Friends In Low Places - Live

In the '80s, big-shots would sometimes brag about how they had "friends in high places." Well, in this song, Garth Brooks has friends in low places like the dive bars where he takes his whiskey, and that's just fine with him. The song was written by the Nashville songwriters Bud Lee and Dewayne Blackwell; Lee came up with the title one day when they were having lunch with some of their buddies at a restaurant called Tavern on the Row. When the check came, Lee realized he didn't have any money, and said not to worry because "I have friends in low places. I know the cook." (source: The Stories Behind Country Music's All-Time Greatest 100 Songs.)

In this song, Brooks plays a cowboy who turns up at the engagement party or wedding reception of an old flame. He makes a toast: Honey, we may be through But you'll never hear me complain Then he sees himself out and drinks himself silly. That's were the song ends, except in live versions, where there's more to it. The song is a huge crowd pleaser. Brooks introduces it with a four note arpeggio on his acoustic guitar, which inevitably brings roars of applause. After the second verse, he tells a story along these lines: "One day I was driving around back home, and it came on the radio. I said, 'Garth, would you handle this situation that way?' And I said, 'No, I don't think I would.' So I went back and wrote a third verse for this song to make it a little more me." He then launches into the extra verse, which most of the crowd inevitably knows: Well, I guess I was wrong I just don't belong But then, I've been there before Everything's all right I'll just say goodnight And I'll show myself to the door Hey, I didn't mean To cause a big scene Just wait till I finish this glass But sweet little lady I'll head back to the bar And you can kiss my ass

Mark Chesnutt recorded a more down-tempo version of this song almost a year before Garth Brooks did (Brooks had it on hold first, but it was pitched to Chesnutt when he didn't record it fast enough), though Chesnutt's version was not a single. Chesnutt's appears on his album Too Cold at Home.