Drinkin' Bone

Album: The Truth About Men (2003)
Charted: 60
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is a lesson in honky tonk anatomy: The drinkin' bone is connected to the party bone, connected to stayin' out all night long, connected to winding up all alone. It's a play on the song "Dry Bones," a spiritual song adapted into a nursery rhyme that gives a more literal anatomy lesson:

    The toe bone's connected to the foot bone
    The foot bone's connected to the ankle bone...
  • Drinking is one of the most common themes in country music. This song is a little different because it combines whimsy and warning. It's an upbeat re-working of a children's tune, but the guy in the song is clearly headed for disaster. He knows that his first drink will lead to many more, and at some point his girl will leave him because of it, but he just can't help it.

    It's not Tracy Byrd's only drinking song: A year earlier he had a #1 hit with "Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo."
  • This song was written by the Nashville songwriters Casey Beathard and Kerry Kurt Phillips. Beathard's songs include "I'm Gettin' Stoned" by Eric Church and "Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly" by Aaron Tippin. Kerry Kurt Phillips worked on a lot of Joe Diffie's songs, including "Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die)" and "Pickup Man."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of WayneSongwriter Interviews

The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)Songwriter Interviews

Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.

Steve Morse of Deep Purple

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."