On May 21, 2021, country hitmaker Blake Shelton shared his twelfth album, Body Language, featuring pop-country collaborations with wife Gwen Stefani, Brooks & Dunn, HARDY, and more. A deluxe edition of the record, which dropped seven months later, includes four additional tracks.
Videos by American Songwriter
To promote his newly expanded project, Shelton selected the previously unreleased song “Come Back as a Country Boy” as its final radio single. The punchy and declarative anthem became a fast favorite with fans who connected with its declaration of love for small-town living.
The Lyrics
Penned by Shelton, HARDY, Josh Thompson, and Jordan Schmidt, “Come Back as a Country Boy” mixes rock elements with a polished mainstream country sound. Lyrically, the song is precisely what you’d expect: an unapologetic plea for an eternal existence in the place they love the most. From days spent bailing hay on the farm to evenings accompanied by a cold beer, Shelton celebrates the simple joys in life.
So when I die, I wanna come back as a country boy
No, there ain’t no better life if you ask me
If my neck don’t come out red, then Lord, just keep me dead
‘Cause a country boy is all that I know how to be
It’s a theme that Shelton frequently revisits in his songs, which is a method that has repeatedly proven to be a success. The Oklahoma native says he hopes the message of celebrating who you are and where you come from appeals to longtime listeners.
[RELATED: Where Are Blake Shelton’s Nine Winners of The Voice Now?]
“I think this song is an anthem for everyday hardworking country people out there,” Shelton shared in a statement shared upon the song’s initial release. “We have so much pride in who we are and what we do that, if we ever died and got the chance to live life over again, we probably wouldn’t do it if we couldn’t be country.”
The Impact
Although “Come Back as a Country Boy” wasn’t Shelton’s most commercially successful single, it still was overall well received. The track peaked at No. 12 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and helped close out his Body Language era, serving as his last radio release from the record. But outside the world of industry rankings, “Come Back as a Country Boy” still stands as a favorite with the critics Shelton cares about the most: his fans.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia
