'Whiskey in Reverse' by Morgan Wallen - 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, arriving May 16 and sprawling with his next era of record-breaking hits and beloved fan-favorites.

Near the tail end of the behemoth project sits 'Whiskey In Reverse.' Filled with regret for passed mistakes and how they ruined his larger-than-life love, it's a classic "what I could've done" ballad penned by some of country music's finest lyricists.

Featuring expert production from Big Loud's Joey Moi, 'Whiskey in Reverse' sees some of the greatest lyrical minds in country music behind it, including Ryan Vojtesak and the terrific trio of Wallen, HARDY and ERNEST.

Notably one of the most organically, truly country songs on the record, Wallen trades in his 808s, trap beats and raps for an acoustic guitar and heartfelt regret.

"I’m sittin’ on a rerun couch
Lookin’ ‘round at an empty house
Hungover tryin’ to figure out
Just how the hell that I got here
Can’t blame it on Colorado
Tanqueray no reposado
I could try but I know that I sure
Can’t blame it on ice cold beer
There’s an empty Jack bottle by the coffee cup
Did a lot more hurt than good
Girl, I know that I can’t fill it back up
But if I could"

Alone in the home that they used to share together, our narrator is left in a drunken stupor trying to piece together how he managed to lose what could've been the love of his life.

While he wishes he could simply blame his problems on the drugs or the drinks, he knows that at the end of the day, he shoulders the guilt all on his own.

"You’d be backin’ in the driveway
You’d be un-saying 'I’m leaving'
I’d be pullin’ my fist from the drywall
Watchin’ my bloody knuckles start healing
I wouldn’t have a worst enemy
I’d be un-slammin' that bedroom door
It’d be a better version of me
Like I used to be
Like I was before
Your bags are packed and your keys were in your purse
If I could drink whiskey in reverse"

If he could undo all of his past mistakes and atone for his past sins, he would rewind everything from the night before, bringing his dream girl back down the driveway and fixing the hole he happened to punch into the drywall amidst his emotional upheaval.

Redoing their fight and getting back to its root, he would simply go back to the man he used to be rather than the one he's become – the one that loved her well and wanted to build a life together.

"If I could keep turnin’ back time
To my seventeen-self
And tell me the first pull of that stuff
Will lead you to leavin’
I would’ve drank anything else
Oh, but that ain’t the case
I took it down like a wild-eyed country boy would
Girl and I know I can’t fill it back up
But if I could"

Going even further, if it were up to our narrator he's go all the way back to when he was 17 and first picked up the bottle.

If he could, he'd throw it away and warn him of the hell that was awaiting him if his younger self didn't get his act together. With this, it's apparent that alcohol might be the central issue in this man's life.

"You’d be backin’ in the driveway
You’d be un-saying 'I’m leaving'
I’d be pullin’ my fist from the drywall
Watchin’ my bloody knuckles start healing
I wouldn’t have a worst enemy
I’d be un-slammin' that bedroom door
It’d be a better version of me
Like I used to be
Like I was before
Your bags are packed and your keys were in your purse
If I could drink whiskey in reverse"

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’m sittin’ on a rerun couch
Lookin’ ‘round at an empty house
Hungover tryin’ to figure out
Just how the hell that I got here
Can’t blame it on Colorado
Tanqueray no reposado
I could try but I know that I sure
Can’t blame it on ice cold beer
There’s an empty Jack bottle by the coffee cup
Did a lot more hurt than good
Girl, I know that I can’t fill it back up
But if I could

You’d be backin’ in the driveway
You’d be un-saying “I’m leaving”
I’d be pullin’ my fist from the drywall
Watchin’ my bloody knuckles start healing
I wouldn’t have a worst enemy
I’d be un-slammin' that bedroom door
It’d be a better version of me
Like I used to be
Like I was before
Your bags are packed and your keys were in your purse
If I could drink whiskey in reverse

If I could keep turnin’ back time
To my seventeen-self
And tell me the first pull of that stuff
Will lead you to leavin’
I would’ve drank anything else
Oh, but that ain’t the case
I took it down like a wild-eyed country boy would
Girl and I know I can’t fill it back up
But if I could

You’d be backin’ in the driveway
You’d be un-saying “I’m leaving”
I’d be pullin’ my fist from the drywall
Watchin’ my bloody knuckles start healing
I wouldn’t have a worst enemy
I’d be un-slammin' that bedroom door
It’d be a better version of me
Like I used to be
Like I was before
Your bags are packed and your keys were in your purse
If I could drink whiskey in reverse

It’s a damn shame
The sun don’t set in the east
‘Cause that’s the only way
You’d ever come back to me

You’d be backin’ in the driveway
You’d be un-saying “I’m leaving”
I’d be pullin’ my fist from the drywall
Watchin’ my bloody knuckles start healing
I wouldn’t have a worst enemy
I’d be un-slammin' that bedroom door
It’d be a better version of me
Like I used to be
Like I was before
Your bags are packed and your keys are in your purse
If I could drink whiskey in reverse

--

For more on Morgan Wallen, see below: