Paisley has sold over 11 million albums and has won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, and two American Music Awards. He has also earned country music's crowning achievement, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry.[2] Paisley also wrote songs for Pixar's Cars franchise ("Behind the Clouds", "Find Yourself", "Collision of Worlds" (along with Robbie Williams), "Nobody's Fool", etc.).
Paisley has stated that his love of country music stems from his maternal grandfather, who gave Paisley his first guitar at age 8 and taught him how to play. At age 12, Paisley wrote his first song, and by 13 he was the opening act for country singers.
Paisley graduated from John Marshall High School in Glen Dale and enrolled at Belmont University (from 1993 to 1995). While in college, he met Frank Rogers, a fellow student who went on to serve as his producer. Paisley also met Kelley Lovelace, who became his songwriting partner.
After graduating from Belmont, Paisley signed a songwriting contract with EMI Music Publishing. His debut as a singer was with the label Arista Nashville, with the song, "Who Needs Pictures" (released February 22, 1999). In May of that same year, he made his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. Seven months later he had his first #1 hit with, ""He Didn't Have To Be."
In 2000, Paisley made an appearance on the nationally televised special, "Route 66: Main Street America" featured on TLC (TV channel) and later that same year he won the Country Music Association's (CMA) Horizon Award and the Academy of Country Music's best new male vocalist trophy. He received his first Grammy Award nomination a year later. On February 17, 2001, after forty appearances on the show, he was inducted into the Opry Hall of Fame.
In 2002, he won the CMA Music Video of the Year for ""I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)." Several celebrities made notable guest appearances in the video, inluding Little Jimmy Dickens, Kimberly Williams (Paisley), Dan Patrick, and Jerry Springer.
Paisley released his third album, Mud on the Tires (2003), following Who Needs Pictures and Part II. The album features the hit song "Celebrity," the video of which parodies reality shows such as Fear Factor and American Idol and included such celebrities as Jason Alexander, Little Jimmy Dickens, Trista Rehn, and William Shatner. The album's title track, "Mud on the Tires," reached Billboard #1 in 2004.
In 2005, after touring with Reba McEntire and Terri Clark on the critically acclaimed "Two Hats and a Redhead Tour," he released Time Well Wasted, containing 15 tracks, including "Alcohol", a duet ("When I Get Where I'm Going") with Dolly Parton, another ("Out in the Parking Lot") with Alan Jackson, and a bonus track, "Cornography".
Brad Paisley was the 2008 CMA and ACM Male Vocalist of the Year winner. Starting with the release of his 1999 album Who Needs Pictures, Paisley has recorded seven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashville label, with all of his albums certified gold or higher by the RIAA. In addition, he has charted 25 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 15 of which have reached #1 with a record 10 consecutive singles reaching the top spot on the charts. On November 10, 2010, Paisley won the coveted Entertainer of the Year award at the 44th annual CMA Awards.
In 2009 he released American Saturday Night which has his first single Then.
His song "High Life," on the 2014 album Moonshine in the Trunk, refers to suing Carrie Underwood after hearing that one of Carrie's songs "reminded me of a poem my brother wrote back in second grade." This was a subtle joke about an actual lawsuit from a songwriter who accused Brad of using her material. (In real life, the lawsuit was won by Paisley in 2016.)
Paisley released "Without a Fight", a duet with Demi Lovato, on May 13, 2016. It was to have served as the lead single to his eleventh studio album, but due to poor chart performance it did not make the album's final cut. He was selected as one of thirty artists to perform on "Forever Country", a mash-up track of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again" and "I Will Always Love You" which celebrates 50 years of the CMA Awards. The second single "Today" was released on October 6, 2016, which gave Paisley his first Country Digital Song Sales #1, opening at the top of the chart with 41,000 first-week downloads. The single landed in the #1 spot on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase charts, marking Paisley's 24th #1 song. On November 11, Paisley announced on Twitter that the title of the album would be Love and War, which was released in April 2017.
Love and War features several collaborations with iconic artists, including Timbaland, John Fogerty, Bill Anderson, and Mick Jagger, as well as a songwriting credit with Johnny Cash.
On October 4, 2018, Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley partnered with Belmont University and opened a free referral-based grocery store in Nashville to help the community in need. The Board of Trustees for The Store include Brad Paisley, President; Megan Zarling, Chair; Pete Fisher, Vice-Chair; Doug Paisley, Secretary and Elaine Bryan, Treasurer. Other board members include Sarah Cates, Jaynee Day, Hope Fisher, David Minnigan, John Zarling, Olivia Munn, John Schario, Scott Scovill, Michael Stagg, Becca Stevens and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. Executive Director is Gina Hancock.
In November 2018, Paisley released "Bucked Off", the lead single from his upcoming studio album. On March 11, 2019, Paisley released "My Miracle".
In 2021, Paisley released his own Bourbon brand called "America Highway Reserve." As this whiskey was aged in barrels in the "Rolling Rickhouse" semi-trailer that followed Paisley's 2019 concert tour, Paisley collaborated with Bardstown Bourbon Company to create this Bourbon.
KARATE
Brad Paisley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So she goes through the drive-thru and keeps her sunglasses on
She didn't know when she married that man
She'd get to know him like the back of his hand
But now she's had enough, and the battle lines are drawn
He's in a bar chasing Cuervo with Tecate
He doesn't know she's been taking karate
She'll finally have the belt to match her eye
She's on a mission as the months pass
Five days a week and never misses a class
And now she's up to breakin' boards and concrete blocks
He's in a bar chasing Cuervo with Tecate
He doesn't know she's been taking karate
Now here it is just about July
She's gonna get that belt to match her eye
He stumbled through the door tonight
And started treatin' her rough
Well, she took one look at him and her training kicked in
And she'd finally had enough
He threw a punch, she spun around
Grabbed his arm and put him on the ground
Grabbed a cuttin' board on his way down and she kicked it in half
His knees hit the floor, his chin hit a chair
Knocked out his tooth and it flew through the air
Grabbed his head by the back of his hair and slammed him into the fridge
She landed a left, a right and then a left
She landed a roundhouse right in his chest and a scissor punch upside his head
Broke his nose, swept a leg, he started to fall
And on his way down, she took a bow, and the lights went out
He's on the floor like he went a round with Rocky
He didn't know she'd been taking karate
A hundred bucks says tomorrow night
She's got a brand new belt that's gonna match his eye
He doesn't dare go in the place with those bruises on his face
So he goes through the drive-thru with his sunglasses on
The song "Karate" by Brad Paisley (feat. Charlie Daniels) tells the story of a woman who has reached her breaking point in an abusive relationship. She decides to take matters into her own hands and enrolls in karate classes, determined to defend herself against her abuser. Despite her husband's drunken and violent behavior, she remains committed to her training and transforms into a badass karate fighter. When her husband comes home and starts abusing her again, she finally fights back and knocks him out. The song ends with her husband's bruised and defeated state, as she anticipates receiving her next karate belt to match his eye.
The lyrics of "Karate" showcase the power of self-defense and empowerment. The woman takes control of her own life and refuses to tolerate any more abuse from her husband. The song emphasizes the importance of standing up for oneself and the strength that can come from martial arts training. Moreover, the song is also a commentary on the cycle of domestic violence and how it often takes a dramatic event, like a physical altercation, for the victim to seek help and find a way to escape the cycle.
Line by Line Meaning
She doesn't dare go in the place with those bruises on her face
She is afraid to go in public with the bruises on her face caused by her abusive husband.
So she goes through the drive-thru and keeps her sunglasses on
In order to hide her bruises, she chooses to go through drive-thru and keep her sunglasses on.
She didn't know when she married that man
She didn't know about her husband's abusive nature when she married him.
She'd get to know him like the back of his hand
Over time, she got to know her husband very well, including his violent tendencies.
But now she's had enough, and the battle lines are drawn
After tolerating his abuse for a long time, she has finally decided to stand up for herself and fight back.
He's in a bar chasing Cuervo with Tecate
Her husband is drinking in a bar, having shots of Cuervo tequila and Tecate beer.
He doesn't know she's been taking karate
Her husband is unaware that she has been taking karate classes to defend herself.
The way she figures it about July
She has set a target to earn her karate belt by July.
She'll finally have the belt to match her eye
With the karate belt, she will finally have something on her to match the black eye caused by her husband's abuse.
She's on a mission as the months pass
Over the months, she has been focused on her goal of attaining a karate belt.
Five days a week and never misses a class
She attends her karate classes five days a week without fail.
And now she's up to breakin' boards and concrete blocks
Her training has advanced to a level where she can now break boards and concrete blocks with her kicks and punches.
He stumbled through the door tonight and started treatin' her rough
Her husband came home drunk and aggressive, treating her roughly.
Well, she took one look at him and her training kicked in
As soon as she saw him, her karate training came to her aid.
And she'd finally had enough
She had been tolerating her husband's abuse for too long and finally decided to fight back.
He threw a punch, she spun around
Her husband tried to punch her, but she expertly dodged by spinning around.
Grabbed his arm and put him on the ground
She grabbed his arm and put him on the ground.
Grabbed a cuttin' board on his way down and she kicked it in half
She kicked a cutting board in half while grabbing it on her way down.
His knees hit the floor, his chin hit a chair
Her husband fell to his knees and hit his chin on a chair, getting hurt.
Knocked out his tooth and it flew through the air
Her punch knocked out one of his teeth which was thrown to the air.
Grabbed his head by the back of his hair and slammed him into the fridge
She grabbed him by his hair and slammed him into the fridge.
She landed a left, a right and then a left
She landed a series of punches at him, first a left, then a right, and finally a left.
She landed a roundhouse right in his chest and a scissor punch upside his head
She landed a roundhouse punch in his chest followed by a scissor punch on his head.
Broke his nose, swept a leg, he started to fall
She broke his nose, swept his leg, and he started to fall down.
And on his way down, she took a bow, and the lights went out
As her husband fell down, she took a bow, and the lights went out, indicating the end of the fight.
He's on the floor like he went a round with Rocky
Her husband is lying on the floor like he had just fought with Rocky Balboa.
A hundred bucks says tomorrow night
She is confident that she will earn her karate belt tomorrow night.
She's got a brand new belt that's gonna match his eye
She expects to have a brand new karate belt tomorrow night that'll match the black eye her husband gave her previously.
He doesn't dare go in the place with those bruises on his face
Her husband is too scared to go outside due to the bruises on his face caused by her.
So he goes through the drive-thru with his sunglasses on
To cover his bruises, he orders food at the drive-thru with sunglasses on.
Lyrics © DistroKid, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KELLEY LOVELACE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind