Reason To Drink

Album: non-album single (2023)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Life's ups and downs give alcohol-inclined folks plenty of reasons to drink. The COVID-19 pandemic was one of them, with Uncle Kracker proclaiming it was "No Time To Be Sober." But with this single, the country rapper admits he doesn't really need a reason to drink. The lyrics detail how he doesn't have much but he makes do with what he has - always with a beer in hand.

    The idea came about in the early days of the pandemic while Kracker was holed up in Michigan and FaceTiming with his songwriting pal Blair Daly in Nashville.

    "Things had shut down for everybody at the time," he told Songfacts in a 2023 interview. "I had put out this song called 'No Time To Be Sober' that I did before that, and we were sitting there talking about it and he said something about 'reason to drink.' I said, 'Well, I don't usually find myself needing much of a reason to drink, to be honest.' And that song spawned off of that."

    With that title in mind, Kracker and Daly met with country hitmaker Troy Verges via a Zoom session and wrote the song.
  • Daly and Verges are no strangers to the bar at the corner of country music. They previously collaborated on Kip Moore's "Beer Money," and Verges co-wrote Little Big Town's "Day Drinking," Trisha Yearwood's "Drink Up," Joe Nichols' "Let's Get Drunk And Fight," and Carrie Underwood's "Wasted."
  • The single dropped on July 21, 2023, the same day Kracker hit the road for the Sharp Dressed Man tour with ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Performing alongside the southern-rock icons was a dream come true for Kracker, whose childhood was soundtracked by their songs.

    "It means everything," he told Songfacts of the tour. "I can name a bunch of ZZ Top and Skynyrd songs that put me in different places as a child - listening to 'Tuesday's Gone,' 'That Smell,' the whole Tres Hombres record. It's very cool to be out with these guys right now, just because of childhood memories."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"

Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women"They're Playing My Song

The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which.

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")Song Writing

Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."

Grateful Dead Characters

Grateful Dead CharactersMusic Quiz

Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?

The Real Nick Drake

The Real Nick DrakeSong Writing

The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")Songwriter Interviews

Holly Knight talks about some of the hit songs she wrote, including "The Warrior," "Never" and "The Best," and explains some songwriting philosophy, including how to think of a bridge.