Lainey Wilson Got It So Right With “King Ranch, King George, King James”

Amen, Lainey.

This past Friday, Lainey Wilson released the deluxe addition of her Whirlwind album, which includes five new songs in “Bell Bottoms Up,” “King Ranch, King George, King James,” “Yesterday, All Day, Every Day,” “Peace, Love, and Cowboys” and Wilson’s current single, “Somewhere Over Laredo.”

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Of course, the Louisiana native has truly had a whirlwind last few years, becoming one of the prominent mainstream faces of country music, after building her career on great records like Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’, Bell Bottom Country and more. She grew up full immersed in the country lifestyle in small town Louisiana, the daughter of a farmer, and that influence is very prominent in all of her music still to this day.

She often talks about how her upbringing influenced her, and it’s clear how much those values mean to her now and how she has carried them all of these years. She’s proud of that, as she should be, and those themes are on full display in the song “King Ranch, King George, King James,” which was written by Lainey’s frequent collaborators Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson and Chase McGill.

The lyrics find her reflecting on how her “four-door, George, and Jesus” get her through the good and bad times in life, and I love the play on words and how she uses the “King” names in all three phrases, with each having a significant role in her life, to tie it all together:

“I could go out without makeup
Hell, I’d love to lose my phone
I could go stone-cold sober
Even though I like a drink and a little smoke
I can pack light, like a cowboy
A set of strings and a change of clothes
But there’s a few things you won’t catch me
Without when I hit the road

They get me where I’m going
Keep these soles on solid ground
From these leather seats to my leather boots
To that gold-leaf leather-bound
Got a ride back home, a Troubadour song
And a dashboard prayer to pray
I’m rolling deep with royalty
King Ranch, King George, King James”

If it wasn’t to authentic and true to her, it could almost be a little cheesy and cliché… but the simplicity in the message is so relatable, especially if you grew up like Lainey in any way, and it’s a creative title that I can’t believe hasn’t already been written in country music. I mean, it’s probably the most “country” song title I’ve seen this year.

Of course, King Ranch is a reference to her truck, King George is obviously about Mr. George Strait, and the King James Bible is the version that many of us grew up learning and reading, and it’s clearly still a very important aspect of Lainey’s life.

They’re an incredible trifecta, and I really don’t think you need anything more to have a content and happy life… Lainey got this one right, and I was surprised to find she wasn’t a co-writer on it because it’s just so her. It’s easily my favorite off the deluxe addition, and you can listen to here:

“King Ranch, King George, King James”

WHIRLWIND DELUXE TRACK LIST:

1. Keep Up With Jones
2. Country’s Cool Again
3. Good Horses (feat. Miranda Lambert)
4. Broken Hearts Still Beat
5. Whirlwind
6. Call A Cowboy
7. Hang Tight Honey
8. Bar In Baton Rouge
9. Counting Chickens
10. 4x4xU
11. Ring Finger
12. Middle Of It
13. Devil Don’t Go There
14. Whiskey Colored Crayon
15. Somewhere Over Laredo
16. King Ranch, King George, King James
17. Yesterday, All Day, Every Day
18. Bell Bottoms Up
19. Peace, Love, and CowboysThe post Lainey Wilson Got It So Right With “King Ranch, King George, King James” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.