Jake Owen shelves all his day-to-day worries in favor of a carefree good time in “Drunk on a Boat,” a new song that arrived on Friday (Oct. 8). The singer dropped his new track after a sparse social media tease earlier in the week, in which he shared an image of a wild pig standing on a sandy beach, along with a vague, one-word caption — “Soon” — and a link to pre-save the song.
But on Friday, things became much clearer. “Drunk on a Boat” is the latest in Owen’s growing collection of summertime anthems, albeit with heavier tropical leanings than nostalgic hits such as “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” and “I Was Jack (You Were Diane).”
In the song’s first verse, Owen takes a look at a long list of weekend chores — and, ultimately, opts to spend the day on the water instead, with a cold drink in hand. An escapist rallying cry for anyone who loves a lazy summer day, the song sets its storyline to twangy rhythms and an uptempo beat.
“Drunk on a boat / Forget about the rest / All we gotta worry ’bout’s an empty ice chest,” Owen sings in the chorus. “You grab a life jacket, jump in and float / Or sit right there and get drunk on a boat …“
Though he didn’t share many details ahead of his new song’s release, some concertgoers have already heard “Drunk on a Boat” live. Fan-captured footage shows Owen performing the song — written by Rodney Clawson, Jake Mitchell and David Lee Murphy, and produced by Joey Moi — at a handful of concert stops throughout the spring and summer of 2021.
“Drunk on a Boat” follows Owen’s latest No. 1 hit, “Made for You,” as well as his current single, “Best Thing Since Backroads,” which he put out in August. His most recent album is 2019’s Greetings From … Jake.
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