Lainey Wilson is opening up about one of her favorite songs. During a recent show, Wilson shared the story behind “Whiskey Colored Crayon,” a song she wrote with Josh Kear. “Whiskey Colored Crayon” is about a little boy who admits in school that his father drinks too much, leading him to ask for a whiskey colored crayon.
“I remember being a little girl, coming home from school, trying to navigate life as well. I remember having a hard time communicating. And I would pick up this thing right here, like I always have, and pour my heart and soul into it, ” Wilson says, holding her guitar. “I felt like I could communicate a little bit better. And so, the last few years of this beautiful chaos, I feel like that’s what we did. That’s how we came up with the Whirlwind record. I just sunk my heart and soul back into this thing right here.
“One of my favorite songs I’ve ever written wound up on the Whirlwind record,” she continues. “It’s a story-telling song, and I encourage you all to listen to the words of this song. It really means something. That’s the kind of country music that I grew up listening to. It’s called ‘Whiskey Colored Crayon,’ and I wanna do it just me and this trusty old guitar, that’s been with me since the get go.”
The Lyrics in “Whiskey Colored Crayon”
“Whiskey Colored Crayon” says in part, “He stood up in that circle / Said I’m sober seven years / And all because our little boy drew this picture here / It’s a little red house with a little green tree / A little blue car parked out on the street / Brother with a football sister with a puppy dog / Mama with a smile and a church dress on / Then he raised his hand / Said, ‘Teacher I can’t draw daddy / Do you have a whiskey colored crayon.”
Read all the lyrics here.
Lainey Wilson Gives An Update On Her Next Album
Wilson released Whirlwind in 2024, followed by Whirlwind Deluxe in August. She is currently hard at work on her next record, which will likely be released in 2026.
“Honestly, before the deluxe was even out, I was already working on the next project,” Wilson tells Audacy. “That’s kind of how I do it. Because this job comes with a lot of different parts of it, I want to make sure that I’m always keeping the writing, the songwriting, at the forefront. So no matter what, I put co-writes in there, and try to just have time where I just brainstorm and think of ideas, and think about what direction do I want to go next, what have I not said, what part of me am I discovering that I feel comfortable sharing with other people.
“A lot of soul-searching,” the “Somewhere Over Laredo” singer adds. “I feel like I’m constantly soul-searching, and digging things up. And so, it’s important for me to be writing while I’m doing that soul-searching.”