Whiskey Lullaby

"Whiskey Lullaby" is the title of a country song composed by Bill Anderson and Jon Randall. It was first recorded by Brad Paisley as a duet with Alison Krauss on Paisley's 2003 album Mud on the Tires, and released on April 12, 2004, as that album's third single, and the eleventh chart single of Paisley's career. The song reached a peak of number three on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, and 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song won the 2005 Country Music Association Song of the Year award. It is one of Paisley's three songs certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, the others being "She's Everything" and "Then". "Whiskey Lullaby" is a largely acoustic ballad in the key of B minor, accompanied mostly by acoustic guitar and Dobro. Its narrative centers on a couple who separate and eventually drink themselves to death: The man because of the woman's infidelity and the woman because of her guilt. Paisley sings the first verse and chorus, which focus on the male character, while Krauss sings the second verse and chorus, which focus on the female character. Jon Randall, one of the song's co-writers, had just divorced from country singer Lorrie Morgan before writing this song. In addition, he had lost a record deal, and had not been able to find a songwriting contract either. He found himself drinking whiskey regularly, and pursuing sexual desires. After seeing the condition that Randall was in at the time, his manager told him, "Hey man, every now and then you've got to put a bottle to your head and pull the trigger." Randall then wrote down that line, and decided to use it in a song. He then met Bill Anderson and began to write the song, which eventually made its way to Paisley. Randall himself also included a version on his 2005 album Walking Among the Living.

[Verse 1: Brad Paisley] 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 [Chorus: Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss ] 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 'til I die" And when we buried him beneath the willow The Angels sang a whiskey lullaby [Break: Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss] La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa [Verse 2: Alison Krauss] 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... [Chorus: Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss] 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 [Outro: Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss] La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa La la la la la la la, la la la la la la laa