Behind the Meaning of Blake Shelton’s “Texas”

All my exes live in Texas…It’s a famed line from George Strait’s song of the same name. The Lone Star state has fascinated country songwriters for decades. One of the most recent additions to the lengthy list of songs about Texas is this Blake Shelton track. Uncover the meaning behind this heartbreak anthem, below.

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Behind the Meaning of Blake Shelton’s “Texas”

She cut me loose and caught herself a somewhere wind
I haven’t heard a word and haven’t seen her since
She disappeared quicker than this double shot of Jim
‘Cause everybody at the bar started askin’

“How’s your girl?”
She ain’t my girl
“Where she been?”
I ain’t quite sure
Good question, no tellin’, but I’m bettin’

The story opens on Shelton in a bar explaining his recent bout of heartbreak. His friends keep asking questions about a girl that doesn’t seem to be around anymore. Though Shelton doesn’t know the answers, he’s happy to speculate.

Like Strait said in his famous track, Shelton surmises that his ex is in Texas as well. Something about the wide open expanse of that state has lured her away from the country star. While he’s in Tennessee, she’s off exploring the wild west.

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Shelton doesn’t shy away from referencing Strait and his track in the chorus. Country music has become deeply referential over the past few years and this track is no exception. It plays on the listener’s nostalgia for Strait and that classic country sound. The addition of a compelling story makes this song a shoo-in for country radio.

“The thing that struck me about ‘Texas’ immediately was how different it sounded for me, and I’m always looking to push myself,” Shelton once said of this song. “I think there’s something really special about this record and it feels important to me.”

Check it out, below.

She’s probably in Texas
Amarillo, all I know
George Strait said it
Yeah, that’s where all them exes go
If she ain’t with me out here in Tennessee
Then I don’t know where she’s headed
If I’m guessin’, I reckon
She’s probably in Texas
She’s probably in Texas

She might be down in Georgia at her mama’s for the week
Could be Carolina, California, something’s tellin’ me
She’s somewhere in the Lone Star state with all the rest
Yeah, that one King song knows best

(Photo by AFF-USA/Shutterstock)

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