'Hangin’ On' by ERNEST & Morgan Wallen – Lyrics & Meaning

Featuring 26 tracks that are somehow all must-listens, Nashville, Tennessee by Ernest – the country crooner’s third studio album – hit all music streaming services on April 12, instantly making waves with one track in particular: 'Hangin’ On' featuring Morgan Wallen.

While the record features collaborations with some of the biggest names on the country music scene as of late – from Lainey Wilson to Jelly Roll to HARDY and beyond – fans were especially thrilled to see yet another duet between Ernest and Wallen after the success of their previous duets, 'Flower Shops' and 'Cowgirls,' which has made waves on both social media and streaming services.

With two top notch collaborations, this third collaboration could not have come at a better time.

While 'Flower Shops' is known for being on the sadder side and 'Cowgirls' is best described either a pregame or party anthem, 'Hangin’ On' is a stark contrast from the songs that country music lovers know and love from this duo, showing off a much more angry, aggressive and – for lack of a better term – badass side of both stars.

Beginning with some chilling guitar chords, 'Hangin’ On' blends into a catchy beat-driven tune, utilizing the trap-leaning sound that is heard within 'Cowgirls,' as well as Wallen’s song 'Broadway Girls'.

Layered behind Ernest and Wallen’s vocals – which combine the smooth versalitility of R&B and rap with a touch of country twang – the overall sound has been compared to Post Malone and his country music career so far.

"Bar light open
And I was hoping
I’d find a flame that burns just like you
Neon shadows across the dancefloor
That spun you ‘round just like you wanted me to
Whiskey shot whiskey shot
Get me drunk take me home
That’s what you were tellin’ me now
Morning came I woke up
Now you’re gone for good
And I’m losing my sleep"

Throughout, Ernest and Wallen try to find clarity after being ghosted by a love interest.

The first verse sets the scene of the evening, sharing that the narrator entered the bar that fateful night to “find a flame that burns just like you,” ultimately achieving this goal. Describing a dance floor with “neon shadows,” it's implied that this bar is a honky tonk, where the narrator later dances with a beautiful woman and takes whiskey shot after whiskey shot, prior to drunkenly leaving together.

While this rowdy night out is seemingly smooth sailing, things take a turn for the worse in the second half of the verse, as the narrator appears to get ghosted by the woman who he left the honky tonk with. “Morning came I woke up / Now you’re gone for good / And I’m losing my sleep,” Ernet sings, prior to delving into the chorus of the track alongside Wallen.

"You left me hangin’ on
By a thread of them blue jeans
Baby now I’m wondering where it all went wrong
Got me hanging on to some Jack and some Jim Beam
Tryin’ hard as hell just to get you gone
But it’s takin’ too long
For this heartache to give up
Now I can’t get up
Off of this old barstool
You left me hangin’ on
By a thread of them blue jeans
Baby now I’m wondering where it all went wrong
You got me hangin’ on on
Got me hangin’ on"

Waking up devastated, the narrator is now racking his brain trying to figure out what he did wrong to make this woman leave without a trace, coping with the pain the only way that a broken-hearted country boy knows how: alcohol.

“Got me hanging on to some Jack and some Jim Beam / Tryin’ hard as hell just to get you gone,” Ernest and Wallen sing in the chorus, implying that they are using excess amounts of alcohol to try to numb the pain and forget about the heartache that they are feeling.

"Girl I can’t take anymore
No I can’t take that goodbye
Can’t pick my heart off the floor
Cause you got me some kind of high
I never felt but I liked it
Didn’t try to fight it
How’s I supposed to know
The next day I’d feel like dyin’
Whiskey shot whiskey shot
Get me drunk take me home
I wish you were tellin’ me now
In my head I see you in my bed
But I know that it’s all just a dream"

In the second verse, taken over by Wallen, the narrator is feeling helpless, admitting that he “can’t take anymore” and “can’t take that goodbye,” seemingly left with a shattered heart.

Gushing that this girl was truly one in a million – mimicking “some kind of high” that he has never felt before – he was unaware of the heartache that he would have to endure after she abandoned him the following morning.

In the second half of this verse, the narrator reminisces on the night he met this woman, before realizing that trying to relive that evening is nothing but a dream.

To follow, Ernest and Wallen team up for two more choruses to close out the track.

While neither artist has spoken out about 'Hangin’ On,' Ernest teased a solo version of the track via TikTok in May, instantaneously garnering an excited reaction from fans in the comment section of the post.

“Dudeeeeeee if I could like this 100000000000x I would,” one TikTok user gushed. Another dished, “Yessss!!!! This song is 🔥🔥🔥” “Release this ASAP,” a third TikTok user demanded.

While the 'Last Night' singer was not announced as a collaborator on the track at the time, some fans speculated that the duo would pair up for 'Hangin’ On' based on the sound of the song alone, with one viewer asking “Is this Morgan’s beat?” in the comment section of the post, with another replying “He's gonna be on it.”

Despite speculation leading up to its release, Ernest and Wallen have kept quiet about the brand new tune before it dropped on April 12.

Bar light open
And I was hoping
I’d find a flame that burns just like you
Neon shadows across the dancefloor
That spun you ‘round just like you wanted me to
Whiskey shot whiskey shot
Get me drunk take me home
That’s what you were tellin’ me now
Morning came I woke up
Now you’re gone for good
And I’m losing my sleep

You left me hangin’ on
By a thread of them blue jeans
Baby now I’m wondering where it all went wrong
Got me hanging on to some Jack and some Jim Beam
Tryin’ hard as hell just to get you gone
But it’s takin’ too long
For this heartache to give up
Now I can’t get up
Off of this old barstool
You left me hangin’ on
By a thread of them blue jeans
Baby now I’m wondering where it all went wrong
You got me hangin’ on on
Got me hangin’ on

Girl I can’t take anymore
No I can’t take that goodbye
Can’t pick my heart off the floor
Cause you got me some kind of high
I never felt but I liked it
Didn’t try to fight it
How’s I supposed to know
The next day I’d feel like dyin’
Whiskey shot whiskey shot
Get me drunk take me home
I wish you were tellin’ me now
In my head I see you in my bed
But I know that it’s all just a dream

Cause you got me hangin’ on
By a thread of them blue jeans
Baby now I’m wondering where it all went wrong
Now I’m hanging on to some Jack and some Jim Beam
Tryin’ hard as hell just to get you gone
But it’s takin’ too long
For this heartache to give up
Now I can’t get up
Off this old barstool
You left me hangin’ on
By a thread of them blue jeans
Baby now I’m wondering where it all went wrong
And why you got me hangin’ on on
Got me hangin’ on

You left me hangin’ on
By a thread of them blue jeans
Baby now I’m wondering where it all went wrong
Got me hangin’ on to some Jack and some Jim Beam
Tryin’ hard as hell to get you gone
But it’s takin’ too long
For this heartache to give up
Now I can’t get up
Off of this old barstool
You left me hangin’ on
By a thread of them blue jeans
Baby now I’m wondering where it all went wrong
You got me hangin’ on on
Got me hangin’ on

––

For more on Ernest, see below: