Songfacts®:
This driving duet between Chris Young and Mitchell Tenpenny is an ode to their cherished watering holes. The two country stars sing of the many opportunities you can find at a bar, including:
Making a best friend without ever learning their name.
Finding "a pair of blue eyes" who becomes your true love.
Listening to a '90s cover band bringing back memories.
Looking "for answers at the bottom of a glass."
Young and Tenpenny wrote the song alongside Chris DeStefano ("From the Ground Up," "Something in the Water") in February 2021. They penned it at DeStefano's home in Brentwood, a Nashville suburb.
DeStefano had already started on a track based around an unassuming acoustic guitar riff when the other two arrived at the session. A few days earlier, Young and Tenpenny met up for a few cold ones at a hot spot near Nashville's Music Row. When Young nonchalantly mentioned their night out at the end of the bar, Tenpenny quickly spotted a song idea. "I'm normally really good about picking things that people say out of a conversation and going, 'That's a song title,'" Young told American Songwriter. "Well that day, I was talking to Chris and I was like, 'The other day, me and Mitchell were sitting at the end of a bar…' and Mitchell went 'That's what we need to write! It all starts at the end of a bar.'"
They all agreed it was a cool idea and wrote the song in about 45 minutes.
During verse two, Tenpenny sings about '90s cover bands. He references two classic '90s songs: Brooks & Dunn's "Brand New Man" and Tracy Lawrence's "Time Marches On" to illustrate the point.
You can hear a cover band
Playin' '90s songs
Become a brand new man
To time marches on
Time marches onYoung noted to Billboard: "We ended up settling on 'Time Marches On' because you say it twice, and then you sort of have that double entendre of, 'Are we just talking about the Tracy Lawrence song? Or are we talking about the actual story that is in the song?' It's like, time is continuing forward."
The wistful tribute to bar life nearly didn't happen. The writer trio had a date in their diaries, but then an ice storm hit Nashville. Everywhere was iced up, and it was hard for Young to leave his driveway, but he feared missing out on writing something cool. "I kinda got FOMO, that fear-of-missing-out moment," he told Billboard. "Everybody always talks about songwriting, that you must be present to win it. I would hate if I ever canceled anything and then that was the day we were supposed to write a huge song."
Young contacted Tenpenny to say he was good to go, but was willing to reschedule if Tenpenny wanted to. They decided to go ahead with the session and met at DeStefano's snowbound house.
He credits Tenpenny for keeping the date because when the three got together that snowy day, they came up with one of Young's favorite tracks on the Famous Friends album.
Did you spot Tracy Lawrence's cameo in the song's music video? When Tenpenny name-checks "Time Marches On," the country star holds up a shot at the end of the bar.
Three of Chris Young's last four chart-topping singles have been duets, so it's hard to blame him for trying for four of five, especially with a song as radio-ready as "At the End of a Bar." This new collaboration with Mitchell Tenpenny is likely to be among the most played songs of 2022.
He delivered that title in 2021, as well. "Famous Friends" with Kane Brown wrapped an equally strong melody around digestible lyrics to create a true earworm programmers and fans couldn't get enough of last year. What makes this new pairing a bit better is the combined power of the two vocalists. Like Young, Tenpenny's vocals come with R&B inflections; in fact, they're very similar singers, with the most obvious difference being that the younger of the two Nashville-area natives brings the treble, while the veteran brings the bass.
Chris DeStefano joined Young and Tenpenny to write this song. It's the power of the arrangement, the strength of the hook and the vocal calisthenics at the end that make "At the End of a Bar" sing, however.
Did You Know?: Tracy Lawrence makes a cameo in the music video for "At the End of a Bar." At 1:25, when Tenpenny name-checks the song "Time Marches On" the '90s hitmaker can be seen holding up a shot at the end of the bar.
Chris Young and Mitchell Tenpenny's "At the End of a Bar" Lyrics:
You can find your future / Run into your past / You can look for answers / At the bottom of a glass / You can make a best friend / And never know their name / Buy 'em shots of tequila then forget why you came.
Chorus:
There's
a million things that you can find / Bartender conversation or a pair of blue eyes / Your true love or next broken heart / Maybe a party crowd on a Friday night / Long necks, long lines and neon signs, hell / Sometimes that's where it all starts / At the end of a bar.
You can hear a cover band / Playing ‘90s songs / Become a brand new man / To time marches on / Time marches on.
Repeat Chorus
Repeat Chorus
The end, at the end of a, at the end of a / At the end of a bar / At the end of a, at the end of a / Oh you know that's right where it starts / At the end of a bar / You can tell find your future / Run into your past / You can look for answers / At the bottom of a glass.
attachment-mitch and chris at the end of a bar
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You'll find much more than just the Top 10 Country Songs of 2021 on this list. Enjoy the 21 best country songs of the year, based on Taste of Country staff and country music fan opinion, plus commercial data (sales, streaming, airplay).
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