Mac Davis' "It's Hard to Be Humble" became an international hit upon its 1980 release. It had all the tongue-in-cheek macho bravado we'd later hear in Toby Keith's "How Do You Like Me Now?!" or any number of Ric Flair promos, and it further cemented Davis' image as a country boy with the same crossover crooner appeal as Elvis Presley (Davis famously penned "In the Ghetto") or his duet partner in the above video, Kenny Rogers.
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It was Davis' first impactful single for Casablanca Records, the label home of fellow '70s superstars KISS and Donna Summer. Prior hits for Davis, including "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me" and "Stop and Smell the Roses," were released by Columbia Records.
Here, it's performed with another legend we've lost in 2020.
Read More: Country Music Legend Mac Davis Dead at Age 78
Davis' greatest honor as the songwriter and performer behind "It's Hard to Be Humble" may have come in 2019, when fellow Texan Willie Nelson featured the song on his Ride Me Back Home album.
"It's Hard to Be Humble" Lyrics
Back a few months ago, I was headlinin' a great big nightclub...
And they put me up a couple days early, I came in a couple days early
And they put me up in what they call the "Star Suite"
Now here I am, headlinin' in one of the biggest nightclubs
In the country and I wake up at eight o'clock in the morning
In this "Star Suite"...
...All by myself
[Crowd:] Awwww!
Yeah, that's what I said, "Awwww"
But I did what I've always done, man, to cheer myself up
I picked up my guitar, I sat down and I wrote me a little song
Now this is how it feels to be alone at the top of the hill
Tryin' to figure out why
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
'Cause I get better lookin' each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
But I'm doin' the best that I can
I used to have a girlfriend
But I guess she just couldn't compete
With all of these love-starved women
Who keep clamoring at my feet
Well I could probably find me another
But I guess they're all in awe of me
Who cares? I never get lonesome
'Cause I treasure my own company
Oh... Lord, it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
'Cause I get better lookin' each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
But I'm doin' the best that I can
I guess you could say I'm a loner
A cowboy outlaw, tough and proud
Well, I could have lots of friends if I wanted
But then I wouldn't stand out from the crowd
Some folks say that I'm "egotistical"
Hell, I don't even know what that means
I guess it has something to do with the way
That I fill out my skin-tight blue jeans
Oh... Come on, where's all the kickers in here?!
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
'Cause I get better lookin' each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
But I'm doin' the best that I can!
One more time, what are we doin'?
We're doing the best that we can!
Give yourselves a hand
Yee-haw!
Now Watch: Remembering Kenny Rogers' Country Hits Through the Years
https://rumble.com/embed/u7gve.v6f8h5/
