According to the The Impossible Songfacts, the Kelley Lovelace and Lee Thomas Miller penned mid-tempo ballad was released in March 2002 as the first single from his second album, man With a Memory . It became his first hit, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Country chart and #29 on the Hot 100. Nichols recalled to The Boot in a 2011 interview: "'The Impossible' was huge for me for a number of different reasons. It was my introduction to Country music. It was the first thing everybody saw of me, this brand new guy with this voice. I heard a lot of people say when they met me, 'Wow! We just pictured somebody a lot older, because it's a really country-sounding voice.' So, it was my introduction. It got people familiar with me."
Don't Ruin It For The Rest Of Us
Joe Nichols Lyrics
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With your braggin' that you fell in love
Can't you see we're kinda busy here
Swappin' lies and cryin' in our beers
So you're getting married good for you
Its first inning Braves are down by two
Grab a seat and keep your big mouth shut
I hardly recognized you
With that smile on your face
Your shirt's tucked in, you shaved your chin
And every hair's in place
You smell a whole lot better
Than anybody in this bar
Here's a dollar, buy yourself a cheap cigar
Don't ruin it for the rest of us
With your braggin' that you fell in love
Can't you see we're kinda busy here
Swappin lies and cryin' in our beers
So you're gettin' married good for you
Its third inning braves are down by two
Grab a seat and keep your big mouth shut
And don't ruin it for the rest of us
You missed bowling season
Butch blew a perfect game
And when we got the new shirts printed up
There was an "I" in Shooter's name
Well Ronnie's back to walkin'
He got another DUI
So if you plan on gettin' out of here alive
Don't ruin it for the rest of us
With your braggin' that you fell in love
Can't you see we're kinda busy here
Swappin' lies and cryin' in our beers
So you're gettin' married good for you
It's sixth inning braves are down by two
Grab a seat and keep your big mouth shut
And don't ruin it for the rest of us
So you're getting married good for you
Its ninth inning we're about to lose
I told you twice to keep your pie hole shut
And don't ruin it for the rest of us
Can't you see that we've been through enough
Don't ruin it for the rest of us
In “Don’t Ruin It For The Rest Of Us”, Joe Nichols sings a humorous warning to his newly-engaged friend who has just announced his upcoming wedding. He asks his friend to refrain from telling everyone about his new-found love and impending nuptials, as the rest of the guys in the bar are busy swappin’ lies, crying in their beers, and enjoying their life of freedom. Nichols encourages his friend to grab a seat, keep quiet, and not ruin it for them by talking non-stop about his love life. He goes on to remind his friend of their recent pastimes and the mishaps that have occurred, like Butch losing his perfect game in bowling, Ronnie getting another DUI, and Shooter’s name being misspelled on their new shirts. As the song progresses, he becomes more adamant about his friend’s need to be quiet, even warning him to keep his “pie hole” shut as they’re about to lose the game in the ninth inning.
The song is a lighthearted ode to the close bonds between male friends and the value of their time together. By telling his friend to refrain from talking about his upcoming wedding, Nichols emphasizes that the guys’ relationships and shared experiences are the most important things to them at the moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't ruin it for the rest of us
Stop talking about your love life and ruining our night
With your braggin' that you fell in love
Stop talking about your love life and ruining our night
Can't you see we're kinda busy here
We're busy drinking and swapping stories
Swappin' lies and cryin' in our beers
We're telling exaggerated stories and feeling sorry for ourselves
So you're getting married good for you
Congratulations on getting married, but we don't really care
Its first inning Braves are down by two
The baseball game is on, and the Braves are losing
Grab a seat and keep your big mouth shut
Sit down and be quiet
I hardly recognized you
You look different than how I remember you
With that smile on your face
You're smiling, which is unusual for you
Your shirt's tucked in, you shaved your chin
You're looking more put-together than usual
And every hair's in place
You look well-groomed
You smell a whole lot better
You don't smell bad like usual
Than anybody in this bar
You smell better than everyone else here
Here's a dollar, buy yourself a cheap cigar
Take this money and leave us alone
Its third inning braves are down by two
The baseball game is still on, and the Braves are still losing
You missed bowling season
You didn't participate in the bowling league
Butch blew a perfect game
Butch didn't bowl a perfect game
And when we got the new shirts printed up
We recently got new bowling shirts
There was an "I" in Shooter's name
There was a spelling error on Shooter's shirt
Well Ronnie's back to walkin'
Ronnie is walking again after being unable to walk for some time
He got another DUI
Ronnie got another DUI
It's sixth inning braves are down by two
The baseball game is still on, and the Braves are still losing
Its ninth inning we're about to lose
The baseball game is almost over, and our team is going to lose
I told you twice to keep your pie hole shut
I already told you to be quiet, and now I'm telling you again
Can't you see that we've been through enough
We're already having a bad night, so don't make it worse
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Spirit Music Group, Bluewater Music Corp.
Written by: ANNIE TATE, GEORGIA MIDDLEMAN, JIMMY RITCHEY, SAM M. TATE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind