Cody Johnson is digging into Leather on his new album. On November 3, Johnson will release his third studio album, Leather, featuring 12 tracks, including the current single “The Painter.” On Friday (September 22), he gave fans another dose of what to expect when he shared two additional tracks, “Work Boots” and “Watching My Old Flame Go Out.”
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“Work Boots” is a traditional country ditty about a hard-working man who wants to make a good impression on the woman who’s caught his eye. She might be the one to change our world/But we ain’t gone get the girls sittin’ on a stool/We gotta make our move, so come on work boots, Johnson croons in the chorus. While “Work Boots” is more light-hearted, “Watching My Old Flame Go Out” is a heartbreak ballad about a man who knows that the woman he loves is moving on. If there’s a least bit of a spark left, she don’t show it/Yeah she’s movin’ on from me there ain’t no doubt/It’s the hardest thing watchin’ my old flame go out, he observes.
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“This round of songs, I have to say, is the best round of songs I have ever recorded and I feel like that’s the way it should be,” Johnson affirmed in a press statement. “Each album should outdo the last one.” His previous album Human: The Double Album was released in October 2021. It features one of his career-defining singles, “Til You Can’t” which became Johson’s first No. 1 hit and earned him his first Grammy Award when it won Best Country Song at the 2023 ceremony. It was also named Single of the Year and Video of the Year at the 2022 CMA Awards.
During 2023 CMA Fest, Johnson hinted that he and Jelly Roll may have a collaboration in the works. “Respect is mutual, and real recognizes real. So absolutely, we’ve talked about working together,” he said at the time. “I can’t reveal all the surprises, but there’s definitely been some songs that we’ve sat and listened to, to where they speak to him as much as they speak to me. So, you’ll see something from us very soon.”
Photo Credit: Chris Douglas/Courtesy of Warner Music Nashville
