Country fans love country music because of its relatable content and its innate ability to express genuine human emotions through song. This manifests itself through heartbreaking ballads as well as moving love songs. However, another hallmark of country music is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, and there is plenty of room for country artists to have a sense of humor. In fact, country music history shows us that artists have been singing humorous songs since the very beginnings of the genre. In honor of that, here are the 10 funniest country songs that are sure to get a laugh out of listeners.
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12. "When It Rains it Pours," Luke Combs
Luke Combs finds the silver lining and then some in a breakup on the humorous "When It Rains it Pours," about a lucky man who wins the lottery, a three-night beach vacation, a used four-wheeler and a free round of golf after his girlfriend kicks him to the curb. Most importantly, he no longer has to visit with his "ex-future mother-in-law."
11. You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd," Roger Miller
Roger Miller is the king of humorous country songs, such as "Do-Wacka-Do" and "Chug a Lug," but make no mistake: his clever lyrics always held sage advice and wisdom. Take his song "You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd," for example. What may at first listen seem like a song filled with nonsensical lyrics is actually a song about finding happiness in unexpected places.
10. "Some Beach," Blake Shelton
Anyone who knows Blake Shelton knows that he's a humorous guy. From his hilarious tweets to his antics as a coach on The Voice, Shelton isn't afraid to show his comedic colors in his life or his music. This has shown itself in many of his songs, but most notably his 2004 single, "Some Beach." In this song, Shelton plays the part of a guy who is just not having a good day. He gets flipped off by a guy on the highway, someone steals his parking spot, and the nail in the coffin (or the needle in the gum) comes when the dentist starts drilling before the numbing medicine kicked in. Shelton follows each of these situations by angrily proclaiming, "Some Beach," which sounds like a certain curse word at first, but listeners soon realize he's simply dreaming of being on a beach instead of in these bad situations.
9. "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off," Joe Nichols
The early 2000s were full of hilarious country songs and Joe Nichols' 2005 single, "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off," is no exception. The song serves as a cautionary tale about one woman who gets a little wild when drinking tequila. The woman in question is Nichols' girlfriend or wife in the song, and he sings about how every time she drinks tequila, she starts losing clothing one by one. It starts with an earring or a contact lens here and there, and before she knows it, she's coming home in a tablecloth.
8. "Girl In A Country Song," Maddie & Tae
Country music always goes through phases, and from about the late 2000s to the early to mid 2010s, the genre went through a phase that has now been deemed "bro-country." The era was marked by songs depicting women in a stereotypical light, and in 2014, then-unknown female duo Maddie & Tae called out mainstream country for these songs. In "Girl In A Country Song" the 18-year-old singers targeted these stereotypical tunes and sang about how they wouldn't want to be the women in the songs. They kept the song light and humorous as they poked fun at the current state of the genre, but they still made a much-needed point.
7. "Drunk on a Plane," Dierks Bentley
Dierks Bentley is another country singer who has a knack for releasing funny songs. Early forms of this are "What Was I Thinkin'" and "How Am I Doin,'" and he shows his humor again in 2014's "Drunk on a Plane." This song employs some self-deprecating humor as Bentley plays the role of a groom whose wife-to-be left him at the altar. Bentley is now stuck going on their honeymoon alone, and he's a little depressed as he sings, "I bet the fella on the aisle thought I was crazy 'cause I taped your picture to the seat back right beside me / Now I've got empty mini bottles fillin' both our trays / I'm getting drunk on a plane." Before he knows it, however, the plane has turned into a party and he's over his ex-fiancée. The song's music video also deserves a laugh as the character in the song experiences this plane party firsthand and Bentley plays the pilot.
6. "You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly," Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn don't hold back in their 1978 song, "You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly." In the tune, Twitty and Lynn sing from the perspective of a husband and wife engaged in an odd argument in which they blame one another for certain things. For example, Twitty sings, "You're the reason I changed from beer to soda pop," and Lynn sings, "You're the reason I never get to go to the beauty shop." Then the two both blame each other for being the reason their kids are ugly. The song is obviously tongue-in-cheek as no good parent would say such a thing about their child, but it's another example of the dry sarcasm found in country music.
5. "Cold One," Eric Church
In 2014, Eric Church seemingly took a page from Brad Paisley with the release of "Cold One." In the song, Church paints a picture of a woman who walks out on her man while he's sitting around drinking a beer on a hot day. Similar to Paisley's "I'm Gonna Miss Her," Church seems to be more bothered by the fact that the woman took one of his beers than he is about her leaving. "That was a cold one I never will get back / If she had to leave did she have to leave me one beer short of a six pack," he sings. The humor lies in the story of another man oblivious to heartbreak.
4. "Red Solo Cup," Toby Keith
Country music is full of heartfelt tunes devoted to people, dogs, and even trucks, but there's only one song devoted to a cup. Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" is a song about just that -- a red, plastic solo cup one drinks from at a party. Throughout the song, Keith sings about the all the advantages of the cups -- such as they're "cheap and disposable" and "in fourteen years, they are decomposable" -- getting more passionate with each verse. In the chorus, Keith and some of his rowdy friends sing about the "best receptacle" even more: "Red solo cup, I fill you up, let's have a party." In the final verse, Keith begins to sing to the cup, calling it "the Fruit to my Loom." He then tells the cup "I Love You" before launching into the unruly final chorus.
3. "I Don't Even Know Your Name," Alan Jackson
In this '90s classic, Alan Jackson tells that age-old tale of a man who gets drunk on tequila and ends up married to his waitress.
"The next thing I remember, I was hearing wedding-bells/ Standing by a woman, in a long white lacy veil
I raised the veil, and she smiled at me, without her left front tooth," Jackson sings. "And I said "where the hell am I, and just who the hell are you?"/ She said "I was your waitress, and our last name's are now the same"/ "'Cause I'm married to you baby, and I don't even know your name."
The song's music video stars comedian Jeff Foxworthy.
2. "A Boy Named Sue," Johnny Cash
While recent country music has served up some funny songs, country artists have been using humor in their music for decades. Johnny Cash was especially adept at this and one example is "A Boy Named Sue," which Cash performed live at San Quentin State Prison in 1969. In the song, originally written by poet Shel Silverstein, Cash assumes the character of a man whose estranged father gave him the unfortunate name of Sue. He makes it his life's mission to find his father and kill him for giving him the "awful name." After finding him fighting him briefly, however, his father reveals he gave him the name to make him tough. The brawl ended with the two men forgiving one another. Cash still admits it's a terrible name at the end of the song, though, singing, "And if I ever have a son I think I'm going to name him Bill, or George, any damn thing, but Sue!"
1. "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)," Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley is not only a master guitarist, but he's also a master songwriter who has a way of brilliantly infusing humor into his music. He showcases this in songs such as "Alcohol," "Ticks," "I'm Still A Guy," and more, but one of the earliest and best examples comes in the form of his 2001 single, "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)." In this tune, Paisley sets the scene of a husband who loves to fish a bit too much and a wife who is threatening to leave if goes to the lake yet again. Upon first listen, the listener may think the husband is about to abide by his wife's wishes and spend the day with her, but then Paisley sings those iconic words."Well, I'm gonna miss her when I get home / But right now I'm on this lake shore, and I'm sittin' in the sun." The song, and Paisley's delivery of it, strikes the funny bone perfectly as he assumes the character of an aloof man who cares more about fishing than his relationship -- in the moment, anyway.
Honorable mentions: Tim McGraw's "Do You Want Fries With That," Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman," Trace Adkins' "Honkytonk Badonkadonk," Big & Rich's "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy," George Strait's "All My Exes Live In Texas," Mark Chesnutt's "Bubba Shot The Jukebox," Billy Currington's "Like My Dog," Joe Diffie's "John Deere Green," Kenny Chesney's "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy," and Bobby Bare's "Dropkick Me Jesus," Jerry Reed's "She Got the Goldmine, I Got the Shaft," Roy Clark's "Thank God and Greyound," Toby Keith's "As Good as I Once Was"
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in April of 2021. It was updated on June 30, 2022.
