A Gut Punch Strait to The Heart: The Meaning Behind “Damn Strait” by Scotty McCreery

A song comes on the radio and conjures a whole range of emotions. It can take you back to your childhood and remind you of a relative no longer with us. It can transport you to another time in your life when things were better. Or, it can have the opposite effect and remind you of a relationship turned sour. When Scotty McCreery was pitched a tribute song to George Strait, he knew it was just right for him. Let’s look behind the meaning of his song “Damn Strait.”

“Nobody in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her“

That was her favorite song

She sang along every time it came on

First time we danced was to Marina Del Rey

And I fell right there and then

I didn’t want that song to end

Strait to the Heart

George Strait holds the record for most No. 1 songs on all charts by an artist in any musical genre. He’s one of the biggest-selling artists of all time. Trent Tomlinson and Jim Collins wrote “Damn Strait.” Tomlinson also wrote “Why Can’t I Leave Her Alone,” which Strait recorded for his 2006 album It Just Comes Natural. In 2023, Tomlinson shared the story with singer Tim Charron of how an old girlfriend bonded with him over Strait songs, and because of their breakup, he couldn’t listen to them anymore, “I loved George Strait almost as much as she did. It was our thing. We’d dance to a George Strait song for the first time. It was kind of our connection,” he said. “Long story short, that went to s–t. But, I never thought in a million years that I’d turn on my radio and hear a George Strait song and turn the radio off because I didn’t want to hear it. But, I did because of what me and that girl went through.” 

Baby blue was the color of her eyes

I can still see them in my mind

Probably will for the rest of my life

Damn Strait, you’re killing me, man

You know I’ve always been your biggest fan

Now I can’t even listen

‘Cause I’ll get to missin’ her

Then the hurt gets worse

“Yes, Please”

Scotty McCreery has written or co-written many of his biggest hits, but he jumped at the chance to record “Damn Strait.”

“I pretty much had my album Same Truck done until I found this song,” McCreery said. “Nashville is a songwriter’s town, and when you get a song sent to you like this one, you raise your hand very quickly to say, ‘Yes, please. I would love to sing this.’ I mean, if you love country music, you love George Strait, and as soon as I heard this, just how cleverly it was written and all the song titles they had sprinkled in it throughout—the George Strait hits—I just instantly fell in love. I’m so glad I got to sing on this one. It’s one of my favorite songs to sing, even now on the road.”

Damn Strait, I used to love your songs

But now, every time that one comes on

My heart gets broke in half

But do I wish I could get her back?

Damn Strait

You Gotta Believe

McCreery told Everything Nash in 2023, “The minute I heard that one, it just took me back to where I grew up and how I grew up. I believed the songs. For me to sing it, I gotta believe it. I gotta feel it.”

The other day, right out of a blue clear sky

You came on in my truck

I couldn’t turn it off fast enough

I tried to get back in the game

But this ole heart just ain’t the same

Hell, I can’t even give it away

In An Instant

A song can take you back. The swell of emotions comes over you at the slur of a pedal steel or the drone of a fiddle. It can be a nostalgic rush or a stinging heartbreak. Music can always have the ability to hit us right “in the feels.” The idea of loving a song and then not being able to listen to it is hard to imagine—until it happens to you.

Damn Strait I used to love your songs

But now, every time that one comes on

My heart gets broke in half

But do I wish I could get her back?

Damn Strait

Damn Strait

“Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her”

That was her favorite song

She sang along every time it came on

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Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images