don't it all’ to ‘I ain't done it yet’.

“Soak up the sun, keep the wind in my sails

Try to get to Heaven while I raise a little hell

When it’s all said and done, I’ll know I lived it well

If I ain’t got nothing but a few good stories to tell”

The Knoxville singer-songwriter references his beloved boat, which is a common theme in Kenny Chesney's stellar discography. He's spoken in the past about how much his boat costs to run - but, in the spirit of the first verse, he brushes off these concerns and sets about making the most of his chance to sail across the ocean.

We get a satisfying piece of juxtaposition here as Kenny captures the mood of ‘Everybody Wants to Go To Heaven’ by stressing that he wants to ultimately make it through the pearly gates, but that this won't stop him raising “a little hell” in the meantime. These adventures will bring a myriad of rich memories and crazy stories with them, which Kenny will cherish above all else until the day he dies.

“I’m gonna put a few scratches on this old guitar

I’m gonna sip some good whiskey, smoke a Cuban cigar

I’m gonna dance with my baby to some slow Motown

I’m gonna live it up so much, I ain’t ever gon’ live it down

I’m gonna”

Kenny Chesney lists some of the objectives he's aiming for as part of his new approach to life. He emphasises that he still has a plethora of songs left to find in his guitar, before reiterating his intentions to live the good life by drinking great whiskey, smoking high-quality cigars and twirling his partner around the dance-floor to a brilliant soundtrack. There are a range of powerful contrasts throughout BORN, and we get one of the most evocative examples here, as the ‘Take Her Home’ hitmaker underlines how he will ‘live it up’ to the extent that he'll never ‘live it down’, implying he'll get some stick from his friends after his wild antics.

“Gonna be a few crazy ones, might be a few hazy ones

But man when my days are done it’ll make a good book

Till then I’ll”

Kenny shrugs his shoulders at the prospect of the ‘hazy’, hungover mornings he'll be left with after his rowdy evenings out on the town, before again sharing his mission to accumulate enough fantastic stories and incredible memories to create an entire book.

During his Holler interview, Kenny touched on the sense of gratitude that colours ‘Few Good Stories’ and BORN as a whole, “When you stop chasing cars that don't matter, and you recognise how awesome your roots are, what's not to be grateful about? When you appreciate something, no matter how small, it becomes that much more important. I've tried to record songs that really hone in on that idea”.

He highlighted how his willingness to embrace the variegated spectrum of emotions that life brings with it helps him to maintain this outlook, “To sing those kinds of things - whether sad, trying to figure something out or thrilled about what happened - is what being an artist is all about. Authenticity, honesty, digging deeper into the good and bad times? When you're clear about all that, you can find gratitude for every single moment. When you want what you have, that's everything”.

“I’m gonna put a million miles on these cowboy boots

And a real big dent in my revenue

If I ain’t done it all, just means I ain’t done it yet

When I look back, I don’t wanna have one single regret

I’m gonna

Soak up the sun, keep the wind in my sails

Try to get to Heaven while I raise a little hell

When it’s all said and done, I’ll know I lived it well

If I ain’t got nothing but a few good stories to tell

I’m gonna put a few scratches on this old guitar

I’m gonna sip some good whiskey, smoke a Cuban cigar

I’m gonna dance with my baby to some slow Motown

I’m gonna live it up so much, I ain’t ever gon’ live it down

I’m gonna

Soak up the sun, keep the wind in my sails

Try to get to Heaven while I raise a little hell

When it’s all said and done, I’ll know I lived it well

If I ain’t got nothing but a few good stories to tell

Gonna be a few crazy ones, might be a few hazy ones

But man when my days are done it’ll make a good book

Till then I’ll

Soak up the sun, keep the wind in my sails

Try to get to Heaven while I raise a little hell

When it’s all said and done, I’ll know I lived it well

If I ain’t got nothing but a few good stories to tell

Soak up the sun, wind in my sails

Try to get to Heaven, raise a little hell

Gonna be a few crazy ones, might be a few hazy ones

Raise a little hell”

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