Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961 in Clinton, OK - died February 5, 2024… Read Full Bio ↴Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961 in Clinton, OK - died February 5, 2024 in Oklahoma), known professionally as Toby Keith was a country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. Keith released 19 studio albums, 2 Christmas albums, and 5 compilation albums, totaling worldwide sales of over 40 million albums. He charted 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including 20 #1 hits and 22 additional top 10 hits. His longest-lasting #1 hits were "Beer for My Horses" (a 2003 duet with Willie Nelson) and "As Good as I Once Was" (2005), at six weeks each. Keith was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump in a closed ceremony alongside Ricky Skaggs on January 13, 2021.

Signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville in 1998, Keith released his breakthrough single "How Do You Like Me Now?!" in late 1999. This song, the title track to his 1999 album of the same name, was the #1 country song of 2000, and one of several chart-toppers during his tenure on DreamWorks Nashville. His next three albums, Pull My Chain, Unleashed, and Shock'n Y'all, produced three more #1's each, and all of the albums were certified 4× Platinum. A second Greatest Hits package followed in 2004, and after that, he released Honkytonk University.

When DreamWorks closed in 2005, Keith founded the label Show Dog Nashville, which merged with Universal South Records to become Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009. He has released ten studio albums through Show Dog/Show Dog-Universal: 2006's White Trash with Money, 2007's Big Dog Daddy, 2008's That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy, 2009's American Ride, 2010's Bullets in the Gun, 2011's Clancy's Tavern, 2012's Hope on the Rocks, 2013's Drinks After Work, 2015's 35 MPH Town, 2017's The Bus Songs, and 2021's Peso in My Pocket, as well as the compilation 35 Biggest Hits in 2008. Keith also made his acting debut in 2006, starring in the film Broken Bridges, and co-starred with comedian Rodney Carrington in the 2008 film Beer for My Horses, inspired by his song of the same name. On February 5th, 2024, Toby passed away from a 3 year battle with Stomach Cancer.

Time For Me To Ride
Toby Keith Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ain't got no tricks up my sleeve
Ain't got no reason to believe
I've been looking for a sign
Love shouldn't be so hard to find
I've been sleeping on your couch
Just been layin' here alone.
I've been doing without
Oh, you've been doing me wrong

Nothing left here to decide
I think it's time for me to ride...

[Chorus:]
Put my bike out on the highway
Feel that wind all in my face
Breathe some air that tastes like freedom
Yeah, let that be my saving grace
Somebody loved, somebody lied
I believe it's time for me to ride

Should've known right from the start
I couldn't tame your faithless heart
I could see the writing on the wall
I've never been the kind to crawl
Girl you're never satisfied
I believe it's time for me to ride

[Chorus x2]

Somebody loved, somebody lied
I believe it's time for me to ride

Overall Meaning

In Toby Keith's song "Time For Me To Ride," the singer expresses his frustration with a failed relationship and decides that it's time for him to move on. The opening lines suggest that he has hit a dead end and has no more tricks up his sleeve to make the relationship work. He has been "looking for a sign" that love should not be hard to find, but he hasn't found it. He has been sleeping on his partner's couch and feels alone and unsupported. He ultimately decides that the relationship is not salvageable, and he needs to leave.

The chorus is about his desire to hit the open road on his motorcycle, a symbol of freedom and independence. The lyrics describe the feeling of the wind in his face and the taste of freedom and how this will be his "saving grace." The repetition of the line, "Somebody loved, somebody lied," suggests that he has been betrayed in the past and has lost trust in his partner. He believes that it's time for him to leave and start over again.

The song captures the feeling of a person who has given up on a relationship and is looking for a way out. While it's a tough decision to make, the singer feels that it's the best for him in the long run. In summary, "Time For Me To Ride" is a song about a person who has hit a dead end in a relationship and has decided to move on, even if it means hitting the open road on his motorcycle.

Line by Line Meaning

Ain't got no tricks up my sleeve
I don't have any hidden agendas

Ain't got no reason to believe
I don't have any faith or trust left in you

I've been looking for a sign
I've been searching for a sign that our love can work out

Love shouldn't be so hard to find
It shouldn't be difficult to find someone who loves you just as much as you love them

I've been sleeping on your couch
I've been staying with you, but it feels like I have no place here

Just been layin' here alone
I've been feeling lonely even though I'm with you

I've been doing without
I've been sacrificing a lot for this relationship

Oh, you've been doing me wrong
You've been treating me badly

Nothing left here to decide
The choice has already been made and it's time for me to move on

I think it's time for me to ride...
I think it's time for me to leave

Put my bike out on the highway
I'm going to hit the open road