Many Texan music fans met Cody Johnson’s honest style through the radio singles from his "Six Strings, One Dream" album: "Nobody to Blame" (#6 on the Texas music charts in 2009); #1"Pray for Rain" (2009 - 2010); and "Texas Kind of Way" (#6, late 2010 – 2011).
At first he opened for other artists, but Cody has also taken the Texas dance-halls by storm. Increasingly, the Cody Johnson Band is the attraction, and an honest-to-goodness one.
Cody’s childhood, though, was different from his rowdy onstage personality. Growing up, home was Sebastopol, a speck on the East Texas piney woods map, the perfect setting for that country boy to roam the woods, hunt, and fish. Home-schooling and family times around the piano provided the kind of life the kind many folks envy. Even Cody's music training started when dad Carl taught him the chords to “I’ll Fly Away,” a southern gospel favorite.
Starting public school as a freshman, Cody expanded beyond playing the guitar and drums at church. When his AG science teacher overheard Cody playing an original song, he convinced Cody to form a band with other FFA (Future Farmers of America) members. A few months later, Cody's band placed runner-up in the highly-competitive Texas State FFA talent contest.
Cody left the contest realizing he was in love for life: in love with the music, the crowd, and the energy of performing onstage. Beginning in small honky-tonks and bars, he tried different musical styles. Discarding many, today Cody's shows still keep a Garth Brooks-level of energy and a Ronnie Van Zant-outlaw dedication to individual style. Like the late Chris LeDoux's musical beginnings, “CoJo” sold his acoustic CDs from the back of his truck during three years of bull-riding. Cody still shows up today as the true cowboy he is.
After graduation, Johnson worked for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville. There, supervising prison inmates, Cody confides, "I developed an even greater appreciation for family and friends. Seeing how easy it was to go to prison set me on the 'straight and narrow.'"
Also in Huntsville, Cody met Nathan Reedy, who became his new drummer. With Carl Johnson playing bass, the trio began traveling as the Cody Johnson Band. Their first CD, "Black & White Label," provided funding for travel and radio promotion—and the assurance that the music dream was real.
Along the way, several popular artists have shared their friendship, fans, and wisdom with Cody. Some gave business advice and warned him of issues musicians face on the road. The common thread is that other professionals respect Cody as a performer, songwriter, and individual. In turn, Cody Johnson earns that respect, giving as much effort to an audience of 30 or 30,000. As he states, “I like the crowd to sing along, yell, or whatever makes them feel part of the show. I love big crowds because of the energy and showmanship I can exhibit. I love acoustic shows because of the intimacy and how candid they are. Acoustic shows are like sittin’ around the living room pickin' and grinnin'."
Winning the Texas’ Regional Music Awards as “New Male Vocalist of the Year 2011” caused Cody to choose whether leave the security of state employment to chase his dreams. He followed his own advice to "Always pray for direction, and know that no matter what... the good Lord has a plan."
The answer to that prayer came when Cody's wife Brandi gave her “thumbs-up.” As Cody puts it, "When the woman I love—and plan to spend the rest of my life with—told me that she 'stands by her man' and believes in me 100%, I believed even more confidently that I could live my dream. Though I've had lots of people believe, contribute, push and pull me along, no one's efforts affected my decision emotionally the way Brandi's faith in me did."
Cody indeed left his "day job" for the more-than-full-time music career. But, that’s where the story really begins.
Expanding his boundaries beyond Texas, he flew to Nashville to record a new CD with Nashville studio musicians hand-picked by his "big brother," Nashville-based fellow Texan, Trent Willmon, producer of the new album, A Different Day (released October 31, 2011).
Though new to Nashville recording ways, Johnson’s musical confidence showed in the Music City recording studio. Together, he and the studio musicians tweaked songs to obtain the exact intended effect. Listening to the Music City veterans, Cody adopted suggestions when they felt right, and would "hang tough" when he felt the music differently.
According to CoJo, "I don't want to be labeled as 'Texas' or 'Nashville.' I am me: Texas, outlaw, cowboy, country, and a God-fearing man using the gift He gave me."
- Billie Willmon Jenkin
Holes
Cody Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pile of dust on the floor where my fist met the drywall
That's my MO, leavin' something broke everywhere I go
Holes
There's a rusty old truck door sittin' in a field
That I filled full of buckshot every time I got
Mad at something over nothing didn't matter at all
In my life, down in my bones
From my heart, to my soul
There's a lonely space on the big brass bed
Where we first made love
And she laid her head on my shoulder
Before I told her it was over
Holes
There's a million conversations with my old man
'Bout who he was, and who I am
That I never had, I just wouldn't listen
I just kept digging myself down in 'em holes in my life
Down in my bones
From my heart, to my soul
Holes
Well I woke up today, put the shovel down
Stepped out of my haze, took a look around
Saw a ray of light shining through the clouds
So I climbed out
And I let it shine
Down in my bones
From my heart, right through my soul
Through all my holes
Through all these holes
The song "Holes" by Cody Johnson talks about the holes that we create in our lives through our actions, decisions, and mistakes. The first two verses describe physical holes that the singer has created in his surroundings, whether it's a hole in the drywall from a fist, or bullet holes in a truck door from anger. However, the song transitions to a more emotional and personal level in the final verse. The lonely space on the bed represents the hole left behind by a lost love, and the missed conversations with his father are the holes of missed opportunities for deeper understanding and connection.
Nevertheless, the song carries a message of hope and redemption, as the singer wakes up and decides to put the shovel down and climb out of the holes he's created for himself. The imagery of a ray of light shining through the clouds reinforces the idea of rising above one's situation and letting positivity shine through even the darkest moments.
Overall, "Holes" is a song that reflects on the ways we sabotage ourselves and the impact of our choices on our lives and relationships. Yet, it also offers a powerful reminder that it's never too late to start climbing out of those holes and letting the light shine through.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a picture frame hangin' at the end of the hall
There's a picture frame hanging at the end of the hall.
Pile of dust on the floor where my fist met the drywall
There's a pile of dust on the floor where my fist met the drywall.
That's my MO, leavin' something broke everywhere I go
Leaving something broken everywhere I go is my modus operandi.
Holes
These actions have left holes.
There's a rusty old truck door sittin' in a field
There's a rusty old truck door sitting in a field.
That I filled full of buckshot every time I got
I filled that truck door full of buckshot every time I got mad at something over nothing that didn't matter at all.
Mad at something over nothing didn't matter at all
I got mad at things that didn't matter at all.
Holes
These actions have left holes.
In my life, down in my bones
These actions are a part of my life, deep within me.
From my heart, to my soul
These actions have affected me emotionally and spiritually.
There's a lonely space on the big brass bed
There's a lonely space on the big brass bed where we first made love.
Where we first made love
This is where we first made love.
And she laid her head on my shoulder
She laid her head on my shoulder.
Before I told her it was over
Before I told her it was over.
Holes
This breakup has left a hole.
There's a million conversations with my old man
There are a million conversations I could have had with my old man.
'Bout who he was, and who I am
We could have talked about who he was and who I am.
That I never had, I just wouldn't listen
But I never had them because I wouldn't listen.
I just kept digging myself down in 'em holes in my life
Instead, I kept digging myself down in these holes in my life.
Well I woke up today, put the shovel down
Today, I woke up and decided to stop digging myself deeper into these holes by putting the shovel down.
Stepped out of my haze, took a look around
I stepped out of my fog and took a hard look at my surroundings.
Saw a ray of light shining through the clouds
I saw a glimmer of hope in the midst of the darkness.
So I climbed out
I climbed out of the hole I was in.
And I let it shine
And I let that hope shine through.
Through all my holes
Through all the holes that have been left in my life.
Down in my bones
But I know that hope will start deep within me.
From my heart, right through my soul
And it will affect me emotionally and spiritually.
Through all these holes
And it will fill all the holes that have been left behind.
Writer(s): Steele Jeffrey, Johnson Cody Daniel
Contributed by Jonathan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Logan Errett
This man is truly gifted
Joshua Hilliard
This song is a real testament of his vocal range
Boondocks Bass Fishing
Man this song is amazing tugged at the heart strings a bit
Karen Simon Franco
I love this Song ❤. Gracias Cody Johnson por tu musica.
Brad Holmes
One of the most underrated songs from CoJo!
Donovan Dettmer
I’ve loved this song for awhile but today I just felt like listening to it here. I don’t know why, just really wanted to hear this song. And holy hell, I don’t know what it was this time but today it hit different...........today it got me off my ass in the middle of a hot Texas day to go do the running I’ve been needing to do but haven’t been........ words can’t explain what this song just did to me today or how it felt today..... so thank Cody Johnson for this amazing song........shit........I needed that....
Stephen H. Cummings
Very nice brother
PUNISHERMHS 2021
It is criminal that this song only has 400 something likes