Format Music download Length 2:58 Writer(s) Troy Jones | Genre Country Label Mercury Nashville | |
Released May 24, 2010 (2010-05-24) | ||
"Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" is a song written by Troy Jones, and recorded by American country music artist Billy Currington. It was released in May 2010 as the lead-off single to his fourth album Enjoy Yourself (2010). The song received mixed reviews from critics divided over the lyrics.
Contents
"Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" gave Currington his fourth number-one country hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It also peaked outside the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart at number 41. The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. It also charted in Canada, peaking within the top 50 of the Canadian Hot 100 chart.
The accompanying music video, directed by Potsy Ponciroli, takes place at a pool party and follows the protagonist getting his girlfriend back from her former boyfriend.
Content
The song is an up-tempo tune, in which the narrator claims that he’s not good at most of the normal things that men are known for (e.g. fixing cars, mowing grass, working hard, and cleaning windows), but he is "pretty good at drinkin' beer".
Critical reception
Bobby Peacock of Roughstock gave the song four out of five stars, and said that the song is "another pleasing, low-key charmer in a rapidly growing repertoire." Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B+ and a positive review, stating that compared to other drinking songs, "this one matches the pace of the kind of drinking he’s talking about." Karlie Justus of Engine 145 gave the song a thumbs-down, saying that it "plods in circles without any sort of reward for listeners" and that its lyrics were "neither memorable or catchy," but also said that its "honesty and simplicity boosts its authenticity."
Music video
The music video was directed by Potsy Ponciroli and premiered in July 2010. It shows a middle-aged overweight man going to a pool party, presumed to be for his girlfriend, named Cindy in the video. It starts with a short prologue, showing the guy getting ready for the party, by putting on clothes, stretching, and circling his calendar. He then walks outside and sees a cute girl across the street having her car fixed by her presumed boyfriend. The boyfriend rolls out from under the car and sees the pair making kissy-faces across the yard at each other, he then walks over, knocks the main character to the ground, and drives off with the girlfriend. It then cuts to the party, where he and his buddy have shown up for the party, are enjoying themselves and then see the previous antagonist. Billy is seen performing with a guitar at poolside throughout the video. He challenges the antagonist to a game of beer-pong and proceeds to demolish him and win the cute girl back in the process. The video ends with him (the main character) winning a game of beer-pong, and then walking off with the girl while the antagonist gives him the finger. It was filmed at a house in Nashville over an 8-hour period. The main character is played by the video's producer, who volunteered to be in it.
Chart performance
"Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" debuted at number 48 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts on the week ending June 5, 2010. It also debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 83 on the week ending June 19, 2010. It also debuted at number 94 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of July 17, 2010. In September, it became his fifth number-one hit, spending one week.