AA

Album

Country Stuff The Album

Label

Monument Records

Genre

Country pop

Duration

9:00

Entered Chart

Jan 15, 2022

Peak Date

Apr 30, 2022

Released

November 19, 2021

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Monument Records

Like Walker Hayes' viral hit "Fancy Like," this song combines an infectious production with lyrics about everyday life in the south. However, rather than singing about dining out at Applebee's, the father of six gets more personal. He sings of parental anxieties: And I'm just tryna keep my daughters off the pole And my sons out of jail Insecurities: I'm just tryna keep my wife from figuring out That I married up and she married way, way down And his struggles with sobriety: Hey, I'm just tryna stay out of AA Hayes wrote the song with the track's co-producer, Shane McAnally, and with Luke Laird. McAnally also co-produced "Fancy Like." Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international self-help organization for those fighting the "battle of the bottle." Founded by ex-alcoholics Bill Wilson and Bob Smith in the 1930s, it features a 12-step program, outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction. Other songs inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous and its 12-step program include: "The Shattered Fortress" by Dream Theater. Drummer Mike Portnoy's "Twelve-step Suite" (also known as the "Alcoholics Anonymous Suite") is a series of five songs dealing with his struggles with alcoholism. They conclude with "The Shattered Fortress," which includes parts of all the previous tracks in the saga. "Fountain And Fairfax" by The Afghan Whigs. The title is an intersection in LA where Alcoholics Anonymous meetings take place at a church. "Higher Power" by Boston. The "Higher Power" is a concept in Alcoholics Anonymous in which members admit they need help from God or a "higher power" to overcome their addiction. "Blind Man" by Aerosmith. The song was inspired by lead singer Steven Tyler's recovery from alcoholism and his experience with AA. Part of the inspiration for this song was Hayes' near-relapse after his seventh child, Oakleigh, was born and died on the same day in June 2018. The evening after Oakleigh's burial, Hayes came close to drinking alcohol again after two years of sobriety. "That night I actually drove to a bar and I wanted to just get hammered and get in a fight, and I didn't have my wallet," he revealed on Apple Music Country's Ty Bentli Show. "And when I went home, I just broke down." "When I walked in my house, and I was so ashamed, I saw my wife on the couch all by herself. I was like, 'I'm so sorry.' You know, I left her alone to just go self-destruct," Hayes continued. "And she helped me. She found an AA meeting in Williamson County."

(One, two, three, four)

Alright
Coffee cup, cold and black
Wish it had a little shot of Jack
Besides that, can't complain
Just tryna do the dang thing
Might change the oil in my truck
I ain't paying no thirty-five bucks
Kids need shoes, mama needs Levi's

And I'm just tryna keep my daughters off the pole
And my sons out of jail
Tryna get to church so I don't go to hell
I'm just tryna keep my wife from figuring out
That I married up and she married way, way down
In Alabama where they love Nick Saban
Tryna write a song the local country station'll play
Hey, I'm just tryna stay out of AA

(Hey, hey, hey)

Ooh
Well I gave up Skoal and cigarettes
Now I'm just hooked on Nicorette
Trying not to be like my old man
But the older I get, the more I am
Tryna get paid and a little love made, y'all
Hey y'all, at the end of the day, y'all
I'm just another John Deere guy (hey)
Up on a tractor

Tryna steer my daughters off the pole
And my sons out of jail (sons out of jail)
Tryna get to church so I don't go to hell (I don't wanna go)
I'm just tryna keep my wife (hey babe) from figuring out (I love)
That I married up (you're so fine, girl) and she married way, way down
In Alabama where they love Nick Saban (Roll Tide)
Tryna write a song the local country station'll play (I'm just tryna write a song)
Hey, I'm just tryna stay out of AA

Ooh, ooh, ooh
Come on, bae, right here

Said, ooh-ooh-ooh, tryna stay out of AA everyday
One step at a time, y'all
Life's hard, family's weird
Sometimes you just need a beer
Can I get an amen (amen)

Man, I'm just tryna keep my daughters off the pole
And my sons out of jail (sons out of jail)
Tryna get to church so I don't go to hell (I don't wanna go)
I'm just tryna keep my wife (hey babe) from figuring out (I love)
That I married up (you're so fine, girl) and she married way, way down
In Alabama where they love Nick Saban (Roll Tide)
Tryna write a song the local country station'll play (I'm just tryna write a song)
Hey, I'm just tryna stay out of AA

Oh, hey, hey, hey, I'm just tryna stay out of AA
Yes, I am