"Bonfire" is a song co-written 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, o ...

artist

Craig Morgan Craig Morgan Greer (born July 17, 1964) is an American country music artist. A veteran of the United States Army as a forward observer, Morgan began his musical career in 2000 on Atlantic Records, releasing his self-titled debut album for that ...

. It was released in May 2009 as the third single from his album '' That's Why''. It is only available on later presses of the album. The song entered the top 40 on the U.S. country charts in June 2009. It is his sixteenth single release. A

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

version with new lyrics was released on November 24, 2009. Morgan wrote the song with

Kevin Denney Kevin Denney (born January 27, 1978) is an American country music artist. Signed to Lyric Street Records in 2001, he made his debut on the country music scene with the release of his self-titled album (2002’s '' Kevin Denney''), which produce ...

, Tom Botkin and Mike Rogers.

Content

"Bonfire" is an up-tempo with

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

accompaniment. In it, the narrator describes a summertime party around a

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Cath ...

. The partiers are described in the first verse, while the second verse tells of a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

showing up, causing the partiers to hide their beers. The officer then takes a beer himself and states that he "came to hang out / at the bonfire, out in the sticks ��.

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews. Andrew Lacy of Engine 145 gave the song a thumbs-down rating. He described it as an "annual summer ritual of artists and labels competing to see who can release the most popular anthem by attempting to recapture the fun and flavor of organ's 2005 single'

Redneck Yacht Club "Redneck Yacht Club" is a song written by Thom Shepherd and Steve Williams, and recorded by American country music singer Craig Morgan. It was released in May 2005 as the second single from his album '' My Kind of Livin. It peaked at number t ...

'." Lacy also said that the lyrics, melody and production were "forgettable", and that the heavy production made Morgan shout instead of sing. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave a more favorable review. Although he also said that the song was similar in theme to "Redneck Yacht Club", he said that its heavier production made it stand out on the re-released album, and gave it an "exciting" sound.

Music video

The music video was directed by

Chris Hicky Chris Hicky is a writer/director from Forrest City, Arkansas, United States, best known for directing many of Keith Urban's videos. Hicky has also directed videos for many other artists in the country music genre, including Dierks Bentley, Mad ...

and premiered in mid-2009.

Chart performance

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2009 singles Craig Morgan songs BNA Records singles Music videos directed by Chris Hicky Songs written by Craig Morgan Songs written by Kevin Denney 2008 songs