Sometimes, a song’s lyrics cloak deeper meaning, innuendo and allusion that defy obvious or immediate interpretation. Other times, what you see (and hear) is exactly what you get.
The latter is definitely the case with Shaboozey’s smash 2024 country anthem “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Indeed, you could argue that the song’s title alone tells us virtually everything we need to know about the lyrics within.
If you don’t know his story, you might even think that Shaboozey’s name itself is a reference to getting drunk. In fact, Collins Chibueze took his stage name from his high school football coach, who had trouble pronouncing this son of Nigerian immigrants’ last name.
Mispronunciation notwithstanding, Shaboozey is likely laughing all the way to the bank, based on the smash success of “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” It spent a whopping 19 weeks at No. 1 on the mainstream Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2024, tying the previous record set by Lil Nas X’s “Old Time Road.” In Canada, Shaboozey earned the record outright, spending 25 weeks at No. 1.
The song also topped the charts in a long list of countries not known for their love of country music, including Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Norway and Sweden.
Just as Jimmy Buffet did with “Margaritaville” and Garth Brooks accomplished with “Friends in Low Places,” Shaboozey has tapped into the time-honored good-‘ol-boy tradition of dealing with stress by getting drunk in a bar.
The song’s second verse seems to suggest that money and success haven’t changed who Shaboozey is, something his mother is apparently concerned about: “I’ve been Boozey since I’ve left, I ain’t changin’ for a check
Tell my ma I ain’t forget (oh, Lord).” The first verse delivers a litany of relational and financial stresses that many listeners probably identify with: “My baby want a Birkin, she’s been tellin’ me all night long/Gasoline and groceries, the list goes on and on/This nine-to-five ain’t workin’.”
The pressures of daily life lead Shaboozey to wonder, “Why the h— do I work so hard?” That wondering doesn’t last long, though, before it’s off to the bar to start taking the edge off: “Someone pour me up a double shot of whiskey/They know me and Jack Daniel’s got a history/There’s a party downtown near 5th Street/Everybody at the bar gettin’ tipsy.”
Elsewhere in the song’s chorus we hear, “Tell ’em ‘Bring another round,’ we need plenty more/Two-steppin’ on the table, she don’t need a dance floor/Oh my, good Lord.”
Life is hard. And folks struggling with that reality have turned to the bottle for solace at least practically since the beginning of human history (see Noah’s story of drunken woe in Genesis 9:20-27).
It’s no surprise, then, that a bar anthem like this one has seemingly universal appeal, especially when paired with it’s undeniable earwork listenability. For some people, sharing your woes with a drink and friends at the bar might be as good as it gets. The 1980s sitcom Cheers, for example, practically immortalized the notion of the neighborhood bar as a place “where everybody knows your name” and “they’re always glad you came.”
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” taps into the same appeal, delivering a feel-good ode to knocking down shots as a temporary strategy for knocking down life’s inevitable rough patches.
I get that appeal. Still, if our kids are connecting with Shaboozey’s glorification of going to the bar to get drunk as a strategy to deal with life’s pain, we might want to have a conversation with them about the headaches and hopelessness that inevitably wait for people the next morning.
And pushing further, there’s a deeper conversation waiting about where we find lasting hope and relational connection in life. Both require something deeper and more substantial than the tempting-but-fleeting buzz of getting a little “tipsy” to take the edge of life’s troubles.
After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.
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