Outstanding In Our Field

Album: Wheelhouse (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • Paisley recruited a couple his pals to accompany him on this party song. Dierks Bentley chips in with some vocals about a friend who "passed out in the grass" whilst Hunter Hayes contributes guitar. The pair were two of several collaborators on Wheelhouse. "They are all on purpose and done because of what they do and who they are," said Paisley of the guest appearances on the album. "I felt like they were each perfect for what I'm trying to say in each of those songs and how I tried to convey it, and they are used as instruments almost additional players."
  • If you picked up some Hip-Hop elements, that's down to the song being co-produced by Mike Dean, who also works with Kanye West.
  • The tune samples Roger Miller's 1964 novelty Country hit "Dang Me." Paisley has referenced the singer-songwriter as one of his main influences.
  • Paisley performed the song with Dierks Bentley and Hunter Hayes at the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards.
  • Paisley explained the song's meaning to CMT News: "The idea of the song being, these guys that on a Saturday night," he said, "the right time of year you'll find them outside. They will light something on fire in the middle of nowhere, and that's an evening out. You know, a bunch of people with as cheap a deal on alcohol as they could get and coolers and ice and whatever. And that's entertainment. Sound systems in trucks that shake the trees."
  • Brad has known Hunter Hayes since he was 10-years-old. The singer-guitarist recalled to CMT News: "He used to come out early on to our shows and play the squeeze box with the band when he was 10 years old. We had this little blond-headed kid over on the side of the stage doing his thing. We loved him. He was awesome. Anyway he sort of disappeared for a while, and I didn't see him again. Then somebody's talking about this new kid, Hunter Hayes, in country music. I said the name didn't ring a bell, and that's when my keyboard player or somebody told me, 'No, that's Hunter, remember Hunter?' And I was like, 'That's Hunter?"' So, yeah, he grew up. Turned out great."

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