21st Century Honky Tonk American Band

Album: Let it Roll (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Midland addressing the stresses of life on the road.

    Play just about anywhere, draw it down on a map
    A different scene, the same ol' jeans, the same ol' pussycats
    Tell Mama I miss her and I'll be back one day
    I don't think ol' Waylon Jennings would've even done it this way


    The song's sentiment of being on the road away from their loved ones resonated with all three band members. Both bassist Cameron Duddy and guitarist Jess Carson are fathers, and when they recorded the tune, vocalist Mark Wystrach had a daughter on the way.
  • The closing lyric provoked a disagreement within the band.

    And I know I've been away too long
    'Cause I'm the same
    But they've all changed


    Duddy told Billboard the trio argued over whether the lyric should be "everyone has changed and we're the same" or "are we changing and everyone else is the same?"

    "Depending on how you're looking at it, it's kind of both," he added. "I've got a kid at home and if I'm gone for over a week or two, he's three-years-old and it seems like he's a completely different person when I get back. In a way, I feel like I've been robbed of enjoying the golden years of him being a child," he says. "You don't want to be the person who comes back different. The objective is to be the same person that you were when you started out more or less. The road will change you. If you manage to get out of it intact, hopefully it's changed you for the better, but you're definitely going to take flack."

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