Hold My Beer

This redneck wedding tale was penned by Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell and Ed Hill. Though Adkins didn't write the song, he did create the minister's dialogue. He built the character around the Rev. I.M. Madd, a fictitious character that was developed by the late Tommy Collins, a Country music singer-songwriter who wrote George Strait's "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin') " and Merle Haggard's "Carolyn." "The preacher was always kind of half in the bag every mornin' when he'd deliver a sermon," Trace noted to GAC. "There was no tellin' what he was gonna say, so that's kinda how I did it." Adkins also drew on the memory of his own wedding experience. "My second marriage, the guy that married us in Tahoe was drunk - I'll never forget that," the singer laughed. "He called me Julie, pointed right at me, 'Do you, Julie…?' you know. So I was channelin' that guy, and when I started the song I just went, 'Aaaaah, dearly beloved we're gathered up in here today to join in holy monogamony' - I made that word up, I thought it was funny though!"