Keith pays tribute to the “American Soldier,” an unsung, blue-collar patriot bound by duty and honor “because freedom don’t come free.” A faithless woman gets the brush-off (“Time for Me to Ride”).
“I Love This Bar” is what one might expect—a tribute to all things honky-tonk (“I’ve seen dancing girls and hookers/ We like to drink our beer from a mason jar”). Keith admires his “Whiskey Girl” for her tattoo, belly button ring, sexy outfits and the way she handles her booze. That song uses a mild profanity. On “The Taliban Song,” he uses crude slang to make a political statement(“Flip the finger to the Taliban … We’ll bid a fair adieu and give a big boner to the Taliban”). Two country superstars smoke marijuana together on “Weed With Willie” as Keith recalls, “In the fetal position with drool on our chin/We broke down and smoked weed with Willie again.” Memories of old pals focus on testing limits, using girls sexually, underage drinking and partying through college (“Nights I Can’t Remember, Friends I’ll Never Forget”). Meanwhile, back at the bar, liquored-up guys try to score dates for the evening. One succeeds (“Sweet”), one fails (“Don’t Leave, I Think I Love You”). Mentions of Christ’s ministry, death and resurrection are sullied by the irreverent tone of “If I Was Jesus.”
Country fans commonly encounter a drinking song or two. With Shock’n Y’all they have five of them, plus a pot ballad and an impudent song about Jesus. What’s next, a duet with Eminem? Somebody take his keys.
