"Drunk Americans" is a song written by

Brandy Clark Brandy Lynn Clark (born October 9, 1975) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her songs have been recorded by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, The Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kacey Mu ...

Bob DiPiero Robert John DiPiero (born March 3, 1951) is an American country music songwriter. He has written 15 US number one hits and several Top 20 singles for Tim McGraw, The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Shenandoah, Neal McCoy, ...

and

Shane McAnally Shane Lamar McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. He debuted as a singer in 1999 with his Shane McAnally (album), self-titled album on Curb Records. This project produced three sing ...

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

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 – February 5, 2024) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman. Keith released his chart-topping debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy", in 1993. During the 1990s ...

. It was released in October 2014 as the first single from his album '' 35 MPH Town''.

Content

The song celebrates social unity among American people of various backgrounds who all participate in drinking alcohol.

, one of the song's three writers, told ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' that "We wanted to write it sort of like a modern day ' Piano Man'... It's like 'When we're in here drinking, who cares what we are outside of this?'"

Edits

The version released to most radio stations replaces the line "We just raise up our glass, we don't give a rat's ass" from the chorus with " ��e don't care, we don't ask" from the first and final chorus. and " ��e don't judge, we don't laugh" from the second chorus.

Critical reception

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

reviewed the single favorably, saying that "The woozy waltz adds a hint of inclusive social commentary to allow it to stand out from the rest."

Music video

The music video was directed by

Michael Salomon Michael Salomon (born in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, United States) is an American music video/film director, who has directed many music videos, including many of Toby Keith's music videos. He directed the video for Metallica's "One", which was no ...

and premiered in November 2014.

Chart performance

On the

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

chart dated for November 1, 2014, "Drunk Americans" debuted at number 31. The song was the week's highest debut, and the most added song to country radio playlists that week. It was the last Top 40 hit in Keith’s career until 2021’s “Old School” which peaked at #25. The song sold 15,000 downloads in its first week of release.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2014 singles Toby Keith songs Songs written by Brandy Clark Songs written by Bob DiPiero Songs written by Shane McAnally Songs about alcohol Show Dog-Universal Music singles Music videos directed by Michael Salomon 2014 songs