'Seven Weeks In County' by Billy Strings – Lyrics & Meaning

Since late summer, Billy Strings has been gearing up to release his highly anticipated studio album, Highway Prayers, set to officially arrive on Friday, Sept. 27. Along the way, he has been steadily gifting fans a taste of the eclectic 20-song release, sharing singles like the atmospheric 'Stratosphere Blues / I Believe In You' and the rollicking 'Leadfoot.'

Now, he has arrived with 'Seven Weeks In County', a swaggering epic reminiscent of the days of heroic gunslingers, crooked lawmen and vigilante justice.

'Seven Weeks in County' opens with a distant whistle, an immediate tell of the song's rough-and-tumble Wild West inspiration. From there, the song is a rush of stinging steel and dust-laden rhythms, the star's skillful picking unfolding against a beautiful layering of silvery strings and sharp drum hits. The sound is timeless, a song that could go head-to-head with one of Marty Robbins' gunslinging classics.

"I've got seven weeks in County, boys
But I won't blame The Man
I've won and lost some poker chips
But I won't blame the hand"

'Seven Weeks in County' finds Billy Strings serving a brief jail stint for some unnamed predicament. Whatever happened, though, it is something only he can take the heat for.

He says he's been unlucky before, but it wasn't because of the hand he was dealt, it was how he played the game. In other words, he only has himself to blame for this unknown crime, and now, he must lie in the bed he's made.

"My only enemy
Is out to get me
To make me pay for what I've done
He's out to catch me
And he is on the trail to find me
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does"

While the song's accompanying music video depicts a harrowing situation that involves running from the law and saving the day, the song is much less heroic.

In the chorus, Strings sings how he is the one who got himself in this situation, likening himself to "my only enemy." He sings how this internal antagonist is out to get him, attempting to hunt him down and then lashing him once he does.

He seems to keep getting in his own way, continually causing trouble for himself and making it impossible for him to better himself.

"Each day I see his evil eyes
The man who put me here
I see him when I shave my face
So guilty in the mirror"

He sees the evil in his own eyes every time he looks in the mirror, feeling disgust at his "hollow hateful stare." He may have to do seven weeks in County, but he has to live a lifetime in this personal prison, singing "For seven weeks in County / And for always, everywhere."

"My only enemy
Is out to get me
To make me pay for what I've done
He's out to catch me
And he is on the trail to find me
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does"

I've got seven weeks in County, boys
But I won't blame The Man
I've won and lost some poker chips
But I won't blame the hand

It's been seven years of famine
But I never blamed the land
Just give me peace and quiet, Boss
I'll take it where I can
Give me peace and quiet, Boss
I'll take it where I can

My only enemy
Is out to get me
To make me pay for what I've done
He's out to catch me
And he is on the trail to find me
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does

There's a hunger in my belly
And a pounding in my head
The buzzards turn impatiently
Expecting I'll be dead

Desert sun is burning high above
My shadow can't find shade
Got seven weeks in County
To lay in this bed I made
Seven weeks in County
To lay in this bed I made

My only enemy
Is out to get me
To make me pay for what I've done
He's out to catch me
And he is on the trail to find me
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does

Each day I see his evil eyes
The man who put me here
I see him when I shave my face
So guilty in the mirror

Looking back disgusted
With a hollow hateful stare
For seven weeks in County
And for always, everywhere
For seven weeks in County
And for always, everywhere

My only enemy
Is out to get me
To make me pay for what I've done
He's out to catch me
And he is on the trail to find me
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does
Sure as hell he'll whip me when he does

--

For more on Billy Strings, see below: