Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association. In 2019, Bryan's 2013 album Crash My Party received the first Album of the Decade award from the Academy of Country Music.
Luke Bryan was born in Leesburg, Georgia, to LeClaire and Tommy Bryan, who owned a peanut farm. Shortly before Luke was going to move to Nashville at age 19, his elder brother Chris was unexpectedly killed in a car accident. His mother, LeClaire, had made a statement: "We knew Luke at some point would come to Nashville," his mother said. "But ... you can't leave your family, and ... I couldn't bear the thought of him being away."
Instead, Luke went to college at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, where he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity, briefly dated his future wife Caroline, and graduated in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. Luke reconnected with Caroline several years later when he was performing at a bar in Statesboro when she was in town, later resuming their relationship and eventually marrying.
Two years after graduating from college, Bryan finally made it to Nashville, when his father urged him to pack his truck to pursue a career in music. He initially gained success as a songwriter, but soon after signed as a performer; his first major success was "All My Friends Say".
2006–2009: I'll Stay Me
Soon after his arrival in Nashville, Bryan joined a publishing house in the city. Among his first cuts was the title track of Travis Tritt's 2004 album My Honky Tonk History.
He was later signed by Capitol Nashville to a recording contract. In the meantime, Bryan co-wrote Billy Currington's single "Good Directions", which went to number one on the Hot Country Songs chart in mid-2007. Bryan co-wrote his debut single, "All My Friends Say", with producer Jeff Stevens. This song reached a peak of #5 on the Hot Country Songs chart. In August 2007, Capitol Nashville released Bryan's debut album, I'll Stay Me. Bryan wrote or co-wrote all but one of its 11 songs. The album's second single, "We Rode in Trucks", peaked at #33 while "Country Man" reached #10.
2009–2011: Doin' My Thing
On March 10, 2009, he released an EP titled Spring Break with All My Friends that featured two new songs, "Sorority Girls" and "Take My Drunk Ass Home," plus an acoustic version of "All My Friends Say". After this EP, he released his fourth single, "Do I" in May 2009. Bryan wrote the song with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady A, whose lead singer Hillary Scott also sings backing vocals on it. The song reached #2 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
"Do I" was included on Bryan's second album, Doin' My Thing, which was released in October 2009. Also included on the album was a cover of OneRepublic's "Apologize". Bryan wrote the album's next two singles, "Rain Is a Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby", with Dallas Davidson and Jeff Stevens, respectively. Both of these songs went to #1 on the country music charts. AllMusic gave this album a positive review as well, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine considering Bryan more "relaxed" in comparison to his debut. On February 26, 2010, Bryan released a second EP, titled Spring Break 2...Hangover Edition, which featured three new songs: "Wild Weekend", "Cold Beer Drinker", and "I'm Hungover". While Bryan is mainly known as a country music singer, he has explored other genres like alternative rock with his cover of "Apologize".
Bryan appeared on the April 18, 2010, episode of Celebrity Apprentice alongside fellow country star Emily West. The task for each team was to make over an up-and-coming country star, with Bryan being selected by Team Rocksolid, led by Bill Goldberg, and West being selected by team Tenacity, led by Cyndi Lauper. Bryan's makeover failed to impress the judges, leading to Rocksolid losing the task. Bryan's single "Rain Is a Good Thing" and West's single "Blue Sky" were both sold on iTunes, with a month's worth of sales being donated to Lauper's charity, the Stonewall Community Foundation, resulting in $25,000 being raised.
2011–2013: Tailgates & Tanlines
Bryan released his third EP, Spring Break 3...It's a Shore Thing, on February 25, 2011, featuring four new songs - "In Love With the Girl," "If You Ain't Here to Party," "Shore Thing," and "Love In a College Town". This release was followed by Bryan's seventh single, "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)", which was released on March 14, 2011. Also co-written by Bryan and Davidson, it served as the lead-off single to his third studio album, Tailgates & Tanlines, which was released August 9, 2011. The album peaked at #1 on the Top Country Albums chart and #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. "Country Girl" peaked at #4 on the country music charts and #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album's next three singles - "I Don't Want This Night to End", "Drunk on You", and "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" - all reached #1 on the country music charts. Bryan, along with Eric Church, sang guest vocals on Jason Aldean's "The Only Way I Know," the second single from his 2012 album, Night Train.
On March 6, 2012, Bryan released his fourth Spring Break EP entitled Spring Break 4...Suntan City. Along with the title track, which Bryan co-wrote with Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip, the EP includes "Spring Break-Up," "Little Bit Later On," and "Shake the Sand". On January 30, 2013, Bryan announced his first compilation album, Spring Break...Here to Party, which includes 14 songs - 12 from his previous Spring Break EPs and two new tracks. It was released on March 5. The album debuted at #1 on both the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first album of his career to top the all-genre album chart. One of the new Spring Break songs, "Buzzkill", reached the top 20 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
2013–2015: Crash My Party
Luke Bryan's fourth studio album, Crash My Party, was released on August 12, 2013. The album's first single, "Crash My Party", was premiered in a performance at the 2013 ACM Awards and released on April 7, 2013. It reached #1 on the Country Airplay chart in July 2013. The album's second single, "That's My Kind of Night", was released to country radio on August 5, 2013. It reached #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart in August 2013 and peaked at #2 on the Country Airplay chart in October 2013. The album's third single, "Drink a Beer", was released to country radio on October 24, 2013. It reached #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart in January 2014 and #1 on the Country Airplay chart in February 2014. During the kickoff show for his 2014 That's My Kind of Night Tour in Columbus, Ohio, Bryan announced to the crowd that "Play It Again" would become the album's fourth single. This song reached #1 on both the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in May 2014. At the same time, Bryan sang guest vocals on Florida Georgia Line's 2014 single "This Is How We Roll". On July 14, 2014, the song "Roller Coaster" was released as the album's fifth single. It reached #1 on the Country Airplay chart in October 2014. The album's sixth single, "I See You", was released to country radio on November 3, 2014. It reached #1 on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in February 2015.
On March 11, 2014, Bryan began his sixth year of spring performances at Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City Beach, Florida. On the same day, he also released his sixth Spring Break EP, Spring Break 6...Like We Ain't Ever.
Bryan is the only country music artist to release an album of six #1 singles on both the Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.
2015–2018: Kill the Lights and What Makes You Country
On November 11, 2014, it was confirmed that Bryan had begun writing and recording songs for his upcoming fifth studio album. His last Spring Break album, Spring Break...Checkin' Out, was released on March 10, 2015. It includes the six songs from the previous year's EP and five original new songs.
On May 19, 2015, Bryan released his first single from his fifth studio album, Kill the Lights, "Kick the Dust Up", which peaked at #1 on the Country Airplay chart. He co-wrote over half of the songs on this album. This album provides not only his country flare, but also has tracks that include a disco type beat along with the songs of romance. The album's second single, "Strip It Down", was released to country radio on August 4, 2015. The album was released on August 7. Kill the Lights sold 345,000 total copies its first week and beat out Dr. Dre's Compton to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. "Strip It Down" went #1 in October 2015, making fourteen cumulative #1's. The album's third single, "Home Alone Tonight", released to country radio on November 23, 2015. The song also became his 15th song to reach #1. The album's fourth single, "Huntin', Fishin' and Lovin' Every Day", released to country radio on March 14, 2016. All six of the singles released from Bryan's Kill the Lights album reached #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making Bryan the first artist in the 27-year history of the chart to achieve six #1 singles from one album.
It was announced that Bryan would perform at halftime of the 2015 Thanksgiving match-up between the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers.
In 2016, Bryan was selected as one of 30 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.
On February 5, 2017, Bryan performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX. In September 2017, Bryan was announced as a judge for the revival of American Idol on ABC.
Bryan released "Light It Up" in mid-2017. It served as the lead-off single to his sixth album, What Makes You Country, which was released on December 8, 2017. "Most People Are Good" and "Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset" were released as the album's second and third singles, respectively. The album's fourth single, the album's title track, released to country radio on October 22, 2018.
When American Idol returned for another season on ABC, Bryan returned along with Katy Perry and Lionel Richie as judges.
2019–2021: Born Here Live Here Die Here
"Knockin' Boots" was released to country radio in March 2019. In October 2019, "What She Wants Tonight" was released to country radio as the second single from his upcoming album. In January 2020, Bryan announced his next album would be titled Born Here Live Here Die Here and was scheduled to be released on April 24, 2020. The announcement of the album followed the announcement of his upcoming Proud to Be Right Here Tour. On March 13, 2020, "One Margarita" was released as the third single from his upcoming album. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bryan delayed the release of the album to August 7, 2020, and rescheduled the Proud to Be Right Here Tour to 2021. On June 12, 2020, Bryan released the track "Build Me A Daddy" along with a music video for the song. On October 19, 2020, the song "Down to One" was made the fourth single from the album. A Deluxe edition of Born Here Live Here Die Here, released on April 9, 2021, produced the album's fifth single, "Waves", as well as its sixth single, "Up," which was released on October 11, 2021. In October, it was announced that Bryan would host the 55th Annual Country Music Association Awards for the first time, making him the first solo host in 18 years.
Drinkin' Beer And Wastin' Bullets
Luke Bryan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With the squirrels and the ticks
And my thirty-aught-six
I'm running out of miller light
Trucks in park
The dog wont bark
Couple hours 'till dark
Wishing one would walk by
Been here all day all I killed a 12-pack
Sittin' here
Waitin' on a deer
Drinkin' beer and wastin' bullets
Aiming at the empties
Missin' hittin' pine trees
Ain't my fault them cans keep movin'
My baby's on the phone
Saying baby come home
Where ya been and whatcha been doing
Well I've been sittin' here
Waiting on a deer
Drinkin' beer and wastin' bullets
The only deer I seen's
Been John Deere green
But that don't mean
That I got a raw deal
'Cause there ain't no boss
Callin' me hoss
Tickin' me off
On the edge of this corn field
On my second box of Winchester hundred grains
Ain't seen a big buck
But its been a good day
Sittin' here
Waitin' on a deer
Drinkin' beer and wastin' bullets
Aiming at the empties
Missin' hittin' pine trees
Ain't my fault them cans keep movin'
My baby's on the phone
Saying baby come home
Where ya been and whatcha been doing
Well I've been sittin' here
Waiting on a deer
Drinkin' beer and wastin' bullets
Sittin' here
Waitin' on a deer
Drinkin' beer and wastin' bullets
Aiming at the empties
Missin' hittin' pine trees
Ain't my fault them cans keep movin'
My baby's on the phone
Saying baby come home
Where ya been and whatcha been doing
Well I've been sittin' here
Waiting on a deer
Drinkin' beer and wastin' bullets
Sittin' here waitin' on a deer
Drinkin' beer
Wastin' bullets
Yeah
The song “Drinkin’ Beer and Wastin’ Bullets” by Luke Bryan is a playful ode to a lazy day of hunting and drinking beer in the great outdoors. The lyrics describe the singer’s experience waiting for the perfect moment to shoot a deer, but instead, he ends up drinking beer and shooting at empty cans and pine trees. The lyrics are full of rural imagery, and the chorus repeats the phrase “Drinkin’ beer and wastin’ bullets” as a mantra of sorts.
The song is a commentary on the laid-back lifestyle of rural America, where people often take things slow, and hunting, fishing, and drinking with friends are popular pastimes. The singer is content to spend the day doing nothing and drinking beer, even if it means he doesn’t catch any deer. The line “Might as well left my gun in the gun rack” implies that he’s not taking the hunting part of the day too seriously.
The song has a lighthearted tone, but it also touches on themes of nostalgia and escapism. The chorus suggests that the singer is looking for an escape from the stresses of his life, and drinking and hunting offer him that escape. Overall, “Drinkin’ Beer and Wastin’ Bullets” celebrates the simple pleasures of life in the countryside and invites listeners to join in the fun.
Line by Line Meaning
Out in the sticks
In a rural, secluded area
With the squirrels and the ticks
Surrounded by wildlife and insects
And my thirty-aught-six
With my hunting rifle
I'm running out of miller light
Almost out of beer
Trucks in park
Vehicle is stationary
The dog wont bark
No activity in the surrounding area
Couple hours 'till dark
Time of day
Wishing one would walk by
Waiting for a deer to appear
Might as well left my gun in the gun rack
No use for the rifle
Been here all day all I killed a 12-pack
Spent the entire day drinking beer
Sittin' here
On a chair or bench outside
Waitin' on a deer
Anticipating a deer to hunt
Drinkin' beer and wastin' bullets
Drinking alcohol and not finding any game to hunt
Aiming at the empties
Shooting at empty beer cans
Missin' hittin' pine trees
Failing to hit the target
Ain't my fault them cans keep movin'
Blaming the cans for not being still
My baby's on the phone
Partner is calling
Saying baby come home
Asking to come back home
Where ya been and whatcha been doing
Asking about whereabouts and activities
The only deer I seen's
The only deer I have seen is
Been John Deere green
Referring to a green tractor, not an actual deer
But that don't mean
Although this is the case
That I got a raw deal
That I was treated unfairly
'Cause there ain't no boss
No one in charge or supervising
Callin' me hoss
Addressing me as cowboy or boss
Tickin' me off
Making me angry or annoyed
On the edge of this corn field
Located at the outskirts of a field
On my second box of Winchester hundred grains
Ammunition used for the rifle
Ain't seen a big buck
Has not seen any large male deer
But its been a good day
Despite the lack of success, the day has been enjoyable
Sittin' here
Still waiting
Waitin' on a deer
Anticipating the arrival of a deer
Drinkin' beer and wastin' bullets
Drinking alcohol and failing at hunting
Aiming at the empties
Targeting empty beer cans
Missin' hittin' pine trees
Still unable to hit the target
Ain't my fault them cans keep movin'
Still blaming the cans for not being stationary
My baby's on the phone
Partner is still calling
Saying baby come home
Asking to return home
Where ya been and whatcha been doing
Repeating the questions
Sittin' here
Still waiting
Waitin' on a deer
With the same expectation
Drinkin' beer and wastin' bullets
With no success, still consuming alcohol and failing at hunting
Sittin' here waitin' on a deer
Repeating the waiting process
Drinkin' beer
Continuing to drink alcohol
Wastin' bullets
Still failing to hunt any animals
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: PATRICK JASON MATTHEWS, LUKE BRYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind