Throw It Back
by Breland (featuring Keith Urban)

Album: Cross Country (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Breland first came on to Keith Urban's radar when radio stations started playing his "My Truck" single. Later, the Australian-American country star read an interview with Breland in which the New Jersey-born artist's explanation of his creative process attracted his interest. Urban decided to cold-call Breland and invite him to his Nashville area home.

    When Breland arrived, Urban asked him to share what he'd been working on, and the young singer played him a bunch of demos, including an early version of the chorus for "Throw It Back." To his surprise, Urban offered to help him turn it into a song.

    "I'm like, 'You know, this song is kind of... it's a little suggestive,'" Breland recalled to The Boot. "It's a little sensual, at least... There's some allusions to twerking in this song,'"

    This did not put off Urban, who Breland says is happy to work on any type of music that catches his ear.
  • When they moved into Urban's studio, the pair wrote three songs together: this tune and The Speed of Now Part 1 tracks "Out The Cage" and "Soul Food."
  • The song finds Breland and Urban using different meanings of the titular phrase to describe a girl who has caught their attention.

    She drinks a shot of Jack Daniel's in one swallow:

    If she get a shot of whiskey she know how to throw it back

    The girl likes to listen to old-school rock 'n' roll:

    She'd turn up for Elvis Presley told the DJ "Throw it back"

    The girl likes to twerk:

    Throw it, throw it back
    Drop it low you can blame it on the Jack


    Twerking is a dance where women throw their hips back or shake their butt, often in a low squatting stance.
  • Breland released the song on June 4, 2021 as the follow up to his single "Cross Country."

Comments: 1

  • Joy from New JerseyWhat does the lyric She look better every Thursday she don't have to throw it back mean
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining Victims

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining VictimsSong Writing

Just like Darrin was replaced on Bewitched, groups have swapped out original members, hoping we wouldn't notice.

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"They're Playing My Song

Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.