Drinkin' Buddies

Album: You, Me, and My Guitar (2024)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Drinkin' Buddies" is a foot-stomping anthem where Lee Brice, Nate Smith and Hailey Whitters celebrate the power of friendship and the comfort found in good company. They are the pals who have got your back, the ones who turn a bad day into a laugh session and make a good day feel like a championship win.
  • The song unfolds like a conversation between friends. Brice talks about an unsuccessful day's hunting; he's perched high in a tree without making a single shot all day. Smith calls in from the lake, about to head back after a fishless day spent casting lines.

    Then Whitters chimes in with a relatable tale of a bad breakup, so Brice and Smith show up with some liquid encouragement to help her chase away the blues.
  • Chris Destefano (Luke Bryan's "That's My Kind of Night," Carrie Underwood's "Something in the Water"), Justin Wilson (Mitchell Tenpenny's "Drunk Me," Dustin Lynch's "Momma's House") and frequent Gabby Barrett collaborator Zach Kale penned the song. When a friend pitched it to Brice, he listened to half the song before declaring he wanted to cut it.

    Brice hadn't reached the woman's verse on the track, so when his friend asked which girl he wanted to sing the part, he was confused. "I hadn't even heard the second verse yet," he explained to Audacy. "It ended up being really the coolest part of the song."

    "The camaraderie between the guys and the girls instead of just a duet or something about love or heartbreak. It turned out to be so fun," Brice added. "Whenever I got Nate on it and Hailey on it, man, it just made it come to life."
  • Producer Ben Glover (Gretchen Peters, Anne Wilson) and singer-songwriter Jerrod Niemann helmed the track. They give it an upbeat country sound with a strong emphasis on guitars and a driving beat.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.