Luke Bryan’s Drink A Beer is definitely one of the singer’s signature songs which showcased his depth as a country music artist. It also earned him his seventh number one on the Billboard Airplay chart. The song was not written by him nor for him, but it hit right home. It was like the song was really meant for him.
Drink A Beer was penned by Jim Beavers and Chris Stapleton and was included in his 2013 album Crash My Party. In an interview with Stapleton, he said that Jim Beavers walked into the writing room with the whole chorus of the song. And then it was his idea to make it a little bit darker. He thought the title would make you believe it was about something light but it wasn’t.
They tried many dead-end scenarios to stitch the whole story of a guy on the pier by himself before they finally settled into one scene. It was about a guy who went there alone to contemplate and process the very raw emotion of unexpectedly losing someone.
The two decided that the song did not need a full studio demo, so they simply did a simple guitar with Chris in the vocals. After finishing the song, they didn’t really think much more about it except for the fact that for them, it was a pretty good song. Then Luke Bryan took the song after his producer, Jeff Stevens played it for him.
When asked to describe the song, Luke always said that it was the coolest sad song ever. It was a song that anyone who had lost someone could deeply connect and resonate with and that included him. Luke Bryan’s siblings unexpectedly died years before, his older brother Chris died in 1996 due to a car accident, while his sister Kelly passed away at home in 2007.
For You
Luke’s somberness and unprecedented vulnerability in the delivery of the song truly captured everyone who listened to it and received many praises from critics. He performed the song on stage of the 2013 AMA Awards with Chris Stapleton. As the song ended, there was a projected photo of his late siblings Chris and Kelly.
In a Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Q&A portion, Luke Bryan noted how this song was four times more important to his career compared to all his other songs. Many of Luke Bryan’s songs are hit songs but Drink A Beer totally freed him up creatively as an artist.
In the 2014 CMT Artists of the Year Ceremony, Luke Bryan was supposed to perform but had to cancel following the death of his brother-in-law. So Lady Antebellum performed an emotionally powerful rendition of the song alongside Christ Stapleton as a tribute and until now, this performance was considered one of the show’s best moments.
You can watch the music video of Luke Bryan’s Drink A Beer which is now a certified platinum-selling track below. This was a heartfelt tribute for his late siblings with footage from his performance during the 2013 CMA Awards.
