Songfacts®:

• This is a twang-filled tribute to the blue-collar cuisine Walker Hayes equates to fine dining on his date nights with his wife.
  
  Yeah, we fancy like Applebee's on a date night
  Got that Bourbon Street steak with the Oreo shake
  Get some whipped cream on the top too
  Two straws, one check, girl, I got you
  
  Hayes told American Songwriter the song has broadly relatable subject matter. "Where I come from, it's fast food and cheap home-cooked meals until payday - then it's time to party," he said. "We're gonna go sit down and have a waiter."
• Walker Hayes wrote the song with Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins and Shane Stevens for his Country Stuff EP. The track came about they began chatting during their writing session chat about how people see music stars with their huge mansions, and private jets and don't picture them enjoying the regular things in life. It was Jenkins who coined the term "Fancy Like," during their conversation.
  
  "I swear to you, I am the slowest writer on earth, but this song just dumps out, like it already existed," Hayes said on Apple Music Country's The Kelleigh Bannen Show. "Then Josh [Jenkins] and I, on the way home, we're like, 'Hey, I think it needs a bridge' and just texted it out, and I laid it down that night."
• Locked down at home during the pandemic, Hayes had plenty of time on his hands so he started creating dances with his teenage daughter Lila. As the months went by, this became a hobby for them and one Sunday afternoon they came up with a dance for "Fancy Like" on their front porch.
  
  Hayes uploaded it to TikTok and it quickly became a viral sensation, reaching over 4 million views in four days. The buzz from the app helped propel the song into the top 10 of the Country chart.
• The song climbed to #1 on the Country chart on its fifth week on the tally. It was Hayes' first visit to the summit; his previous best placing was the #9 position that "You Broke Up With Me" reached.
• Bougie like Natty in the styrofoam
  Squeak-squeakin' in the truck bed all the way home
  
  Walker Hayes took to TikTok to clear up some of his misunderstood lyrics on this song.
  
  "Natty," he explained, is what they called Natural Light beer growing up in Mobile, Alabama.
  
  Hayes then enlightened those people who wondered, "If the Styrofoam is squeaking in the back, who is driving the truck?"
  
  He reassured his fans there's "nothin' dirty goin' on" with the squeaking in the back. It's "just what happens with a Styrofoam cooler in a truck, if you've ever driven one around," said. "It squeaks a lot, it'll drive you crazy."
• The song soundtracked a series of Applebee's commercials in 2021 featuring videos from TikTok users dancing to the song, including Hayes and his daughter. The ad was part of the restaurant chain's Celebrate Date Night Across America campaign. "For years, my wife Laney and I have been regulars at Applebee's for date night, and I've always wanted to write a song about it," Hayes said.
• Applebee's doesn't place on our list of the restaurants most often mentioned in song lyrics, but Hayes wasn't the first to put it into a song. Here are some others:
  
  Those Crazy Christians by Brad Paisley
  Those crazy Christians, dressed up drivin' down my street
  Get their weekly dose of guilt before they head to Applebee's
  
  "Free Smoke" by Drake
  Eating Applebee's and Outback
  Southwest, no first class
  
  "21st Century USA" by Drive-By Truckers
  There's a Kmart and a KFC
  Fitness Center and an Applebee's
• This song was a boon for Applebee's, but there was a problem: They didn't offer an Oreo Shake - it was removed from their menu when the pandemic hit in 2020. When "Fancy Like" took off, they quickly put it back.
• Hayes credits his unexpected time a home for inspiring this song. He told Ad Age: "I was home longer than I've ever been home in my life and that's what this song is about, it is what we do as a household, as a couple and I doubt I would have written that song if I had been gone doing shows. It came out of a special place and a special headspace. The song is a great distraction from all the division going on in the world."
• The fast food place Wendy's also gets a mention in this song, but not in the chorus. In the first verse, Hayes sings:
  
  Take her to Wendy's
  Can't keep her off me
  She wanna dip me like them fries in her Frosty
• The Bourbon Street steak really is Hayes' favorite dish at Applebee's, although he also enjoys the Quesadilla Burger. And he always washes it down with an Oreo Shake.
• A remix featuring guest vocals from pop singer-songwriter Kesha was released on September 10, 2021. Kesha (a Nashville native) not only added vocals, but also did some writing on the new version, where she expresses her preference for the "cheap thrills" of Waffle House over Dom Pérignon.
  
  Kesha's breakout hit was "TiK ToK" making her an apt choice for the remix.
• Rehmam Ali directed the video, which finds Walker Hayes and Kesha coming together for a "fancy like" parking lot party.
  
  "I'm truly about as fancy as Applebee's on a date night, so creating a video celebrating the simple moments in life – like watching a movie or drinking box wine – was important to us," Walker explained. "Kesha and I each bring our own versions of 'Fancy Like' to this, and I love how it came together."
• The song's lyrics sum up Hayes' dining habits with his wife and children. "It could not be more true to life," he told Coop on Coop's Rockin' Country. "That is our family. Like, last night we went to Chick-Fil-A, that's my fancy, but we love it."
  
  "If we go to Applebees, that's a big deal," Hayes added. "That's a lot of money for my family and six kids. Apparently, a lot of people can relate."