"You and Tequila" is a song written by

Matraca Berg Matraca Maria Berg Hanna (; born February 3, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and ...

and

Deana Carter Deana Kay Carter (born January 4, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter who broke through in 1996 with the release of her debut album '' Did I Shave My Legs for This?'', which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Country ...

. It was released in May 2011 as the fourth single from his album ''

Hemingway's Whiskey ''Hemingway's Whiskey'' is the thirteenth studio album by American country music artist Kenny Chesney. It was released on September 28, 2010 as his last studio album for BNA Records. This is Kenny Chesney's last studio album since signing contr ...

'' (2010). Chesney's version of the song features a guest vocal from

Grace Potter Grace Evelyn Potter (born June 20, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who formed Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in 2002. Potter released her debut solo record ''Original Soul'' on 2004 via Grace Potter Music. Potter and her b ...

, lead singer of

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are an American rock band from Vermont, formed in 2002 in Waitsfield by drummer Matt Burr, guitarist Scott Tournet, and singer Grace Potter. They began their career as an indie band, self-producing their albums a ...

. On November 30, the song received two nominations in

54th Grammy Awards The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted the ...

for

Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

and

Best Country Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. It was first awarded in 2012, after a major overhaul of Gramm ...

. A live version of the song appears on Chesney's 2012 album ''

Welcome to the Fishbowl ''Welcome to the Fishbowl'' is the fourteenth studio album by American country music singer Kenny Chesney. It was released on June 19, 2012 as his first album for Blue Chair and Columbia Records. The album includes a live version of "You and Tequi ...

''.

Background and writing

and

co-wrote the song, and both recorded their own versions: Carter on her album '' I'm Just a Girl'' (2003), and Berg on her 2011 album ''The Dreaming Fields''. Carter told Taste of Country that Berg was inspired to write the song after having been out on the town. According to Carter, the two began talking about relationships, when Carter said, "Yeah, it's just like men… they get in your blood!" Also, Carter added several references to California, because she was living there at the time. Chesney first heard the song when he and Carter toured together back in 2003. He said that he identified with it more after he rented a house in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...

. Chesney said that he chose to record the song because it reminded him of driving the Pacific Coast Highway. He also told

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

host David Green that "there are some commonalities about getting someone out of your mind and drinking and trying to quit."

Song information

Chesney and Potter's version of the song is set in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...

with a vocal range from G3 to E5. The main chord pattern is G5-G/B-Bsus2-G5.

Critical reception

Chesney's version of the song has received positive reviews from music critics. Chris Talbott of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

called it a "melancholy love-hate song", and an uncredited review in HitFix called the song "exquisite" and one of Chesney's "career high notes". Bobby Peacock of Roughstock rated the song four-and-a-half stars out of five, praising Chesney's and Potter's vocals and the "understated simplicity" of the lyrics. Bill Friskics-Warren of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' thought that the song had an

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

influence and made the album Chesney's "most stylistically wide-ranging to date."

Music video

Potter appears in the song's music video, which was filmed in

and directed by

Shaun Silva Shaun Silva is a music video director who works primarily in the country music field. He has directed a number of music videos for many country music artists, including many of Kenny Chesney's music videos. His other clients include Jason Aldean, D ...

Chart performance

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{CMA Video of the Year 2011 singles 2003 songs Country ballads 2010s ballads Deana Carter songs Matraca Berg songs Kenny Chesney songs Songs written by Matraca Berg Songs written by Deana Carter Music videos directed by Shaun Silva Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon BNA Records singles Male–female vocal duets Songs about alcohol