Billy Currington's hit, “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer,” presently sits at No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot Country Charts. The songwriter behind the hit, Troy Jones, describes his song as “pretty simple.”
Last week, Jones graciously agreed to tell CountryHound a little about how the song was inspired. He said he was driving down the road one day when the melody came into his head. When he got home, he started strumming it on his guitar, and the first line, “I wasn’t born for digging deep holes” developed; the rest of the lyrics came pretty naturally.
Jones said he has indeed done a lot of labor-type jobs in the past to support him and his family. He is known as the “Forklift Philosopher,” as he drove a forklift at a paper mill before becoming a successful songwriter. Jones also co-wrote another Currington hit, “People Are Crazy,” and the popular Kenny Chesney/George Strait duet, “Shiftwork."
Jones explained that “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer” wasn’t one of those songs he worked on for a long period of time, just 2-3 days. He told CountryHound he thought it was a good song, but he did not necessarily think it was a sure “hit.” Two or three other Country artists had it on hold to record before Billy Currington stepped up.
Jones admits he’s still sometimes surprised by the songs he has written that became hits, and the ones that don’t. He didn’t necessarily think “People Are Crazy” would be as popular as it was. The Alabama songsmith said he sometimes goes to his publisher with a song, and he tells himself, 'I think this is really good!' Then when he plays it, the publisher responds with “Got anything else?”
And to answer the question everyone probably wants to know, Jones said he “used to be” pretty good at drinkin’ beer. He’s definitely more than pretty good at writing songs.
Here are the lyrics:
I wasn’t born for diggin' deep holes
I’m not made for pavin' long roads
I ain’t cut out to climb high line poles
But I’m pretty good at drinkin' beer
I’m not the type to work in a bank
I’m no good at slappin' on things
Don’t have a knack for makin' motors crank, no
But I’m pretty good at drinkin' beer
So hand me one more
That’s what I’m here for
I’m built for having a ball
I love the nightlife
I love my Bud light
I like ‘em cold and tall
I ain’t much for mowin thick grass
I’m too slow for workin’ too fast
I don’t do windows so honey don’t ask
But I’m pretty good at drinkin’ beer
A go getter maybe I’m not
I’m not known for doin’ a lot
But I do my best work when the weather’s hot
I’m pretty good at drinkin’ beer
So hand me one more
That’s what I’m here for
I’m built for having a ball
I love the nightlife
I love my Bud light
I like ‘em cold and tall
I wasn’t born for diggin' deep holes
I’m not made for pavin' long roads
I aint cut out to climb high line poles
But I’m pretty good at drinkin beer
I’m pretty good at drinkin' beer
[Spoken] o hand me one more boys…
That’s what I’m here for
