Blake Shelton brought a much-needed sense of maturity to country radio with his last two singles: 2017's sentimental "I Lived It" and this year's gloomy soundscape "God's Country." In both cases, lyrical substance took precedence over so-called "bro country" tropes about cornfield keggers and nameless country girls. For better or worse, Shelton and his old friend Trace Adkins break this recent trend and revert back to the party-hearty feel of "Boys 'Round Here" on new single "Hell Right."
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If you missed vaguely hip-hop-sounding clap-alongs sung by gruff-voiced twangsters, this might suit your tailgating playlist for college football season. If not, expect to roll your eyes over a lyrical slight at "Old Town Road." At risk of criticizing others' rights to criticize, knocking a harmless, fun and massively successful hit seems out of place in an otherwise apolitical party song. A tear-down of Lil Nas X makes little sense and falters as the setup for a Hank Williams Jr. hat-tip.
Read More: 8 Things You Didn't Know About Blake Shelton
In short, if you liked past party tunes by Shelton, this'll be in your wheelhouse. If not, expect to be annoyed by one particular line before returning to your regularly scheduled listening of the year's best country songs -- a list that's incomplete without "God's Country."
"Hell Right" Lyrics
Couple boys clock out about 5:35
Tryna put a little hammer in their head
Standing in the liquor store, staring at a fifth
But they picked up a handle instead
Hell right (Hell right?)
Hell right (Okay)
Couple girls with their boots on got their bluetooth on
T-shirts sayin "Go Sooners"
Then the girl from the small town took off the "Old Town"
Put on a little Hank Jr. (Thank God)
Hell right
She got all her rowdy friends comin' over tonight
Hell right, hell right
Everybody's throwin' down on a Friday night
Somewhere in America
There's a bottle to burn and a fire to light
And you ain't done nothin' if you did it half way
If you gonna raise hell, then you better damn raise
Hell right
Hell right
Hell right
There's a guitar on the ground that was making some sound
'Til somebody pulled a hillbilly slip
Now there's fog on the window, she never would've kissed him
If he didn't play a lick like this
Hell right
Hell right
Hell right, hell right
Everybody's throwin' down on a Friday night
Somewhere in America
There's a bottle to burn and a fire to light
And you ain't done nothin' if you did it half way
If you gonna raise hell, then you better damn raise
Hell right
Hell right
Hell right
Now it's 7am, damn if there ain't an empty handle on a square hay bell
Everybody's passed out drunk, but when they wake up
They're all gonna hurt like hell right
Yeah boy
Hell right, hell right
Everybody's throwin' down on a Friday night
Somewhere in America
There's a bottle to burn and a fire to light
And you ain't done nothin' if you did it half way
If you gonna raise hell, then you better damn raise
Hell right
Hell right
Hell right
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