She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart, he spent his whole life tryin' to forget
We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind
Until the night

He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short, but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said, 'I'll love her till I die.'
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby

The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself
For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind
Until the night

She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short, but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby



Lyrics submitted by Steven Esquire

Track duration: 04:19

"Whiskey Lullaby" as written by Jon Randall, Bill Anderson

Lyrics © Chrysalis One Music, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Whiskey Lullaby song meanings
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79 Comments

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  • 0
    Memory:Well, I've loved this song from that first time I heard it. And what can I say, I'm a country fan.

    Anyway, to me this song reminds me of my ex boyfriend, who I loved more than anything. So, long story short, he cheated on me and lied about trying to kill himself a few times before he dumped me. And even though I've never had any alcohol, I often stay up at night thinking it might help. But obviously, it doesn't. And it kind of felt like a part of me died when he told me that he did all that. And it sure is as hard as hell to find a guy that won't break your heart. But he's gunna be worth the wait. I thought my ex was that person. But obviously I was wrong.

    And to be honest, where it says '
    He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger'
    that it sounds better if it said gun.
    Flag gotchi101on December 18, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:All the writers did here was make the song more palatable by changing the word "gun" to "bottle".

    Definitely a sad love song
    Flag coleman132002on October 05, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment::(
    Flag redshiftdazzleron August 10, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:im not a big country fan but i love this song, it makes you really think, because in the song the man kills himself because he still loved the girl that dumped him and after years she finally did it to for the same reason! then they were burried next to each other under a willow tre
    Flag wulfgurlon April 20, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Recently the relationship i was in came to an end. We work together, and are going to try to stay friends. Today, when she came to work, she had this song playing on her phone. Later that night, i listened to it on my way home. The specific details about the situation are excessively complicated. I knew there was a chance that things wouldnt work out when we got involved, but i would rather try for someone i care about than waste time for someone else, and thats what i did. She likes to listen to music that relates to how she is feeling, as does myself, something i assume is common. When she had this playing, it reminded me of a few weeks prior, when this song was on the radio, i literally changed the channel and punched my truck door(i was working on my truck at the time) because things had already turned up that showed that we might not last much longer, and this song reminded me of that fact.
    The fact that just 2 days after we were done, she comes in, listening to this song made me think a lot. I was listening to the song tonight, and it makes me realize how much some relationships can hurt people. I knew what iw as getting into when we started, and though it hurts a lot to lose someone so great, i will be alright, I just hope that she will be as well. I feel like i have done more harm than help, and feel like shit over it. This song reminds me a lot of our relationship, and now, more than ever, when I hear it, i will think of her.
    The deep bass note that hits after they say "sang the whiskey lullaby", and a few other times litterally gave me the chills. I have a set of 500W speakers, not subs, but in my truck they give a nice bass, and when it hits that note, i just want to cry, it is very moving. I tried listening to this song on the computer, but it doesnt have the same effect. If you have a chance to listen to this song in a car with decent bass, do so, it is intense.
    And i apologize to any redundancy or bad grammar in this post, but i have had a few glasses of diet coke and whiskey prior to writing this.
    Flag Mulder253on January 30, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:well they obviously broke up, and she blamed herself, which means she probably cheated or was an alcoholic and they both still love each other still. He became so depressed that he turned to alcohol just to get rid of the pain, "but he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind". Then he ended up killing himself. When she found out she also was more depressed than she already was from the guilt that she had for cheating on him or whatever she did. She blamed herself for ending the relationship and her death, and one day she couldn't take it anymore and she killed herself with him. Its about regret and love that never dies.
    This is an incredibly beautiful song, even people who have never heard of brad paisley probably have heard this song and completely love it. It makes me cry every time.
    I also think a lot of people can relate to the pain that both of them feel, and probably have one person on there mind the whole time the song is being played. I know that I do.
    Flag jenikuon August 08, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation: It can be seen right from the start that the women in this story cheated on they guy. This is seen in the second line where it says, "She broke his heart he spent his whole life trying to forget." Everybody knows that a broken heart comes from unfaithfulness and it is something that can sometimes not be recovered in a whole lifetime, that is why he "spent his whole life trying to forget." We know that the guy is a soldier from the video, but the lyrics also tells us that he had something to do with an officer that would have a gun. Especially back in these years it was common for only police or soldiers to have an arm of some kind.
    This is for all of those who are still confused about how they died. The lyrics say, "We watched him drink away his pain a little at a time / But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind... He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger." This means that he drank a lot because he thought that with the drinking his pain of what had happened, would stop with alcohol. But in the end alcohol was not strong enough for neither of them so they "pulled the trigger" they shot themselves as the only solution for actually bringing an end to their pain.
    Flag Princesajasmineon February 16, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This has to be one of Brad's best songs, definitly alot of meaning behind it. All i have to say is, its sometimes hard to find the right guy, needle from the hay stack. Once you do its the best , . he was fully devoted to her but she was not faithful. thissong definity bought tears to my eyes.
    Im a girl and this has happend to me. it broke me faster than anything you could imagine. But you dont fully realise how much it truely hurts til it happens. not saying i have ever cheated i havent but believe me its true when they say love hurts.

    some girls need to wake up and realise its hard to find that one guy
    You dont wants to be fucked around by someone so dont return the favour


    x
    Flag LittLeMoMenTson October 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I haven't seen the video so I don't have a visual to go by... but I think they both got drunk enough to actually pull a trigger. I mean, it takes a LOT of whiskey to drink yourself to death, especially if they've both been drinking for so long as described in the song. Just sayin'.
    Flag 2DollaHollaon July 19, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree with everyone; country's not my thing, but this song just catches me every time.
    Flag smokefilledroomon January 07, 2009   Link

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