'The Dealer' by Morgan Wallen & ERNEST - Lyrics and Meaning

Since 2021's release of Dangerous: The Double Album, Morgan Wallen has been on the fast track to country music superstardom.

Bolstered by 2023's standout record, One Thing At A Time, the Tennessee native has become the biggest name in the format, even infiltrating across genre lines and landing singles atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

After a little over two years, the award-winning entertainer has finally arrived with a new batch of music in the form of his 37-track opus, I'm the Problem. Sprawling with his next era of record-breaking hits and beloved fan-favorites, the album features some of Wallen's most assured work yet, one notable number being 'The Dealer'.

The ERNEST-assisted track speaks to a certain wisdom, the kind that only comes with playing your hand. Whatever it may be.

From bright strings comes the sunny twang that makes up much of 'The Dealer'. A straightforward country offering, the song is all robust riffs and persistent beats, flecked with dazzling steel flourishes and peppered by exuberant rhythms. It all lends to the song's hopeful message, giving the tune a weightlessness and a radiance.

"I got a million questions, like why the hell can’t Heaven be on Earth?
Why do good folks have to hurt?
Why’s life a lesson?
Why’s every single blessin’ have a curse?
Why’s love take so much work?
And why does Mom and Daddy’s hair have to turn gray?
I guess everyone’s got reasons why their shoulders carry weight"

'The Dealer' opens with a lot of questions – Why do good folks have to hurt? Why’s life a lesson? Why’s every single blessin’ have a curse? Why’s love take so much work? – as the artists search for meaning in this existence here on earth.

They ponder life and death and look back on their journey so far, all in an effort to understand what it's all about. They soon discover it's about how you play your cards: with precision and poise but also with a higher power on your side.

"There’s been a few days I ‘bout folded
But I found one more card to play
Been a few days I was hopeless
And I’ll be damned I drew an ace
Guess that’s life and that’s why I remind myself
To spend more time talkin’ to the dealer
Than worryin’ about the hands I’m dealt"

When the going has gotten tough and things have felt hopeless, the artists have learned that, in times of distress, it's best to turn to God for direction. In the song, the two stars cast the Holy Spirit as "the dealer," someone doling out the cards.

The song, however, is not about being dealt a good or bad hand. It's about trusting that The Almighty has a plan and turning to Him – speaking with Him, seeking His guidance – is the best strategy through life.

"There’s been a few days I ‘bout folded
But I found one more card to play
Been a few days I was hopeless
And I’ll be damned I drew an ace
Guess that’s life and that’s why I remind myself
To spend more time talkin’ to the dealer
Than worryin’ about the hands I’m dealt"

As is often the case of late, the ‘Thought You Should Know’ singer-songwriter has so far remained tight-lipped on how the song came about.

However, when revealing the release date for I'm the Problem, Wallen provided fans with an insight into the theme of introspection that courses through the project as a whole.

“I have been a problem, for sure, and I've got no problem admitting that. But there are other sides to me as well," he explained. "I've spent the last 11 months really trying to figure out, 'Do I still want to be the problem? Is it time to move past that phase in my life? I think it probably is, and this might be the last time I get a chance to honestly say it.”

I got a million questions, like why the hell can’t Heaven be on Earth?
Why do good folks have to hurt?
Why’s life a lesson?
Why’s every single blessin’ have a curse?
Why’s love take so much work?
And why does Mom and Daddy’s hair have to turn gray?
I guess everyone’s got reasons why their shoulders carry weight

There’s been a few days I ‘bout folded
But I found one more card to play
Been a few days I was hopeless
And I’ll be damned I drew an ace
Guess that’s life and that’s why I remind myself
To spend more time talkin’ to the dealer
Than worryin’ about the hands I’m dealt

Sure feels like life would be better if hearts like mine they never wound up broke
That ain’t how most stories go
I won’t lie I’m tired of walkin’ through this fire and brimstone world we all call home
But I’m still sittin’ at the table makin’ bets
Bettin’ that some better times are comin’ up ahead, yeah

There’s been a few days I ‘bout folded
But I found one more card to play
Been a few days I was hopeless
And I’ll be damned I drew an ace
I guess that’s life and that’s why I remind myself
To spend more time talkin’ to the dealer
Than worryin’ about the hands I’m dealt
The hands I’m dealt

And I used to think you’re supposed to pray ‘cause it was somethin’ that God needs
But now I see it’s less for him and really more for me

There’s been a few days I ‘bout folded
But I found one more card to play
Been a few days I was hopeless
And I’ll be damned I drew an ace
I guess that’s life and that’s why I remind myself
To spend more time talkin’ to the dealer
Than worryin’ about the hands I’m dealt
The hands I’m dealt

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