Introduction
In an industry obsessed with heartbreak, whiskey bottles, and lonesome highways, who would have thought that one of the most dangerous country songs of all time would come dressed as a sweet childhood memory? Yet that’s exactly what George Strait did with Check Yes Or No.
At first listen, it feels harmless—a simple schoolyard crush, a note passed between two kids, a young romance that grows into a lifelong marriage. But if you peel back the layers, you realize why this song sent a tremor through the country music world. Strait wasn’t just singing about puppy love. He was delivering a radical message: that the most unshakable force in life is pure, innocent devotion—and it can outlast every storm that adulthood throws at us.
Think about it. While so many of his peers built careers on heartbreak anthems, Strait had the audacity to build one of his biggest hits around unbreakable love. In a time when divorce rates were climbing and cynicism ruled relationships, he dared to remind America that sometimes the strongest vows are written in pencil on a folded piece of notebook paper.
And here’s the shocking part: millions believed him. Check Yes Or No didn’t just climb the charts—it rewired how people thought about love songs. It became a quiet rebellion against the heartbreak machine of country radio, proof that sincerity could still conquer.
So the next time you hear George Strait softly deliver those words, don’t be fooled by the innocence. Behind the smile, behind the cowboy hat, lies a truth more dangerous than heartbreak itself: love doesn’t have to end in pain—it can last forever.
Video
Lyrics
It started way back in third grade
I used to sit beside Emmylou Hayes
A pink dress, a matching bow in her ponytail
She kissed me on the school bus but told me not to tell
Next day I chased her ’round the playground
‘Cross the monkey bars to the merry-go-round
And Emmylou got caught passing me a note
Before the teacher took it I read what she wrote
“Do you love me? Do you wanna be my friend?
And if you do
Well then don’t be afraid to take me by the hand
If you want to
I think this is how love goes
Check yes or no”
Now we’re grown up and she’s my wife
Still like two kids with stars in our eyes
Ain’t much changed, I still chase Emmylou
Up and down the hall, around the bed in our room
Last night I took her out in a white limousine
Twenty years together she still gets to me
Can’t believe it’s been that long ago
When we got started with just a little note
“Do you love me? Do you wanna be my friend?
And if you do
Well then don’t be afraid to take me by the hand
If you want to
I think this is how love goes
Check yes or no”
“Do you love me? Do you wanna be my friend?
And if you do
Well then don’t be afraid to take me by the hand
If you want to
I think this is how love goes
Check yes or no”
Check yes or no
Check yes or no
Check yes or no
Check yes or no
