Cole Swindell’s Ain’t Worth The Whiskey Is A Toast To A Breakup

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Cole Swindell’s Ain’t Worth The Whiskey was a personal toast to a breakup that didn’t end well. The song was released as Swindell’s third single from his self-titled album in November 2014, but it was penned way back in 2011.

At that time, Swindell was a struggling songwriter alongside his pal Josh Martin. They were writing with a group of friends as well as other songwriters like Adam Sanders. During one of their sessions, Martin threw Ain’t Worth The Whiskey, which he had been carrying around for some time. It got Cole Swindell‘s attention, and Sanders also agreed, adding that it was the best hook that would come out of the room that night. 

And instead of the usual concept of a man quitting drinking because his girl broke his heart, Cole put it into another angle. The narrative is that they are drinking to celebrate, but the girl is just not worth the whiskey, inspired by a breakup that Cole had just gone through a while ago. 

In an interview with Billboard magazine, he said that when he heard the title, he just knew somebody he could write it all about. He also confessed in another interview that when the song was released, the girl asked him if it was about her, but he denied it, although knowing that she knew that he wrote it the way he really wanted to.

Ain’t Worth The Whiskey received both positive and negative reviews from critics, but it definitely won the hearts of the public. It easily peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart earning him his third number-one country hit overall. Additionally, this hit song also made him the first male country artist to have his first three singles rank on top since Darius Rucker in 2009. The song also charted at number 3 on the Hot Country Songs and number 43 on the Hot 100. 

Aside from its chart success, Ain’t Worth The Whiskey is one of the memorable Cole Swindell songs thanks to its music video. Directed by Michael Monaco and shot at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Nashville, Cole Swindell was joined by US Special Forces soldier and Cole’s fraternity brother Kyle Davis who had served five tours in Afghanistan and his team members. 

In the video, Cole entered the bar straight to the stage announcing Kyle Davis and saluting him through a toast of a glass of alcohol. The cameo of the military veteran was an elaboration of a line in the song and emphasizing that there are far more important things to clink your glass to than just a bad breakup.

You can watch Cole Swindell’s Ain’t Worth The Whiskey in the video below. Maybe get yourself a glass to toast with them as you have fun with the music. 

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