Bad Boy

Album: Fire & Brimstone (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • Brantley Gilbert first met schoolteacher Amber Cochran in his hometown of Jefferson, Georgia. They had an on-and-off relationship for several years as he fought alcohol and opiate addiction, and started his music career. The singer eventually tied the knot with his longtime love on June 28, 2015, at his home in Georgia.

    Amber has inspired many of Gilbert's tracks; here he channels their real-life love story with his wife into a heartfelt song about the girl who loves the tough guy. Meanwhile, her mom cautions her daughter to stay away from him.

    He's that bad boy
    He's that wrong-side-of-the-tracks boy
    That break-you-hard-and-won't-come-back boy
    Why's that boy the one you love?


    By the third verse, the mom has been won round. When the bad boy asks for the girl's hand in marriage, her mother responds:

    Boy, I always knew you loved my daughter
    She loves you too, and I think I know what she sees
  • Gilbert said on Twitter: "'Bad Boy' is about as real as it gets for me... It's a reminder that no matter where you are in life, it's never too late to be the person you wanna be."

    He added: "Every line in this song is the truth... Amber and I haven't always had the easiest of journeys, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."
  • Gilbert recorded a song with a similar theme, "If You Want A Bad Boy," for his 2014 Just As I Am album. But unlike that one, his 2019 track finds the girl uncovering her love's gentler side.

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