Shooter Jennings lived his first few years in a crib on his parents' tour bus. By age five, he was playing drums. Between tours, he took piano lessons. He started playing guitar at fourteen and sometimes played in his father's band. He and his father recorded a few things together when they happened to have some microphones set up and the tape recorder plugged in. At age sixteen, Jennings discovered rock 'n' roll.
As an adult, Jennings left Nashville, Tennessee to seek his fortunes in Los Angeles. He assembled and performed with Stargunn, a southern rock band whose sound he described as Lynyrd Skynyrd mutating into Guns N' Roses. Stargunn performed at local clubs for six years, built a rabid following and earned praise from the local music press. But the Hollywood party scene eventually began to bother him. He says, "I was posing as a rocker—a country guy trying to be something he wasn't."
On March 30, 2003, Jennings dissolved Stargunn and moved to New York City to spend time with his girlfriend and sort out what he wanted to do next. An unexpected gig at the House of Blues a few weeks later revived his creativity. He returned to Los Angeles to form another band, the 357s. After six weeks in the studio, he completed his first solo album, Put the O Back in Country. Universal South released the album in early 2005.
Jennings portrayed his father in the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line. He is the host of Shooter Jennings' Electric Rodeo, a two-hour weekly music show on Sirius Satellite Radio's Outlaw Country channel. He currently dates Drea de Matteo. Shooter Jennings' second solo album "Electric Rodeo" was released on April 04, 2006.
Outlaw You
Shooter Jennings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lookin' for some country soul, but I don't find it, no
It's a dirt road free for all, some old boys sayin' they're outlaws,
They dress the part and they talk the talk
You know they've been taught to walk the walk
These boys think they're tough like they been robbin' banks
Cause they name drop Johnny Cash and they name drop poor old Hank
You couldn't hit country with a baseball bat
Country ain't just about where you're at
It's about bein' true to what's inside
You say you're an outlaw with your perfect boots
That you got from your record label's image group
Sing another man's song with a big drum loop
Listen, son, you ain't got a clue
You can't buy true, tell you what they should do
They should outlaw you
Let me paint a picture for you, Nashville in '62
The formula had proven true, they didn't let nothing new through
When Waylon came to town, they didn't like his original sound
They tried hard to keep him down, they tried hard to starve him out
But he kept playin' shows and pressin' on, chippin' away, song by song
After years and years of strugglin' strong, he got his chance and he took it to #1
With "This Time" back in '74, with his band in the back and 4 on the floor
That one record busted down the door and the record labels had the control no more
Then in '76 came the Outlaws record, sold the first million in country music ever
Those old boys with long hair and braids stayed true to their sound and freed the slaves
And all these years later, the suits got back their grip
They took the outlaw concept and they re-packaged it
And there's a million Ol Waylon fans
Singin' "Don't y'all think this outlaw bit has gotten way out of hand"
Hey pretty boy in your cowboy hat
You couldn't hit country with a baseball bat
Country ain't just about where you're at
It's about bein' true to what's inside
You say you're an outlaw with your perfect boots
That you got from your record label's image group
Sing another man's song with a big drum loop
Listen, son, you ain't got a clue
You can't buy true, tell you what they should do
They should outlaw you
They should outlaw you
Hey pretty boy in the baseball hat
You couldn't hit country with a baseball bat
Country ain't just about where you're at
It's about bein' true to what's inside
You say you're an outlaw with your perfect boots
That you got from your record label's image group
Sing another man's song with a big drum loop
Listen, man, you ain't got a clue
You can't buy true, tell you what they should do
They should outlaw you
"Outlaw You" by Shooter Jennings is a song that speaks to the true essence of country music and what it means to be an outlaw in the genre. The opening lines of the song depict the artist's disappointment with the state of country music, as he looks for some "country soul" on the radio but only finds "some old boys saying they're outlaws." According to the artist, these boys think they're tough just because they name drop Johnny Cash and Hank, but they don't really understand the true essence of what it means to be an outlaw.
The chorus of the song goes on to criticize these "pretty boys" who wear cowboy hats and perfect boots and sing someone else's song with a big drum loop. According to the artist, being an outlaw in country music is about being true to what's inside and not what image your record label tries to sell. Shooter continues with an anecdote about Waylon Jennings who came to Nashville in '62 with his original sound which was not accepted by the industry until he broke out with "This Time" in '74. Waylon's true sound inspired the Outlaws record which sold the first million in Country music ever. In conclusion, Shooter Jennings calls for a return to the foundational values of Country music and urges artists to be authentic.
Overall, "Outlaw You" is a powerful song that speaks to the importance of staying true to oneself and the values of the genre. Its lyrics criticize the "cookie-cutter" approach of some modern Country artists who rely on image and record labels. This song is a call to authenticity and a return to the values of the Outlaws who came before us.
Line by Line Meaning
I get home from a long day, put on the radio
After a long day, I turn on the radio looking for country music.
Lookin' for some country soul, but I don't find it, no
I can't find good country music.
It's a dirt road free for all, some old boys sayin' they're outlaws,
Some old men claim to be outlaws on a dirt road.
They dress the part and they talk the talk
They dress and speak like outlaws.
You know they've been taught to walk the walk
Their actions have been taught to them.
These boys think they're tough like they been robbin' banks
They think they're tough from listening to songs about robbing banks.
Cause they name drop Johnny Cash and they name drop poor old Hank
They mention Johnny Cash and Hank Williams to seem cool.
Hey pretty boy in the baseball hat
Hey you, wearing a baseball hat and looking handsome.
You couldn't hit country with a baseball bat
You couldn't understand country music even if you tried hard.
Country ain't just about where you're at
Country music is not just about where you live.
It's about bein' true to what's inside
It's about being true to yourself and your beliefs.
You say you're an outlaw with your perfect boots
You claim to be an outlaw with your nice boots.
That you got from your record label's image group
But those boots were given to you by the record label to look good.
Sing another man's song with a big drum loop
You sing someone else's song with a big drum beat.
Listen, son, you ain't got a clue
You don't really know what you're doing.
You can't buy true, tell you what they should do
You can't buy authenticity.
They should outlaw you
They should ban your inauthenticity.
Let me paint a picture for you, Nashville in '62
I will describe Nashville in 1962 to help you understand.
The formula has proven true, they didn't let nothing new through
Nashville only allowed the same type of country music to be produced.
When Waylon came to town, they didn't like his original sound
When Waylon Jennings arrived in Nashville with his unique sound, they didn't approve.
They tried hard to keep him down, they tried hard to starve him out
They tried to prevent Waylon from succeeding financially or artistically.
But he kept playin' shows and pressin' on, chippin' away, song by song
Waylon persisted, playing shows and working diligently to create good songs.
After years and years of strugglin' strong, he got his chance and he took it to #1
After years of hard work and struggle, Waylon finally became successful with a #1 hit.
With "This Time" back in '74, with his band in the back and 4 on the floor
Waylon succeeded with the song "This Time" in 1974, with his band playing behind him.
That one record busted down the door and the record labels had the control no more
Waylon's success broke down the barriers in the industry, and record labels no longer had complete control.
Then in '76 came the Outlaws record, sold the first million in country music ever
In 1976, The Outlaws released their album which became the first country album to sell a million copies.
Those old boys with long hair and braids stayed true to their sound and freed the slaves
The Outlaws continued playing their style of music with long hair and braids, breaking away from the expectations of the industry.
And all these years later, the suits got back their grip
The industry has regained control after all these years.
They took the outlaw concept and they re-packaged it
The industry has taken the concept of being an outlaw and commercialized it.
And there's a million Ol Waylon fans
There are still many loyal Waylon Jennings fans.
Singin' "Don't y'all think this outlaw bit has gotten way out of hand"
These fans believe the outlaw image and concept have become too commercialized and lost their authenticity.
Hey pretty boy in your cowboy hat
Hey, you with the good looks and cowboy hat.
You couldn't hit country with a baseball bat
You don't understand or appreciate country music at all.
Listen, man, you ain't got a clue
You really don't know what you're talking about.
They should outlaw you
Your lack of authenticity should be banned.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
nan austin
"Country is about staying true to what's inside of you." Love it.
The Great Gadfly
If that were true, then the song would be irrelevant.
Carolina Rebel
Gays probably saying the same thing.
RissaD ingram
Yes. It’s not an outfit ool
Faron Bornhoeft
@Amanda Bentley 1
KymberLynne Thompson
💕💃 👈🤠👉 🙏🇺🇸
Kevin Jarrell
I'm just thankful for guys like Shooter and Hank III who still represent what country music used to be about. None of that cookie cutter pop music bullshit that country (and most music for that matter) has become.
Fuck yeah!
Rudianne Braunlich
Outlaw country wasn't just a sub-genre of country music it was an actual movement. They became "outlaws" when they fought & won the right to their creative freedom & to produce the music they wanted outside of the Nashville establishment that dictated the sound of country music. They got the title of "Outlaws" which then became a sub-genre of country music. Nashville still dictates what sounds we get, that's why we have this "hip pop country" you hear today. It's the labels that buy the singers then tell them what to sing & how to sing it. For the most part. They're not as bad as they once were thanks to ppl like Willie, Waylon Kristofferson, Hank. The true outlaws are one of a kind & the only ones. The rest get to record the "outlaw" sound bc of them. A little blues, a shot of honky tonk, a spoonful of rockabilly, a few good shakes of rock n roll & country all rolled into one.
Thomas Ferrusi
@The Corpse Collector no it wasn't he speaks/types the truth
Carolina Rebel
Met and drank with both.