We were all down at Margie's bar
Telling stories if we had one
Someone fired the old jukebox up
The song sure was a sad one
A teardrop rolled down Bubba's nose
From the pain the song was inflicting
And all at once he jumped to his feet
Just like somebody kicked him

Bubba shot the juke box last night
Said it played a sad song it made him cry
Went to his truck and got a forty five
Bubba shot the juke box last night

Bubba ain't never been accused of being mentality stable
So we did not draw an easy breathe
Until he laid that colt on the table
He hung his head till the cops showed up
They dragged him right out of Margie's
Told him "Don't play dumb with us, son"
"Know damn well what the charge is."

Bubba shot the juke box last night
Said it played a sad song it made him cry
Went to his truck and got a forty five
Bubba shot the juke box last night

Well, the sheriff arrived with his bathrobe on
The confrontation was a tense one
Shook his head said, "Bubba Boy,"
"You was always a dense one."
Reckless discharge of a gun
That's what the officers are claiming
Bubba hollered, "Reckless! Hell!"
"I shot just where I was aiming."

Bubba shot the juke box last night
Said it played a sad song it made him cry
Went to his truck and got a forty five
Bubba shot the juke box stopped it with one shot
Bubba shot the jukebox last night
Well he could not tell right from wrong
Through the teardrops in his eyes
Beyond a shadow of a doubt
It was justifiable homicide
Bubba shot the juke box stopped it with one shot
Bubba shot the jukebox last night

Overall Meaning

The song “Bubba Shot The Jukebox” by Mark Chesnutt tells the story of a man named Bubba who, after hearing a sad song on the jukebox at Margie’s bar, becomes emotionally overwhelmed and shoots the jukebox with a .45 pistol he retrieved from his truck. Bubba is not mentally stable, so the people at the bar are cautious around him until he lays his colt down. The police arrive and arrest Bubba for reckless discharge of a gun. However, Bubba claims that he shot exactly where he aimed and that it was justifiable homicide.

The lyrics can be interpreted in different ways depending on how one perceives Bubba’s actions. On one hand, it can be seen as a humorous story about a man who took a drastic action over a silly reason. On the other hand, it can be interpreted as a commentary on gun violence and mental health issues. Bubba’s actions may be justified in his own mind, but they cause harm to others and himself.

Line by Line Meaning

We were all down at Margie's bar
A group of people were at Margie's bar.

Telling stories if we had one
They were sharing stories with each other.

Someone fired the old jukebox up
The jukebox was turned on.

The song sure was a sad one
The song that played was sad.

A teardrop rolled down Bubba's nose
Bubba was crying because of the song.

From the pain the song was inflicting
The song was causing Bubba pain.

And all at once he jumped to his feet
Suddenly, Bubba stood up.

Just like somebody kicked him
He stood up abruptly, as if someone had kicked him.

Bubba shot the juke box last night
Bubba shot the jukebox.

Said it played a sad song it made him cry
Bubba shot the jukebox because it was playing a sad song that made him cry.

Went to his truck and got a forty five
Bubba retrieved a .45 caliber gun from his truck.

Bubba ain't never been accused of being mentality stable
Bubba has a reputation for being unstable.

So we did not draw an easy breathe
Everyone was nervous and uncomfortable.

Until he laid that colt on the table
People were afraid until Bubba put his gun down.

He hung his head till the cops showed up
Bubba looked down until the police arrived.

They dragged him right out of Margie's
The police took Bubba out of Margie's bar.

Told him "Don't play dumb with us, son"
The police accused Bubba of pretending not to understand the situation.

"Know damn well what the charge is."
The police were sure of what charges to file against Bubba.

Well, the sheriff arrived with his bathrobe on
The sheriff arrived in his bathrobe.

The confrontation was a tense one
There was a tense standoff between Bubba and the sheriff.

Shook his head said, "Bubba Boy,"
The sheriff shook his head and addressed Bubba as "Bubba Boy".

"You was always a dense one."
The sheriff accused Bubba of being unintelligent.

Reckless discharge of a gun
Bubba was charged with recklessly firing his gun.

That's what the officers are claiming
The police officers are saying that Bubba fired his gun recklessly.

Bubba hollered, "Reckless! Hell!"
Bubba objected to the charge of reckless gun use.

"I shot just where I was aiming."
Bubba claimed that he aimed and fired deliberately.

Bubba shot the juke box stopped it with one shot
Bubba fired one shot that stopped the jukebox.

Well he could not tell right from wrong
Bubba was not able to distinguish right from wrong clearly.

Through the teardrops in his eyes
Bubba's tears were blurring his vision.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt
There was no question whatsoever.

It was justifiable homicide
Bubba's actions were legally justified.

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