Produced by Jim Catino, the collection features three songs co-written by Dorr on an EP that underscores the lyric-driven, rock-edged brand of country that Dorr calls his own.
The youngest of three brothers, Dorr grew up in a close-knit family in the resource-rich oil and coal-mining city of Gillette, Wyoming, where the wide-open fields and rolling hills also helped to fuel Dorr’s love of sports and the outdoors. Football became his passion in high school and college, initially attracting attention from recruiters until multiple injuries had him rethinking his direction.
“I had a gut-check kind of thing, like, ‘Are you gonna keep rehabbing and rehabbing just to get back to where you used to be a year ago?’ And then finally, I just decided it wasn’t for me, and I had to quit,” Dorr recalls, but with an ankle on the mend and time on his hands, he picked up an unused guitar that he’d been given a few years earlier.
“I just started playin’, tryin’ to learn some chords, and that’s when my friend put me in this college talent show. My first time playing for anyone – I was too shy to even play in front of my friends or my mom – and I played in front of 700 people and thought I was gonna have a heart attack. Probably out of sympathy, they were screaming and clapping when I got done, and it was just the kind of adrenaline rush that I needed to fill the void of what football did for me. And it probably saved me from getting in a lot of trouble.”
With his college football days behind him, Dorr decided to join his friends and enroll at the University of Wyoming for what was to be the start of his junior year, only to find that all of his past college credits wouldn’t transfer, leaving him essentially a freshman – and at a crossroads.
“I went by myself in a college town, went to the bar at like 3 in the afternoon and just was sitting there, trying to figure out what my next step was gonna be, and this bar band was in there sound checking, and I knew who the guy was: his name was Chancey Williams.” As luck would have it, Williams grew up with Dorr’s sister-in-law, and the two struck up a conversation.
“He asked me what I was doing, and I told him my whole story, and he goes, ‘Well, do you like country music?’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’ And he offered to get me an internship in Nashville. About a month later, I got the call, packed up my stuff, and drove to Nashville in the summer of 2010; my car barely made it.”
Back-to-back internships at a record label and a music publisher offered perspective on the music industry, and Dorr also started writing songs.
“I kind of caught the bug, ’cause I’d always written stuff, whether it was poems or short stories through school, but I didn’t really understand why I wanted to do it; I just kind of liked it. Now I get why I was doing those things; it’s because I was meant to be here writing songs, but it just took a little while for me to figure it out.”
Musically, Dorr was reared on country radio of the ’90s: “I’m a huge Dwight Yoakam fan,” he says, citing Garth Brooks, George Strait, and Brooks & Dunn among the voices that helped define his country listening.
“Some of my best memories growing up were just riding around in my dad’s truck – back when seat-belt laws weren’t really that big in Wyoming,” Dorr smiles, “and I’d be walkin’ around on the bench seat, and I don’t know why, but ‘Heartland,’ the George Strait song, is like a time machine for me. Every time I hear that song, I am standing on my dad’s seat in his truck.”
Dorr’s college-era listening offered more than the two clear radio stations in Gillette, exposing him to a range of talent that broadened his palette beyond country, including such artists as Tom Petty, The Wallflowers, Dave Grohl, Ryan Adams, and John Mayer.
“I love the storylines of country and mixing that with the rock & roll edge that I try to bring to my style of country.” Noting the openness of the country format, Dorr says, “It’s great for people like me because I’m not a straightforward George Strait traditional kind of guy; I grew up on that, but it’s just my own thing.”
Lyrically, Dorr also wants to build a candor into his songs, “saying things in a way that I want to say ’em, and not being afraid to say it.”
But musically or lyrically, it’s Dorr’s passion to create music that will endure: “We want it to be cool now and cool 10 years from now, and then 20 years from now.”
But Dorr hit a pivotal moment in 2012 when his apartment caught fire, leaving him with little more than a few clothes, a guitar, and the songs he’d written on a now-waterlogged laptop. Debating a return to Wyoming or trying to rebuild his life and bus tables or whatever he needed to do to keep pursuing music in Nashville, Dorr took it as a sign when his still-functioning laptop recovered to where he’d left it: on his music player, with the song “Fire and Rain.”
Dorr smiles, “That was a big moment in my life.”
Recommitted, Dorr’s renewed focus led to co-writes on songs that landed in the USA Network series Necessary Roughness, as the theme to the Pursuit Channel series Open Season, and on the upcoming album from Casey James – a song that brought him to the attention of RCA and helped earn Dorr his record deal.
And with the launch of his debut EP, Dorr’s sights are set on the long haul, and he hopes that listeners will become fans, and that the fans will have as much fun as he does, as he says, “I just want to throw ’em on my back and take ’em on the journey with me.”
Ready Or Not
Josh Dorr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rod Stewart on the FM station
Didn't see it comin', on the verge of somethin' new
Windows down in the midnight air
Close your eyes, I can take you there
Wrapped up in the summer,
tangled in each other too Ready or not, then two months later
I'm holdin' her hand while we both wait on two pink lines
baby I ain't goin' nowhere, I'm still here
Hell yeah I'm scared, but you're all that I've got
And we'll get through it all,
ready or not Bottomed out with mouths to feed
I'm getting by when the ends don't meet
There's always something more, the wolves are at the door again
Workin' double 'cause the pay's gone down
I get a nickel and a dime goes out
And I can't help but just go crazy 'cause I burned both ends
Ready or not, then the roof starts leakin'
If I were you girl, I'd be leavin'
I dug this hole, you're probably better off on your own
And she says
Well baby I ain't goin nowhere, I'm still here
Hell yeah I'm scared, but you're all that I've got
And we'll get through it all, ready or not
I'm going to love you through the good times and the bad
There ain't nothin' in this world that's changin' that
After everything they've tried
Doctor says that there ain't much time
I feel my heart breakin'
Sittin' in the waiting room
Ready or not, now the fight is over
She's letting go but I still hold her and start to cry
Pull her close as we say goodbye
Well baby I ain't goin nowhere, I'm still here
Hell yeah, I'm scared but you're all that I've got
And we'll get through it all
Baby, I'll get through it all, ready or not
Ready or not
Ready or not
Ready or not
In Josh Dorr's song "Ready or Not," he tells the story of a relationship from its early days to its heart-wrenching end. The song's first verse sets the scene of two young lovers in the backseat of a car, living in the moment and wrapped up in each other's arms. The chorus then jumps forward two months, where the couple is anxiously waiting for the results of a pregnancy test. From there, the song delves into the struggles of life as a young couple trying to make ends meet and provide for their family. The second verse describes the singer working hard but never seeming to get ahead, all while his partner remains steadfastly by his side. The song comes to a heartbreaking conclusion with the couple facing a terminal illness, and though their love survives until the end, the ultimate separation is inevitable.
Through it all, the singer's message is clear - no matter what life throws their way, he will be there for his partner, ready or not. The line "baby I ain't going nowhere, I'm still here" is repeated throughout the song, providing a sense of stability and comfort to the listener despite the hardships the couple faces.
Overall, "Ready or Not" is a poignant story of love, loss, and the power of commitment. It showcases both the best and worst moments of a relationship and emphasizes the importance of being there for someone through it all.
Line by Line Meaning
Backseat, yeah our hearts were racin'
We were both caught up in the moment as we sat in the car.
Rod Stewart on the FM station
We were listening to Rod Stewart's music on the radio.
Didn't see it comin', on the verge of somethin' new
We didn't expect what was about to happen next as we were on the brink of something new.
Windows down in the midnight air
The windows were rolled down and the night air was blowing in.
Close your eyes, I can take you there
Close your eyes and let me transport you to a different place and time.
Wrapped up in the summer, tangled in each other too
We were entwined with each other during the summer season.
Ready or not, then two months later
Two months passed by unexpectedly.
I'm holdin' her hand while we both wait on two pink lines
We were both anxiously waiting for the results of a pregnancy test.
Pull her close as she starts to cry
I held her tightly as she began to cry.
Well baby I ain't goin' nowhere, I'm still here
I'm here to support and love her through anything.
Hell yeah I'm scared, but you're all that I've got
I'm terrified, but at the same time, she's everything I have.
And we'll get through it all, ready or not
We'll make it through whatever comes our way.
Bottomed out with mouths to feed
We were struggling to make ends meet and had to take care of our children.
I'm getting by when the ends don't meet
I'm doing everything I can to get by when our income doesn't cover all our expenses.
There's always something more, the wolves are at the door again
There's always something else to worry about, and our problems keep multiplying.
Workin' double 'cause the pay's gone down
I have to work twice as much because my salary has decreased.
I get a nickel and a dime goes out
We don't have much leftover after covering essential expenses.
And I can't help but just go crazy 'cause I burned both ends
I'm feeling overwhelmed and stressed out because I've exhausted myself trying to balance everything.
Ready or not, then the roof starts leakin'
We face another crisis when our roof starts leaking.
If I were you girl, I'd be leavin'
If I were her, I would leave me because I'm, unable to provide or take care of her.
I dug this hole, you're probably better off on your own
It's my fault that we're in this situation, and she would be better off if she walked away.
And she says
She responded by saying,
After everything they've tried
After everything we've tried to do to save her,
Doctor says that there ain't much time
The doctor tells us that she doesn't have much time left.
I feel my heart breakin'
I feel like my heart is shattering into a million pieces.
Sittin' in the waiting room
We were sitting together in the waiting room.
Ready or not, now the fight is over
The struggle is over, and it's time to let go.
She's letting go but I still hold her and start to cry
She's passing away, and I'm holding on to her tightly as I cry.
I'm going to love you through the good times and the bad
I'll always love and support you no matter what happens.
There ain't nothin' in this world that's changin' that
Nothing in this world will ever change the love we share.
Well baby I ain't goin nowhere, I'm still here
I'll never leave you, and I'll always be here for you.
Hell yeah, I'm scared but you're all that I've got
I'm scared of losing you, but you're everything I have.
And we'll get through it all
Together, we will overcome anything that comes our way.
Baby, I'll get through it all, ready or not
I'm willing to face anything as long as I have her by my side.
Ready or not
No matter what comes our way, we're ready to face it together.
Ready or not
We're ready to face any challenges or uncertainties that may arise.
Ready or not
No matter what happens, we're prepared to handle it together.
Contributed by Ellie I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.