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Brooks & Dunn and Lainey Wilson - ‘Play Something Country’
Official Release Date: September 27th, 2024
Songwriters: Ronnie Dunn and Terry McBride
Producers: Kix Brooks, Tony Brown & Ronnie Dunn
The Background:
The first song to be released from legendary country duo Brooks & Dunn's 2024 Reboot II project, ‘Play Something Country’ features a rip-roaring contribution from Lainey Wilson.
The Louisiana hitmaker puts a fresh spin on this high-energy 2005 classic, which was originally released by Brooks & Dunn - comprising long-time friends Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn - as the lead single off their celebrated Hillbilly Deluxe record.
The reimagined rendition dropped on September 27th, 2024, with the full Reboot II album - a sequel to 2019's Reboot project - arriving on streaming platforms on November 15th. The record consists of 18 star-studded collaborations with Brooks & Dunn, including Morgan Wallen, The Cadillac Three, HARDY, Bailey Zimmerman, ERNEST, Riley Green, Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney and more.
The Sound:
The composition is kept relatively similar to the 2003 original, with Lainey Wilson underlining in the lead-up to the new version's release that she wanted to pay homage to the track, rather than change things up too starkly. Nonetheless, there is a distinctly ZZ Top-esque ambience added into the mix, with the storming electric guitars and raucous drum pattern combining to create a certified Friday night anthem. Lainey Wilson's vocals are as captivating as ever, with the ‘Good Horses’ singer-songwriter delivering most of the female character's lines in the barroom story, all of which were sung by Brooks & Dunn in the 2003 rendition. This helps to bring the playful, tongue-in-cheek dialogue to life.
The Meaning:
“Yes, she blew through the door like TNT
Put her hand on her hip, pointed a finger at me
Said, "I'm a whiskey drinking, cowboy chasing, helluva time
I like Kenny, Keith, Alan and Patsy Cline
I'm a full grown Queen Bee looking for honey
Ha-ooh-hoo, aw, play something country"
The story opens with the protagonist hanging out in a honky-tonk, before a striking woman charges through the saloon doors with an explosive demeanour that he likens to a ‘TNT’ bomb. The woman immediately picks out the narrator, offers up a brief summary of some of her key traits - including her penchant for cowboys and whiskey - before reeling off her favourite country icons, “Kenny, Keith, Alan and Patsy Cline”.
‘Kenny’ could refer to either Kenny Rogers or Kenny Chesney, with both being revered figures in the genre, while ‘Keith’ is likely a nod to Keith Whitley, although it could be intended to mean Toby Keith. We think it's safe to assume ‘Alan’ is Alan Jackson, with Patsy Cline being such a legend of country that she gets her full name read out. The woman concludes her introduction by demanding the band get the night well and truly started by playing her some country music.
“Yeah, the band took a break
The DJ played P Diddy
She said, "I didn't come here to hear
Something thumping from the city"
Said, "I shaved my legs, I paid my money
Ha-ooh-hoo, play something country
Ha-ooh-hoo, aw, play something country"
Given the scandal that currently surrounds him, many fans were surprised to see the ‘P Diddy’ reference left in - but it's important to underline that it's unclear when exactly ‘Play Something Country’ was re-recorded, as it may have been before the allegations against P Diddy came out. In this verse, the woman criticises the DJ's Hip-Hop-leaning choices and dismisses it as “something thumping from the city”. She underlines that she made the effort of getting all shaved and dressed up, so she wants to be able to dance along to her favourite kind of music - country. The howl accentuates the wild, raucous spirit of this character.
“Crank up the band, play the steel guitar
Hank it up a little, let's rock this bar
Threw back a shot, yelled, "I'm a George Strait junkie
Ha-ooh-hoo, play something country
Ha-ooh-hoo, aw, play something country"
The woman calls on the band to bring out the steel guitar - a staple of traditional country music - before hinting that she wants to hear them play some Hank Williams Jr. She knocks back a shot, and then providesanother suggestion - perhaps it's time we heard some fire-starting hits from the King of Country, George Strait.
“Yeah, the bartender yelled, "Y'all, it's closing time"
She got this wild look on her face
And said, "Your truck or mine
I know a place down the road
It's kinda funky
Ha-ooh-hoo, all out in the country
Ha-ooh-hoo, now, play something country"
As the bar begins to close down, the woman looks intently at the protagonist, before teasingly asking him whether they should use his truck or hers to get out of here. She implies that the evening's far from over, as she confides that she wants to drive over to a quiet spot she knows down a backroad, where they can keep the good times rolling with the help of a little country music playing over the truck's speakers.
What have Brooks & Dunn and Lainey Wilson said about ‘Play Something Country’?
In a press release, Kix Brooks praised the charisma Lainey Wilson brought into the ‘Play Something Country’ recording session, “Lainey was one of the first artists to get in the studio with us for this project. She came head-to-toe in flames, bell-bottoms and all, and added that Louisiana swagger like only she could. This was a fun one!”
Lainey Wilson emphasised how special this collaboration was for her, championing Brooks & Dunn as pivotal influences on her own career, and the genre as a whole, “I don’t know anybody in this town, in this generation of country music, who could say that these guys are not influences on what they do. They were the soundtrack to my childhood, so I was excited to make some magic with them”.
For the full lyrics so far to Brooks & Dunn and Lainey Wilson's ‘Play Something Country’, see below:
“Yes, she blew through the door like TNT
Put her hand on her hip, pointed a finger at me
Said, "I'm a whiskey drinking, cowboy chasing, helluva time
I like Kenny, Keith, Alan and Patsy Cline
I'm a full grown Queen Bee looking for honey
Ha-ooh-hoo, aw, play something country"
-
Yeah, the band took a break
The DJ played P Diddy
She said, "I didn't come here to hear
Something thumping from the city"
Said, "I shaved my legs, I paid my money
Ha-ooh-hoo, play something country
Ha-ooh-hoo, aw, play something country"
-
Crank up the band, play the steel guitar
Hank it up a little, let's rock this bar
Threw back a shot, yelled, "I'm a George Strait junkie
Ha-ooh-hoo, play something country
Ha-ooh-hoo, aw, play something country"
-
Yeah, the bartender yelled, "Y'all, it's closing time"
She got this wild look on her face
And said, "Your truck or mine
I know a place down the road
It's kinda funky
Ha-ooh-hoo, all out in the country
Ha-ooh-hoo, now, play something country"
-
Crank up the band, play the steel guitar
Hank it up a little, let's rock this bar
Threw back a shot, yelled, "I'm a George Strait junkie
Ha-ooh-hoo, play something country
Ha-ooh-hoo, aw, play something country"
-
Crank up the band, play the steel guitar
Hank it up a little, let's rock this bar
Threw back a shot, yelled, "I'm a George Strait junkie
Ha-ooh-hoo, play something country
Ha-ooh-hoo, aw, play something country"”
For more on Brooks & Dunn, see below:
