Blake Shelton is likely soon to have his 31st No. 1 single. Shelton, whose last single, “Texas,” became his 30th chart-topping single. has a Top 20 hit right now with “Stay Country or Die Tryin’.” Both songs are from his latest For Recreational Use Only album.
“This is one of my favorite songs,” Shelton says on Country Countdown USA. “I love songs that are filled with attitude. That’s what ‘God’s Country’ had, too. You’re so proud of who you are that you’re mad about it. It’s just the lifestyle I live when I can turn off the singer and become the fake rancher I am. I become that guy when I sing this song.”
The Story Behind “Stay Country or Die Tryin'”
“Stay Country or Die Tryin'” was written by Beau Bailey, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis, and Drew Parker. As soon as Shelton heard the song, he knew he wanted it on For Recreational Use Only.
“When I heard ‘Stay Country or Die Tryin,’’ it took me back to the first time I heard ‘Ol’ Red’ or ‘God’s Country,’” says Shelton. “It’s got so much energy and is full of those little catchphrases and things we say out in the country. I absolutely fell in love with it. I’m proud of this recording—and I love singing it live even more.”
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Shelton drew inspiration from some of his own musical heroes in all of the songs on For Recreational Use Only, but especially “Stay Country or Die Tryin’.”
“I’ve got this thing where, I can’t get past some of those old Alabama records, and I’m quite a bit of a copycat sometimes when I’m making my records,” Shelton says on The Bobby Bones Show. “‘Cause I always want to end up putting something on my records that’s like something my heroes did.
“And for me, that always goes back to Travis Tritt or Alabama or Earl Thomas Conley or Mark Collie, some of these people,” he continues. “I come up with these records that I think, ‘Oh, they would have done that.’ And ‘Stay Country or Die Tryin” is a little bit of that, especially the intro of the song. I always think, I imagine that I was in Alabama when that song comes on.”
The Video for “Stay Country or Die Tryin'”
Shelton put as much thought into the video for “Stay Country or Die Tryin’,” which uses technology to show how generations changed and evolved over the years.
“I hope that fans see the video, and it helps them understand the lifestyle that we’re singing about, and the lyrics of the song,” Shelton says. “This is seven generations of a family who have made their living off this same plot of corn they plant every year. And there are a lot of those families out there. They’re all over the United States, and they’re all over the world, actually. It’s a source of pride for the person that’s performing the song. I absolutely love the song, and I hope the video conveys that same message.”
Photo Credit: CMA / Hunter Berry