Songfacts®:

• Scotty McCreery is shaking things up with "Can't Pass The Bar." Rather than his usual songs of heartache ("Damn Strait," "Cab In A Solo") or tributes to his wife Gaby ("You Time," "It Matters To Her"), this is a drinking anthem. The former baby-faced American Idol winner playfully portrays himself as one of the "good old boys that can't pass the bar." He opts for the honky-tonk life that might raise a few eyebrows with his wife, but it's where he'd rather be on Friday nights.
• The title has a double meaning. McCreery and his buddies can't pass the bar exam required to become a lawyer, and they also can't pass a bar without going in for a drink.
• McCreery wrote the stomping song with Brent Anderson, Cale Dodds, and his regular producer, Frank Rogers. Their humorous lyrics celebrate ending the working week with some pals in a bar.
  
  "I was thinking as we were writing it, 'Holy cow, this is going to be tough,'" McCreery told Billboard, "but I knew I wanted to write a song like that, because I grew up listening to those kinds of songs. The song was quick, so our minds were moving at a mile a minute, but it was a fun write. Once I tried to sing the demo, I was like, "Oh boy, this is going to be something to sing.'"
• Frank Rogers, Derek Wells and Aaron Eshuis' production exudes a nostalgic vibe, taking us back to the heyday of country music in the 1990s, with the twang of fiddle and guitar driving the melody.
  
  "I grew up loving '90s country music, especially the barn burning songs," said McCreery. "I wanted one of my own, so I got together with some of my buddies and we wrote it."