Behind the Meaning of “Play It Again” by Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan has no shortage of fun-loving, romantic anthems. One of our personal favorites is “Play It Again.” Check out the meaning behind this country hit, below.

Videos by American Songwriter

[RELATED: Luke Bryan Admits the Mistake ‘American Idol’ Made When It Came to Lainey Wilson]

Behind the Meaning

“Play It Again” was penned by Dallas Davidson and Ashley Gorley. According to Davidson, he “tapped into” Bryan’s mind while writing this song. “Being that we’re from the same home town and best friends, I’m able to channel that into my writing for him,” Davidson once said.

She was sittin’ all alone over on the tailgate
Tan legs swingin’ by a Georgia plate
I was lookin’ for her boyfriend
Thinkin’, “No way she ain’t got one”
Soon as I sat down I was fallin’ in love

Like many Bryan songs, this song is tailor-made for the summertime. Bryan sings about seeing a girl across the way and instantly falling in love. I was lookin’ for her boyfriend / Thinkin’, “No way she ain’t got one,” Bryan sings.

She was like, “Oh, my God, this is my song
I’ve been listenin’ to the radio all night long
Sittin’ ’round, waitin’ for it to come on and here it is”

In the middle of trying to schmooze her, the girl hears “her song.” Bryan is only pulled in tighter after seeing her light up at the first few chords. She was like, “Come here boy, I wanna dance” / ‘Fore I said a word she was takin’ my hand, he sings.

According to the songwriters, the form of this song fits the function.

“I was just kind of playing the keyboards on this one, messing around, and we were writing with the idea that the song we were writing was going to be somebody’s favorite song—some way to kind of put that,” Gorley said of this song. “It was a really, really loose idea, about when a girl says, ‘This is my song, this is my song!’”

I’d a gave that DJ my last dime
If he would have played it just one more time

Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images for Bass Pro Shops