Format Digital download Length 3:29 | Genre Country Label Valory Music Group | |
Released August 1, 2011 (2011-08-01) Writer(s) Rhett Akins
Justin Moore
Jeremy Stover | ||
"Bait a Hook" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Justin Moore. It was released in August 2011 as the second single from his second studio album, Outlaws Like Me. It became his second Top 20 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs, with a peak at number 17.
Contents
Content
The song talks about the male narrator's former lover choosing another man, who he expresses dislike for and is more sophisticated than he is as well as how he cannot do the things that Moore himself can ("He can't bait a hook, he can't even skin a buck"). He criticizes that man for driving a Toyota Prius and eating sushi and tells her in the chorus that "I ain't even worried, you'll come running back."
Moore co-wrote this song with Rhett Akins and Jeremy Stover. He told Taste of Country that the idea came to him after he thought that "everybody hates their ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, and it’d be pretty funny if maybe she went with somebody completely opposite of you."
Critical reception
"Bait a Hook" was generally received mixed reviews from music critics. Some praised the song for its witty premise, while others commented on its content negatively. Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song four stars out of five, saying that "Moore and his songwriting partners pieced this one together with precision, leaving no rough edges for listeners to get snagged." Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a failing grade, calling it "drivel" and finding it to be poorly done and just in bad taste. Some people even criticized the lyrics in the song.
Music video
The music video was directed by Shane Drake and premiered on October 15, 2011 during the Bank of America 500. The video features a woman — Justin Moore's ex-partner — and her new boyfriend played by NASCAR driver Carl Edwards opposite Moore. It shows both men and contrasts their ways of life like the song entails. This video was later made to be available for purchase through iTunes on November 8, 2011.
Chart and sales performance
"Bait a Hook" debuted at number 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of August 13, 2011. It also debuted at number 100 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of November 12, 2011. Later, it reached number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 (becoming Moore's fourth song to enter the Top 100) and peaked at No.17 on Hot Country Songs. That became his second to break the Top 20 on that chart, preceding his 2010 single, "How I Got to Be This Way", which also peaked at No.17.