Behind the Song Lyrics: “Weekend” by Kane Brown

For those headed out to a summer house in the warm weather, there might be one song that’s essential for any chill-out playlist. And that’s “Weekend” by Kane Brown.

The track, which arrived to listeners’ ears in August of 2018 as the second single from the anticipated release of Brown’s sophomore LP, Experiment, is the ultimate track for smiling, sipping from a Solo cup, and enjoying the warm weather, sunshine, and thrill of doing nothing but laying out on the grass or in the water.

And the music video is charming, to boot. It shows actual footage of the famous songwriter and performer headed to a grocery store to buy party and BBQ supplies. The work is complete with frantic fans snapping cell phone photos as Brown waits to buy everything in the check-out line.

To begin the song, the Chattanooga, Tennessee-born Brown sings about getting off work, getting a bottle of something to share, and diving—literally and figuratively—into some classic fun, all with his signature croon:

It’s 4:30 Friday, I get off at 5:00
I come into your place, you come into mine
Got a bottle of Jack and cheap red wine
Yeah, our own little world
Wanna open ’em up, close all the doors
Spin you around on that kitchen floor
‘Cause all week long, I’ve been waitin’ for
You and me girl

Just chillin’ on the weekend, weekend
Sippin’ something on the cheap end, cheap end
Skinny dippin’ in the deep end, deep end
Or bass fishin’ with your feet in, feet in

It’s a calm, low-tempo, even relaxing song. It’s the perfect track for any vacation mixtape (or for the road trip as you drive to our desired destination). But what does the 28-year-old Brown himself remember about the creation of the song?

We caught up with the artist for our May/June American Songwriter print edition, and this is what he told us:

“We wrote that song—we were at a lake house,” Brown told American Songwriter. “And I literally—they were working on it for, like, 15 minutes, just on the track. And I’m talking about, within seconds of just walking in the room, I was like, ‘Just chillin’ on the weekend!’ And they were like, ‘Ah, I love that!’ And I was like, ‘That’s what I’m hearing right now.’ So, that’s what we ended up writing.”

For many, it can be hard to land on something so simple yet so universal. Songwriters—like all artists (and all people?)—can overthink their work. And while Brown says he can have a tendency for the same, what he relies on, ultimately, is his gut when it comes to the work he makes and releases.

And that’s good because if he releases a track and it hits, it’s going to be on the live show setlist for years to come, most likely.

“I think I definitely overthink a lot of things,” Brown said. “But I always end up following my gut. In the beginning, I never realized that whatever song I release, if it [does well] then more than likely I’m going to be singing it throughout my career. So, that’s definitely come into my mind a lot of times on my last releases. So, I think it’s a huge maturing game. Definitely.”

On “Weekend” Brown keeps the mood. It’s why the song remains popular for listeners in general (the track has some 18 million YouTube plays, alone) and especially at summer shows.

Brown sings:

Just chillin’ on the weekend, weekend
Sippin’ something on the cheap end, cheap end
Skinny dippin’ in the deep end, deep end
Or bass fishin’ with your feet in, feet in
Up all night then we sleepin’, sleepin’

Check out a fan-made version of the track from Brown, who showcases his crystal clear low-register and knack for keeping the party smooth, here below.

Photo Courtesy of Sony Music