“Let me tell you about ‘Red Solo Cup,'” country superstar Toby Keith told CMT Insider’s Alison DeMarcus. “‘Red Solo Cup’ is the stupidest song that I have ever heard in my life.” He added, “[It’s] stupid, but it’s freakin’ awesome. It’s like you’re almost embarrassed to say that you like it. And I love it.”
The unashamed, unabashed drunken frat boy vibe of Keith’s latest hit—which has climbed into the Top 20 of Billboard’s mainstream Hot 100 singles chart—is obviously connecting with lots of listeners. Much like Garth Brooks did with his 1990 barroom ode “Friends in Low Places,” Keith raises a silly salute to the plastic container that has facilitated myriad hard-drinking parties.
“Now a red Solo cup is the best receptacle,” Keith begins, “For barbecues, tailgates and festivals.” And lest any high-brow critic take issue with this humble plastic cup’s proletariat roots, well, Keith’s got some harsh (and crude) words for him: “And you, sir, do not have a pair of testicles/If you prefer drinking from a glass.”
Alrighty, then.
The balance of the song offers an ever more effervescent assessment of the glories of the cup—so much so that it’s not hard to believe that Keith might actually have been sipping its contents as he recorded his tribute: “Red Solo cup, I fill you up/Let’s have a party, let’s have a party/I love you, red Solo cup/Proceed to party, proceed to party.”
By song’s end, Keith has not only enumerated the joys of drinking from said cups, but also how women holding them are easier to hit on. “Red Solo cup,” he toasts, “You’re not just a cup/You’re my, you’re my friend. Thank you for being my friend.”
As for the video—the surging YouTube popularity of which preceded the song’s official release as a single—it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect. Keith wanders around a house party in which everyone’s drinking from red Solo cups. Virtually every woman in the video, it seems, is wearing a bikini and/or short shorts. One guy urinates in a cup and hands it to his friend to drink (which he does). And someone else has turned his cup into a makeshift bong.
In the end, Toby Keith is shown passed out of the floor, with Sharpie writing all over his face, and everyone (including lots of celebs who make cameos) has a good laugh.
Yep. Thanks a bunch, red Solo cup.
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.
