A Guy Walks Into a Bar

Album: Suffer in Peace (2014)
Charted: 51
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first single from Tyler Farr's second studio album is a twist on the old bar joke:

    A guy walks into a bar, orders a drink
    Sees a girl that catches his eye
    Asks her if she wants another
    They fall for each other and end up lovers


    The song starts out on a high note as it tells of a man whose entire life is changed after hitting a bar. However, as the track progresses, it turns unexpectedly into a heartbreak story.
  • The song was written by Nashville songwriters Melissa Peirce (David Nail's "Red Light") and Jonathan Singleton (Josh Turner's "Why Don't We Just Dance") with Old Dominion guitarist Brad Tursi (Kenny Chesney's "Save It for a Rainy Day"). It was Tursi who came up with the song's name. He recalled to Taste of Country; "I remember pulling up to our co-writer's house, and I didn't have any ideas. I just thought of that title before we walked in, and then I asked if anyone had written that."
  • Tyler Farr decided to lead his Suffer In Peace album with this song as he felt it wasn't typical of what's going on in country right now. He explained to The Boot: "You hear a lot of uptempo [songs], with the happy-go-lucky, sing-a-long thing, and it really separated itself from that to me, and I wanted to do that with this album, separate it from the rest. I think that song stands out when you hear it on the radio, and when I go to pick a song, if I didn't write it, I think, 'Sure, it sounds like me; I've either lived it, or could have lived it, or will live it in the future.'"

    "I wanted this album to be genuine and authentic and real, and 'A Guy Walks Into a Bar' went very well with my voice," Farr added, "and I think it stands out on the radio, and I think that's why it's connected so well with the audience."
  • Farr fittingly came across the song when he walked into a bar. Jonathan Singleton was playing an acoustic version of the song at a writers' round, a set-up where songwriters perform their new songs. "I'm at the bar maybe ordering a drink of whiskey," Farr recalled to Radio.com, "and he starts singing it and I turn around. I was blown away. Immediately after he was done I went up to him and said, 'Dude I got to cut that.' It really happened that easily."
  • Blake Shelton also had the song on hold, which concerned Farr's producer at the time. "I said we're going to cut it. I think Blake's alright with hits," the singer recalled. "We had documentation that showed I had it on hold first."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Scott Stapp

Scott StappSongwriter Interviews

The Creed lead singer reveals the "ego and self-fulfillment" he now sees in one of the band's biggest hits.

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song Spoofs

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song SpoofsSong Writing

When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.