"Backwoods" is a song co-written and recorded by American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
artist
Justin Moore
Justin Cole Moore (born March 30, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Big Machine Records imprint Valory Music Group. For that label, he has released seven studio albums: his self titled debut in 2009, '' Outla ...
. It was released in October 2009 as the third single from his
self-titled debut album. The song became Moore's second Top 10 hit on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart with a peak at number 6 in May 2010.
Content
"Backwoods" is an up-tempo song in which the narrator lists off various contents of his "backwoods" and states he is proud of his "real good life / In the backwoods."
"Backwoods" was co-written by Moore himself, along with the producer of the song and album,
Jeremy Stover
Jeremy Stover (born August 20, 1972) is an American country music songwriter and record producer. Stover is an alumnus of Belmont University. Stover has written singles for Tim McGraw, Jon Pardi, Wynonna, Martina McBride, and others.
His firs ...
, and Jamie Paulin.
Moore told The Boot that the song was written in about 20 minutes. Moore says, "One of us just started rambling, and the other one started playing the groove of it. Some songs you write and know it's a really good song, then some of them you get into the studio and it comes to life then. This was one of those songs. I liked it when I wrote it, but when we got done doing it in the studio, we both went, 'Man, this has got to go on the album!'"
Lawsuit
In August 2012, Moore was sued by a songwriter named Bobby Carmichael, who claimed that a song of his was very similar in structure.
Critical reception
The song has received negative reviews from music critics. Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a D grade, saying that "empty barrels make the most noise." Juli Thanki of ''Engine 145'' gave the song a "thumbs-down" rating, saying that it "sound
dlike something stolen from
Jason Aldean
Jason Aldine Williams (born February 28, 1977), known professionally as Jason Aldean, is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released eleven alb ...
’s recycle bin."
Music video
Directed by Kristin Barlowe, the music video was released on CMT.com on November 5, 2009. It shows Moore and his band performing the song in a forest at night, with taillights blazing and much smoke, while extras compete in a scavenger hunt, camp out, and just live the backwoods life.
Chart performance
In May 2010, the song reached its peak of No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart.
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backwoods (song)
2009 singles
Justin Moore songs
Big Machine Records singles
Songs written by Justin Moore
Songs written by Jeremy Stover
2009 songs
Song recordings produced by Jeremy Stover