'How Do You Sleep At Night' by Cody Johnson – Lyrics & Meaning

Cody Johnson's hit-riddled album, Leather, couldn't possibly get any better, right? Wrong.

The ''Til You Can't' star recently announced his 2023 album will receive the deluxe treatment, seeing an additional dozen tracks come Nov. 1. Since the news of the extended release, the artist has been sharing a little of what's to come from the packed collection.

First came the long-awaited Carrie Underwood duet, ‘I'm Gonna Love You’. Now, Johnson has gifted fans with one more soon-to-be favorite in the form of 'How Do You Sleep At Night'. The new track may be a far cry from the Underwood collab, but the biting breakup anthem is a hit all the same.

'How Do You Sleep At Night' begins with the mournful wail of steel against a pensive pattering of rhythm. It's a solemn opening, one that mirrors the many pointed questions being flung around in the first verse. However, the song soon erupts into the ache-filled, disappointment-fueled country rock number that its lyrics suggest, the tune becoming bolstered by a wall of anthemic drum beats and searing electric riffs.

"Do you toss, do you turn, are your sheets in a mess?
Do you pass out on wine while you're still in your dress?
Do you light up some smoke, do you take you a pill?
Just to shake off the edge of regret that you feel"

'How Do You Sleep At Night' finds Johnson wondering about a former lover, mainly pondering their sleeping habits after breaking his heart. He reckons they don't sleep like a baby by any means, instead needing to toss and turn or seek help from nighttime aids in order to rest after what they've done to the country vocalist.

With pointed words, he sings, "Since you might as well just be a ghost / Honey, I just wanna know..."

"How do you sleep at night knowing you hurt me?
Knowing you burned me like a cigarette?
And when you close your eyes, what do you see?
Is it me, do you wish I was still in your bed?
When you're alone in the dark, am I still in your dreams?
Since you broke my heart, girl, how do you sleep at night?"

He honestly wants to know how the ex can live with themselves knowing they've hurt him, burned him. "Are you watching The Office like we used to do," he asks even more questions across the biting song, "Or did you give up on it, like you did me and you?"

Listeners don't know the reason for the breakup or the impetus for such bad blood, but whatever it was, it seems neither of them are getting over it anytime soon.

Throughout the song, Johnson is obviously wounded and left to stew over what happened. However, he imagines he's likely not as torn about it as the perpetrator is, singing, "Are you checkin' your phone every time that it rings 'cause you think that it's me? / Well, baby, it ain't."

Do you toss, do you turn, are your sheets in a mess?
Do you pass out on wine while you're still in your dress?
Do you light up some smoke, do you take you a pill?
Just to shake off the edge of regret that you feel

Since you might as well just be a ghost
Honey, I just wanna know

How do you sleep at night knowing you hurt me?
Knowing you burned me like a cigarette?
And when you close your eyes, what do you see?
Is it me, do you wish I was still in your bed?
When you're alone in the dark, am I still in your dreams?
Since you broke my heart, girl, how do you sleep at night?

Are you watching The Office like we used to do?
Or did you give up on it, like you did me and you?
Do you turn down the lights, yeah, all by yourself?
Well, girl, if it's with somebody else

How do you sleep at night knowing you hurt me?
Knowing you burned me like a cigarette?
And when you close your eyes, what do you see?
Is it me, do you wish I was still in your bed?
When you're alone in the dark, am I still in your dreams?
Since you broke my heart, girl, how do you sleep at night?

Are you checkin' your phone every time that it rings 'cause you think that it's me?
Well, baby, it ain't, nah

How do you sleep at night knowing you hurt me?
Knowing you burned me like a cigarette?
And when you close your eyes, what do you see?
Is it me, do you wish I was still in your bed?
When you're alone in the dark, am I still in your dreams?
Since you broke my heart, girl, how do you sleep at night?

How do you sleep at night?

--

For more on Cody Johnson, see below: