'TN' 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.

Up in the top third of the behemoth record sits a special tune dedicated to Wallen's home state of Tennessee. Taking the abbreviation for the Volunteer State – 'TN' – it's partly an ode to his beloved homeland and another part trying to outrun all the memories that won't leave him.

With production coming from Joey Moi & Jacob Durret, the homegrown song was written by Wallen alongside a long list of collaborators, including John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Chase McGill, Taylor Phillips, Ryan Vojtesak and Geoff Warburton.

A mellow drum beat keeps time across the song while a moody electric guitar dances across the melody, providing a unique sonic landscape compared to some of the other songs on the tracklist.

"It's the liquor in my cup
It's the tag on my truck
And the tag on the buck that I dropped Thanksgivin' last season
TN

It's the letters on my hat
It's the dust on my dash
When I take my last breath, it's the dirt that they gonna bury me in
TN"

Wallen begins by listing off all of the Tennessee-made things in his life that he holds near and dear, including the famous Tennessee whiskey of Jack Daniels, the license plate on his trusty pickup and the tag he proudly placed on his hard earned deer last hunting season.

It's apparent that he has a special affinity for his home state, even underlining that when he dies, he'll be buried in the Tennessee soil.

"It's still got the JD in a Dixie
And the UT on the TV
And that Smoky Mountain smoke I'm breathin'
But I'd bet my last Rocky Top dollar that she's in
CO or CA or back home in GA
Any place she won't see me in
Now the one thing I’s needin'
Is the
only damn thing I couldn't keep in
TN"

Once again name checking Jack Daniels and tipping his cap to his beloved University of Tennessee Volunteers, he also draws attention to the beautiful Smoky Mountains and that state's song, 'Rocky Top.'

However, things begin to take a turn as we discover that not everything he loves is in Tennessee. In fact, the thing he loves most has moved away to somewhere else and left him in the dust.

"It's that I-40 ride
We took all the time
She took that night when I couldn't talk her outta leavin'
TN

There ain't enough sad songs down in Nashville
Ain't enough moonshine up in them hills
To give her a good reason
To come on back to me in
TN"

Referencing the interstate that runs through the majority of East Tennessee, where Wallen hails from, he takes a trip down memory lane to all of the drives and trips they used to take and all of the times he tried to change her mind about moving away.

While Nashville may be Music City and Gatlinburg might be a hub for moonshine, there's nothing that's strong enough to bring her back to Tennessee and back to him.

"It's still got the JD in a Dixie
And the UT on the TV
And that Smoky Mountain smoke I'm breathin'
But I'd bet my last Rocky Top dollar that she's in
CO or CA or back home in GA
Any place she won't see me in
Now the one thing I’s needin'
Is the only damn thing I couldn't keep in
TN"

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.”

It's the liquor in my cup
It's the tag on my truck
And the tag on the buck that I dropped Thanksgivin' last season
TN

It's the letters on my hat
It's the dust on my dash
When I take my last breath, it's the dirt that they gonna bury me in
TN

It's still got the JD in a Dixie
And the UT on the TV
And that Smoky Mountain smoke I'm breathin'
But I'd bet my last Rocky Top dollar that she's in
CO or CA or back home in GA
Any place she won't see me in
Now the one thing I’s needin'
Is the
only damn thing I couldn't keep in
TN

It's that I-40 ride
We took all the time
She took that night when I couldn't talk her outta leavin'
TN

There ain't enough sad songs down in Nashville
Ain't enough moonshine up in them hills
To give her a good reason
To come on back to me in
TN

It's still got the JD in a Dixie
And the UT on the TV
And that Smoky Mountain smoke I'm breathin'
But I'd bet my last Rocky Top dollar that she's in
CO or CA or back home in GA
Any place she won't see me in
Now the one thing I’s needin'
Is the only damn thing I couldn't keep in
TN

It's the number she ain't gonna pick up
I woulda gone with her but I couldn't give up
I couldn't give up

All the JD in a Dixie
Or the UT on the TV
And that Smoky Mountain smoke I'm breathin'
But I'd bet my last Rocky Top dollar that she's in
CO or CA or back home in GA
Any place she won't see me in
Now the one thing I’s needin'
Is the only damn thing I couldn't keep in
TN

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