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.
No
Brad Paisley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About the brand new bike, that I didn't get.
I'd prayed my heart out, and it didn't seem fair,
I told my grandpa, I guess God doesn't care,
And he just smiled, and said my child,
Make no mistake, every prayer you pray,
Gets answered, even though,
Five years later, out behind the shed,
With a stolen pack of grandpa's cigarettes,
I struck a match, and held that first one to my lips,
And prayed to God please let me get away with this,
And through the smoke, I saw grandpa standing there.
Make no mistake, every prayer you pray,
Gets answered, even though,
Sometimes, the answer is no.
When I think of all the answers in my life, I would have to say,
There's no doubt it was always for the best,
When I didn't get my way.
Grandpa got older, like grandpas do,
His health was failing, and I guess I knew,
It'd be best if he was called on hold,
But selfishly I prayed that God would keep him hanging on,
And when he passed away, in my mind I heard him say.
Make no mistake, every prayer you pray,
Gets answered, even though,
Sometimes, the answer is no.
Sometimes, the answer,
Is no.
The Brad Paisley song "No" is a poignant ballad that discusses the realities of prayer and how the answers to our prayers might not always be what we desire. The songwriter recounts a few instances from his childhood and early adulthood when he prayed for things that he couldn't get, like a bike on his fifth birthday, or when he prayed to get away with smoking his first cigarette, which he stole from his grandpa. He reflects on how sometimes it's easy to feel like God isn't listening or that he's not answering our prayers, but in reality, every prayer gets answered, even if the answer is no.
The song's message is based on the belief that all things work together for good for those who love God, even if things don't go our way in the moment. Indeed, life is full of trials and disappointments, but these things help us become better humans and strengthen our faith in the long run. The song is a sober reminder that although it's not always easy to accept no as an answer, it's crucial to put our trust in God and believe that He knows what is best for us.
Line by Line Meaning
On my fifth birthday, I got so upset,
On my fifth birthday, I was extremely upset because I did not receive a new bike which I had been praying for.
About the brand new bike, that I didn't get.
I did not receive the brand new bike which I had been hoping to receive on my fifth birthday.
I'd prayed my heart out, and it didn't seem fair,
I had fervently prayed to receive the bike, and its non-receipt seemed unjust to me.
I told my grandpa, I guess God doesn't care,
I shared my disappointment with my grandpa, and expressed skepticism regarding whether God cared about me.
And he just smiled, and said my child,
My grandpa smiled and addressed me affectionately.
Make no mistake, every prayer you pray,
Grandpa assures me that all prayers receive a response from God.
Gets answered, even though,
All prayers, in some form or other, receive an answer from God even if it is negative.
Sometimes, the answer is no.
Occasionally, the answer may simply be a negative one.
Five years later, out behind the shed,
Several years later, stole cigarettes from grandpa and smoked them out back.
With a stolen pack of grandpa's cigarettes,
I stole grandpa's cigarettes and smoked them, hoping not to get caught.
I struck a match, and held that first one to my lips,
I lit the cigarette and brought it to my mouth.
And prayed to God please let me get away with this,
I hoped that God would allow me to avoid getting caught while smoking grandpa's cigarettes.
And through the smoke, I saw grandpa standing there.
I caught a glimpse of grandpa through the haze of smoke.
When I think of all the answers in my life, I would have to say,
Looking back over my life, I have realized that every petition which I had made was answered by God.
There's no doubt it was always for the best,
I am convinced that every unanswered prayer was for my greater good.
When I didn't get my way.
Whenever I did not receive what I desired, I can see that it was actually for the best.
Grandpa got older, like grandpas do,
My grandpa aged, as is typical of elderly individuals.
His health was failing, and I guess I knew,
I was aware that grandpa's health was declining.
It'd be best if he was called on hold,
I acknowledged that it would be best if grandpa passed away.
But selfishly I prayed that God would keep him hanging on,
Despite this knowledge, I still selfishly prayed to God for grandpa's continued life and health.
And when he passed away, in my mind I heard him say.
At grandpa's death, I heard his voice within my mind.
Sometimes, the answer,
Occasionally, the response from God to our prayers,
Is no.
may simply be 'no'.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, ANTHEM ENTERTAINMENT LP, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTHONY GEORGE ANDERSON, DANE ANTHONY DEVILLER, SEAN SYED HOSEIN, STEVEN ANDREW SMITH, EBRAHIM LAKHANI, H.U.B.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind