About the song
There are songs that tell stories, and then there are songs that haunt you long after the final note fades. **Brad Paisley – Whiskey Lullaby** belongs to the latter. It’s more than just a country ballad—it’s a poignant narrative of love lost, of guilt, sorrow, and the tragic end that sometimes follows emotional devastation. When **Brad Paisley** teamed up with **Alison Krauss** for this deeply affecting duet, they created a piece that stands as one of the most somber yet beautiful expressions of heartbreak in modern country music.
Released in 2004 on Paisley’s album *Mud on the Tires*, **Whiskey Lullaby** departs from the playful, tongue-in-cheek style that had characterized some of Paisley’s earlier work. Instead, it showcases his range not only as a vocalist but as a storyteller. The lyrics, penned by Bill Anderson and Jon Randall, unfold with the slow, deliberate pace of a southern gothic tragedy. It’s a tale of a man who returns from war only to find his wife has left him. He turns to the bottle and eventually drinks himself to death. The woman, consumed by guilt, follows the same path. The “whiskey lullaby” becomes a metaphor for the slow, sorrowful end brought on by grief and alcohol.
What elevates this song, beyond its gut-wrenching narrative, is the interplay between **Paisley’s** rich baritone and **Krauss’s** ethereal, mournful harmony. Their voices blend with haunting elegance, reinforcing the emotional weight of each verse. The instrumentation, understated and melancholy, allows the lyrics to take center stage, while the somber acoustic guitar and plaintive fiddle lines set a tone of quiet despair.
**Brad Paisley – Whiskey Lullaby** is not just a song—it’s an elegy. It reminds us that heartbreak can be as lethal as any physical wound, and that sometimes, the most tender lullabies are the ones sung at the end. For listeners who appreciate the narrative tradition of country music and the emotional depth that only a duet like this can bring, this song is a masterclass in storytelling through song.
Video
Lyrics
She put him out
Like the burning end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart
He spent his whole life trying to forget
We watched him drink his pain away
Little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough
To get her off his mind until the night
He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
And the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I’ll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
The rumors flew
But nobody knew how much she blamed herself
For years and years
She tried to hide the whiskey on her breathe
She finally drank her pain away little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough to get him of her mind
Until the night
She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the Angels sang a whiskey lullaby
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
