Ticks

In this song the narrator is in a bar trying to impress a girl with his chat-up lines such as "I'd like to check you for ticks." The Associated Press asked Paisley about writing humorous songs. He replied: "I think it's all in the timing. It's like fishing. It's baiting the hook and knowing when to set it. In 'Ticks' you bait them and go all the way down the chorus to 'I'd like to walk you through a field of wild flowers.' I could have ended it then with 'So let's take a drive' (laughs). But that's not setting the hook. After 'I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers' the ball is sitting on the T, so you swing and give it a line like 'And I'd like to check you for ticks.'"

When actually checking someone for ticks, it's hard not to think of this song. Julie from Garland, Texas gives an example: "When I was in Marine Combat Training (after graduating from boot camp) we were out at Camp Devildog and were always dirty from training out in the mud and dirt. We would go with our combat buddies to take a shower and it was our duty to check our buddy for ticks... one girl actually had ticks. In the shower, everyone would sing 'Ticks.' It was really funny... helped relieve the stress from the long day we had just gone through and the long day of training ahead - we trained from the moment we got up (4:00) to the moment we went to bed (22:00)."

Paisley wrote this song with Tim Owens and Kelley Lovelace. He explained in Entertainment Weekly: "We were like, 'How far can we be pushing buttons in a tongue-in-cheeck but very Country and very funky way?' It's all about having fun and the Country culture of courting."