Creek Don't Rise

Album: not on an album (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Dating is a tricky business when you're a Southern boy who's strapped for cash. Country singer Payton Smith finds himself in this situation in this humorous tune, which has him planning a night-time fishing adventure with his date. In order for the romantic rendezvous to occur, lots of things that could go wrong need to go right - his truck needs to work and that hole better still be in the barbed-wire fence. But he especially hopes the "creek don't rise."
  • Written by Smith and Nashville songwriter Casey Beathard ("No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems"), this was inspired by a real date-gone-wrong. "This girl and I were having coffee and we went to get back in my truck and the battery had died. So it turned into an hour of trying to figure out how to charge my truck battery," Smith recalled in a 2021 Songfacts interview. "I told my co-writer Casey Beathard about it the next day, and he started singing the first line of the chorus."
  • Smith got bitten by the country-music bug at 5 years old after he watched Keith Urban perform on the CMA Awards, a moment that indirectly inspired this tune. He told MusicRow magazine: "I had this toy guitar at the time and I must have spent the next two weeks just torturing my guitar trying to do what he did. It affected me just seeing how much energy he puts into a song. When I started writing I wanted to write with that live energy approach to a song, so that's how we approached this song."
  • Smith's released his debut EP in 2019, featuring the lead single "Like I Knew You Would."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger

Kelly Keagy of Night RangerSongwriter Interviews

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger tells the "Sister Christian" story and explains why he started sweating when he saw it in Boogie Nights.

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

Adam Duritz of Counting CrowsSongwriter Interviews

"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.

Psychedelic Lyrics

Psychedelic LyricsMusic Quiz

Whoa man! Do you know which band came up with these cosmic lyrics?

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?Song Writing

Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.