The first time I heard "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band, I hated it. I had yet to acquire a taste for country music, and "Chicken Fried" seemed to capture every essence of country music--the twang, the lyrics about old blue jeans and fried chicken, and was that a banjo I heard in the background?
Not to worry, though. After a summer spent working in an ice cream shop whose employees listened to country music and only country music, I eventually saw the light.
Years after first hearing "Chicken Fried," I began to really enjoy country music (especially driving in the summertime with the windows down). I revisited Zac Brown Band, and I fell in love with the very things I once hated about country music, particularly the lyrics. Here are nine songs that made me fall in love with ZBB:
1. "Knee Deep (feat. Jimmy Buffett)."
Favorite Lyrics: Gonna put the world away for a minute/Pretend I don't live in it/Sunshine's gonna wash my blues away
2. "Homegrown."
Favorite Lyrics: I got some good friends that live down the street/Got a good looking woman with her arms ‘round me/Here in a small town where it feels like home/I got everything I need and nothing that I don’t
3. "Loving You Easy."
Favorite Lyrics: Every morning when you come downstairs/Hair’s a mess but I don’t care/No make up on, shining so bright/My old sweatshirt never fit so right
4. "Toes."
Favorite Lyrics: Concrete and cars/Are their own prison bars/Like this life I'm living in/But the plane brought me farther/I'm surrounded by water/And I'm not going back again
5. "Beautiful Drug."
Favorite Lyrics: You're such a beautiful drug/I can't get enough/Addicted and I'm dying for a hit of your love/Got a death wish baby, baby/Don't want you to save me
6. "Whatever It Is."
Favorite Lyrics: People ask me what it is/I tell them I don't know/There's just something about the woman makes my heart go haywire/She's gonna be my wife
7. "Goodbye In Her Eyes."
Favorite Lyrics: I could tell that it was over/When her lips met mine/It was an emptiness in her voice/Hesitation when she smiled/She didn't have to say a word/It was just so plain to see/She had found what she'd been looking for/And I knew it wasn't me
8. "Colder Weather."
Favorite Lyrics: She'd trade Colorado if he'd take her with him/Closes the door before the winter lets the cold in,/And wonders if her love is strong enough to make him stay,/She's answered by the tail lights shining through the window pane
and, of course:
9. "Chicken Fried."
Favorite Lyrics: It's funny how it's the little things in life that mean the most/Not where you live, what you drive or the price tag on your clothes/There's no dollar sign on a peace of mind, this I've come to know/So if you agree, have a drink with me,/Raise your glasses for a toast