Which Kenny Chesney lyrics are your favorites? The singer's catalog of hit songs and powerful lines is nearing 20 years old. The singer has painted over a dozen pictures of summers along the beach with friends and lovers. Other songs feature lines describing the loss of a friend, family member or child. Few singers can swing from emotional highs to lows so effortlessly. Which Kenny Chesney lyrics are your all-time favorites?
Our favorite lyrics span nearly Chesney's entire career. There are the famous gut-punchers like 'Who You'd Be Today,' but also the exuberant party songs like 'Summertime.' This list of the best Kenny Chesney lyrics were decided based on a song's radio and commercial success, as well as ToC staff opinion.
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BNA Nashville
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10
'Ain't Back Yet'
"She was a cutoffs, pepper sauce queen / Man, we were matches and gasoline / First taste of love never will forget / I was gone and I ain't back yet"
Chesney's Top 5 hit from 2010 is best known for the thick guitars and the rowdiness it inspires at live shows, but there are a few very creative lines. We're not 100 percent sure what a "cutoffs, pepper sauce queen" is, but we'd like to meet one. 'Ain't Back yet' just feels good to sing along to -- it's a true moment of spiritual freedom.
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Blue Chair / Columbia
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9
'El Cerrito Place'
"Somehow I wound up in the desert just after daylight / Where the Joshua Trees grow, that little place you always liked / These pioneer town people ain't got too much to say / And if you ever were here baby they ain't giving you away"
This song from 'Welcome to the Fishbowl' may be one of the better stories Chesney tells, but the sheer size of the single and its laborious pace makes it difficult for all but a committed fan to enjoy. The effort is worth it though, as simple lyrics begin to pack a serious emotional punch with subsequent listens.
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8
'The Boys of Fall'
"And it's knockin' heads and talkin' trash / It's slingin' mud and dirt and grass / It's I got your number, I got your back / When your back's against the wall / You mess with one man, you got us all / The boys of fall"
Chesney's 2010 hit about football digs deeper than the action on the field. 'The Boys of Fall' tells the story of a brotherhood forged on the gridiron. It's a relationship that will last well into adulthood, one that will inspire future greatness. "You mess with one man, you got us all," he sings on this song from 'Hemingway's Whiskey.' Only a man who has been in the locker room can properly describe that bond, and Chesney doesn't miss with this lyric.
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BNA Nashville
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7
'Living in Fast Forward'
"The body’s a temple, that’s what we’re told / I treated this one like an old honky tonk / Greasy cheeseburgers and cheap cigarettes / One day they’ll get me if they ain’t got me yet"
The opening lyrics from 'Living in Fast Forward' describes the life Chesney was living at the time he released his 'The Road and the Radio' album in 2005. Looking back, the album marks the turning point in his life and music -- the moment he began to turn inward for inspiration and began to think about slowing down.
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BNA Nashville
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6
'Come Over'
"I told you I wouldn’t call, I told you I wouldn’t care / But, baby, climbing the walls gets me nowhere / I don’t think that I can take this bed getting any colder / Come over, come over, come over, come over, come over"
By only reading the lyrics to 'Come Over,' Chesney's second single from 'Welcome to the Fishbowl,' and the second song from the album included on this list of his best lyrics, one misses the sadness and loneliness he injects into the performance. The line "I don’t think that I can take this bed getting any colder" is a message from a desperate man. The use of repetition amounts to begging, which makes his plea that much more sympathetic.
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BNA Nashville
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5
'Who You'd Be Today'
"Sunny days seem to hurt the most / I wear the pain like a heavy coat / The only thing that gives me hope / Is I know I'll see you again someday"
Another great lyric from this 2005 hit is "It ain't fair you died too young / Like a story that had just begun / The death tore the pages all away." 'Who You'd Be Today' is the singer's darkest moment, one that is difficult to get through if you've recently lost someone close.
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4
'Summertime'
"Temperature says 93 / Down at the Deposit and Guarantee / But that swimmin' hole, it's nice and cold / Bikini bottoms underneath / But the boys' hearts still skip a beat / When them girls shimmy off / Them old cutoffs"
'Summertime' topped our list of the Top 10 Kenny Chesney songs and ranks high on this list of the best Kenny Chesney lyrics because it paints a unique picture we're all familiar with. In different ways, men and women can relate to the lyric chosen to highlight this hit from 2006.
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BNA Nashville
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3
'I Go Back'
"And I go back to the feel of a fifty yard line / A blanket, a girl, some raspberry wine / Wishin' time would stop right in its tracks / Everytime I hear that song, I go back"
Chesney relies on lyrics and titles of other well-known songs to bring his story to life on 'I Go Back,' one of his best songs of all time. The lyrics about a lost friend are equally inspiring, but this line about a carefree summer romance was chosen to shine a spotlight on one of his sunniest sentiments.
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2
'The Good Stuff'
"And it's a new T-shirt saying 'I'm a Grandpa' / Being right there as our time got small / And holding her hand, when the good Lord called her up / Yeah, man, that's the good stuff"
'The Good Stuff' is the best story-telling song from Chesney's catalog. Perhaps as much as any from this list, his hit from 2002 will persevere through the decades. Maybe one will prefer the lyrics about the old bartender's marriage instead of this one about the end of their union. Few, however, will argue that this song has no place on a Best Kenny Chesney Lyrics list.
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1
'You and Tequila'
"When it comes to you / Oh, the damage I could do / It's always your favorite sins / That do you in"
While never a No. 1 hit, 'You and Tequila -- Chesney's duet with Grace Potter -- was recognized for its artistic merit at the Grammy Awards. A great lyric will go unnoticed if the performance is so-so. The singing couple fill this hit with emotion and bittersweet sentiment. We love it because we've been there.
What Are Your Favorite Kenny Chesney Lyrics?
Kenny Chesney has recorded some of the most moving ballads and stirring summertime jams of the past two decades. Do you have a lyric from one of his songs that you think is better than these 10? Tell us in the comments section below.
