‘Hang Tight Honey’ by Lainey Wilson - Lyrics & Meaning

After dropping ‘Country's Cool Again’ in February 2024, Lainey Wilson began teasing the second single from her forthcoming album with an endearing clip of Lainey writing home to her beloved French Bulldog, Hippie Mae, while out on the road in Europe.

Shortly after, the Louisiana hitmaker confirmed she'd be dropping the track on the somewhat unusual release date of a Monday (May 13th), with Lainey likely opting against dropping ‘Hang Tight Honey’ on Friday, May 10th due to the blockbuster arrival of Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's long-awaited collaboration, ‘I Had Some Help’. Lainey performed the live debut of ‘Hang Tight Honey’ at the 2024 ACM Awards on May 16th, before taking home the coveted Entertainer of the Year gong, in addition to the prestigious Female Artist of the Year trophy.

Lainey Wilson's fun, uptempo track plays as an ode to a long-distance lover, with the ‘Heart Like A Truck’ singer-songwriter yearning for the day when she can return into his arms.

Although penned for a romantic partner, Lainey's amusing video teaser offers the alternative interpretation that it's actually all about her dog - and given how adorable Hippie Mae is, we sure don't blame Lainey if Hipppie's the true muse for ‘Hang Tight Honey’.

‘Hang Tight Honey’ runs in a similar vein to fan-favourites such as ‘Country's Cool Again’, ‘Road Runner’ and ‘Grease’, with Lainey's signature drawl coasting breezily across an energising, electric guitar-fuelled instrumental. The opening coos give this track a nostalgic, ‘70s ambience which aligns perfectly with Lainey's ’Country with a Flare’ aesthetic, while the stomp-clap of the drums accentuates this retro feel.

Lainey Wilson keeps the momentum high as she approaches the guitar solo, and the track sounds as though it's rolling at 100mph - mirroring the speed at which she's flying towards her lover. The echo effect on Lainey's ‘Yeah!’ ahead of the solo and the chorally layered ‘Hang tight honey’ refrain at the end dial up the intensity another notch, before Lainey delivers the raucous final chorus with extra gusto.

“I got a bus 'fore I got a house 'cause that's what dreams make you do
Hittin' them neon honky-tonks to play a two-step or two
Two hundred days to a hundred towns bringing boots to a sawdust floor
While this six-string calls my name baby, I'll be missing yours”

Lainey Wilson recounts how she kicked off this crazy dream of becoming a country superstar, with the then-up-and-coming artist betting on herself by purchasing a tour bus before she even bought a house, putting this down to her conviction in her dreams.

She recalls how the fast-paced lifestyle of being on tour has been all she's known for years now, spending 200 days out of 365 on the road. Despite her commitment to her music, however, Lainey underlines that just because her six-string guitar calls to her like a siren, it doesn't mean she won't be missing her lover at home.

“Hang tight honey I'm a white line running down a dream on a long-lost highway
Me and this band playing one-night stands for some fans getting straight up sideways
But baby I miss your blue-collar kiss
Just one more day to get through”

Hang tight honey got a pocket full of money
And I'm headed straight home to you”

Lainey utilises an array of images to highlight the rip-roaring life she has to live as part of her career. She likens herself to the white lines on the highway, which unflinchingly stretch out towards their destination, before cleverly transitioning from this linear metaphor to a witty lyric about getting “straight-up sideways” during shows.

The subsequent line about missing her lover's ‘blue collar kiss’ perhaps emphasises that this wasn't originally written for Hippie Mae, and it instead seems to have been composed with Lainey's boyfriend, Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges’, in mind. Now that she's finished her show and has earned “a pocket full of money”, she doubles down on her intentions to fly back to see her partner as soon as possible.

“Yeah, you can't hold me and I can't hold you from two time zones away
When you're clocking out yeah I'm clocking in
Getting ready to hit the stage
Just know they're singing along to all them songs I wrote about you
And I'll be saving all my loving for you come Sunday afternoon”

This verse seems like a reference to Lainey Wilson's run of shows in Australia and Europe throughout the first half of 2024, with her lover remaining in the US “two time zones away”.

She uses the fact that her sold-out crowds will be singing along to the tracks she wrote for him as a way to pay tribute to her partner, before keenly looking ahead to the moment they can reunite. What makes this all the more heartwarming is, at upcoming shows when Lainey performs ‘Hang Tight Honey’, fans will again - as she outlines - be singing all the words to a track she wrote about her lover.

“Hang tight honey
Every good run comes to an end
Hang tight honey
'Til I'm in your arms again”

Lainey Wilson concludes by remarking that “Every good run comes to an end”, seemingly referencing the ending of her tour, and the moment she can be with her partner again.

It's unlikely she'd be nodding towards the ‘good run’ of accolades she's been receiving of late coming to a close. With Lainey now being crowned 2024 ACM Entertainer of the Year, her well-earned run of success looks set to continue for a long, long time.

During an interview with iHeartCountry, Lainey delved into the inspiration behind her 2024 track, “My new song, ‘Hang Tight Honey’, is about working hard and coming home to the ones that you love. When you're not just working for yourself, it makes working hard a lot easier”, before expanding, “Jason Nix sent me what he, Driver Williams and Paul Sikes started together, to see if it was something that I was interested in finishing, and it was just an immediate ‘Heck yeah!’ from me”.

Lainey went on to explain, “They had started it with me and my story in mind and I felt like it was coming from an interesting angle I hadn't heard in a while, or really at all. ‘Hang tight’ is something that my folks have always said to me growing up, so whether that meant ‘hang tight’ while sitting on the back of a truck, or ‘hang tight’ on the back of a horse - those words, they make me feel at home”.

In the same conversation, the ‘Watermelon Moonshine’ chart-topper earmarked her favourite lyric from ‘Hang Tight Honey’ as “I got a bus 'fore I got a house 'cause that's what dreams make you do”. Lainey Wilson qualified this, “It's the first line of the song, and I mean, the truth is dreams will make you do some crazy stuff”.

“I got a bus 'fore I got a house 'cause that's what dreams make you do
Hittin' them neon honky-tonks to play a two-step or two
Two hundred days to a hundred towns bringing boots to a sawdust floor
While this six-string calls my name baby, I'll be missing yours

Hang tight honey I'm a white line running down a dream on a long-lost highway
Me and this band playing one-night stands for some fans getting straight up sideways
But baby I miss your blue-collar kiss
Just one more day to get through

Hang tight honey got a pocket full of money
And I'm headed straight home to you

Yeah, you can't hold me and I can't hold you from two time zones away
When you're clocking out yeah I'm clocking in
Getting ready to hit the stage
Just know they're singing along to all them songs I wrote about you
And I'll be saving all my loving for you come Sunday afternoon

Hang tight honey I'm a white line running down a dream on a long-lost highway
Me and this band playing one-night stands for some fans getting straight up sideways
But baby I miss your blue-collar kiss
Just one more day to get through

Hang tight honey got a pocket full of money
And I'm headed straight home to you, woo

Yeah
I'm comin' home to you baby

Hang tight honey
Every good run comes to an end
Hang tight honey
'Til I'm in your arms again

Hang tight honey I'm a white line running down a dream on a long-lost highway
Me and this band playing one-night stands for some fans getting straight up sideways
But baby I miss your blue-collar kiss
Just one more day to get through

Hang tight honey got a pocket full of money
And I'm headed straight home to you
Hang tight honey got a pocket full of money
And I'm headed straight home to you
I'm headed straight home to you
I'm headed straight home to you”

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