Bell Bottoms Up

Album: Whirlwind (2025)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Metaphorically and literally, Lainey Wilson has worn many hats on her path to country music success, but her beloved bell-bottoms remain her most reliable style statement. These flared trousers, once the height of fashion during Richard Nixon's heyday, have been a signature of Wilson's personal brand ever since she rolled into Nashville back in 2011 with little more than a dream and a closet full of denim shaped like inverted church bells.

    In a town where everyone is trying to stand out by sounding the same, Wilson decided to stand out by standing wide... literally. She adopted the bell-bottom look not out of irony or nostalgia, but as a kind of personal flag: a declaration that she was here, she was different, and she was sticking with it.

    And so came "Bell Bottoms Up," a bold, brassy, boot-stomper of a track that pays homage to Wilson's famous flares and the personality beneath them: lively, fearless, and tinged with a kind of retro joy.
  • Wilson wrote the song with her touring band (Aslan Freeman, Kevin Nolan, Matt Nolan, and Tommy Scifres), and her longtime pal Meg McRee. They penned it during the sessions for her 2024 album Whirlwind.
  • Though it didn't make it onto Whirlwind, "Bell Bottoms Up," quickly became a fan favorite in live shows. Wilson eventually laid it down in the hallowed halls of Abbey Road Studios in London. She co-produced it with Freeman, and released it on April 4, 2025, just in time for National Bell Bottoms Day (April 5, if you're marking your calendar).
  • The song also doubles as the unofficial anthem of Wilson's Nashville bar, also called Bell Bottoms Up, a four-story extravaganza of Southern hospitality and mildly unhinged energy that opened in May 2024. The venue features multiple music stages, several bars (of course), and, in what might be a cultural first, Nashville's only dueling piano bar inspired by Wilson's home state of Louisiana.
  • The title is a play on the phrase "bottoms up," which means to finish your (presumably alcoholic) beverage. It's a popular saying in the American south.
  • The track was later included on the deluxe version of Whirlwind, released on August 22, 2025.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes

Chris Robinson of The Black CrowesSongwriter Interviews

"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul Station

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul StationSongwriter Interviews

Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.