Bell Bottoms Up

Album: Whirlwind (2025)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Metaphorically and literally, Lainey Wilson has worn many hats on her path to country music success, but her beloved bell-bottoms remain her most reliable style statement. These flared trousers, once the height of fashion during Richard Nixon's heyday, have been a signature of Wilson's personal brand ever since she rolled into Nashville back in 2011 with little more than a dream and a closet full of denim shaped like inverted church bells.

    In a town where everyone is trying to stand out by sounding the same, Wilson decided to stand out by standing wide... literally. She adopted the bell-bottom look not out of irony or nostalgia, but as a kind of personal flag: a declaration that she was here, she was different, and she was sticking with it.

    And so came "Bell Bottoms Up," a bold, brassy, boot-stomper of a track that pays homage to Wilson's famous flares and the personality beneath them: lively, fearless, and tinged with a kind of retro joy.
  • Wilson wrote the song with her touring band (Aslan Freeman, Kevin Nolan, Matt Nolan, and Tommy Scifres), and her longtime pal Meg McRee. They penned it during the sessions for her 2024 album Whirlwind.
  • Though it didn't make it onto Whirlwind, "Bell Bottoms Up," quickly became a fan favorite in live shows. Wilson eventually laid it down in the hallowed halls of Abbey Road Studios in London. She co-produced it with Freeman, and released it on April 4, 2025, just in time for National Bell Bottoms Day (April 5, if you're marking your calendar).
  • The song also doubles as the unofficial anthem of Wilson's Nashville bar, also called Bell Bottoms Up, a four-story extravaganza of Southern hospitality and mildly unhinged energy that opened in May 2024. The venue features multiple music stages, several bars (of course), and, in what might be a cultural first, Nashville's only dueling piano bar inspired by Wilson's home state of Louisiana.
  • The title is a play on the phrase "bottoms up," which means to finish your (presumably alcoholic) beverage. It's a popular saying in the American south.
  • The track was later included on the deluxe version of Whirlwind, released on August 22, 2025.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Tanita Tikaram

Tanita TikaramSongwriter Interviews

When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.