Any list of 1990s country hits is likely to include the 1994 hit “Don’t Take The Girl.” The song, released by then-up-and-coming country singer Tim McGraw, became a crossover hit and helped define McGraw’s image on the decade’s country scene. The song, a sentimental ballad, placed on both the country charts and the Billboard Hot 100; it was praised for its storytelling and sentimentality.
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In a nod back to classic country, the song is a cohesive story following a young couple growing up and falling in love. However, its seeming simplicity veils a more profound and more interesting commentary about gender roles, coming of age, and the ways that attitudes can change with time. The title becomes a clever bit of wordplay over three choruses, each of which uses the phrase in a different way.
In a decade of great country hits, “Don’t Take The Girl” stands out—not just as the song that helped launch McGraw’s career, but as an excellent song in its own right. McGraw scored several other hits throughout the mid-to-late 1990s, eventually becoming one of history’s most successful country singers. Here’s the story behind “Don’t Take The Girl” and how it became a hit.
A Growing Up Song
“Don’t Take The Girl” is a coming-of-age story. It follows a boy named Johnny and an unnamed girl as they grow up together and eventually fall in love. Each stanza recounts an event of their life together. In the first verse, they are eight years old. Johnny plans to go fishing with his father and is displeased when a young girl — presumably a neighbor — wants to go with them.
The second stanza takes place ten years later. Johnny and the girl are in their late teens and on a date at the movies. As they leave, a mugger grabs the girl and holds them both at gunpoint. Johnny gives up all his valuables to protect her.
The third and final stanza again skips ahead in time. The couple, now in their early twenties, are expecting a baby. Their son is born and the mother experiences life-threatening complications.
It’s unclear how their story ends, though the ambiguity suggests that the unnamed girl does not survive. The song ends with a repetition of the first two lines:
Johnny’s daddy was taking him fishing
When he was eight years old
Three Meanings
The song is based on the line “Don’t take the girl,” but explores different meanings of the phrase. In the first chorus, it is used as a request to the boy’s father not to take the girl fishing with them:
Take anybody that you want as
Long as she don’t go
Take any boy in the world
Daddy, please, don’t take the girl
This reflects Johnny’s immaturity; at eight years old, he does not want to spend time with a girl. He suggests a male friend might be more suitable, but the girl is insistent. Meanwhile, his father understands his reluctance but tells him his attitude will change in time.
The second chorus uses the phrase as a plea to the mugger who holds the teenage couple at gunpoint after their date at the movies. Johnny offers him all of his possessions if he will only spare them.
Take my money, take my wallet
Take my credit cards
Here’s the watch that my grandpa gave me
Here’s the key to my car
Mister, give it a whirl
But, please, don’t take the girl
In the final chorus, the phrase takes a new form as a prayer. The “girl,” now grown, gives birth to a healthy baby boy. However, the doctor warns Johnny that she is experiencing complications and may not survive. Johnny, realizing he cannot bear to lose the woman he loves, prays for her life to be spared.
I’ll gladly take her place if you’ll let me
Make this my last request
Take me out of this world
God, please, don’t take the girl
Legacy Of “Don’t Take The Girl”
Tim McGraw has had many successful hits, but “Don’t Take The Girl” is one of the most memorable. The deceptively simple ballad was a crossover smash, climbing to No. 1 on the country charts and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song is often remembered as one of the defining country hits of the 1990s. As McGraw’s first No. 1 single, “Don’t Take The Girl” helped launch him to the forefront of the country scene, crafting McGraw’s image as a tough country guy who could croon an emotional ballad.
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