Beer for My Horses: Difference between revisions

| artist = [[Toby Keith]] and [[Willie Nelson]]

| length = 3:24 <small>(album version)</small><br/>3:31 <small> (''[[35 Biggest Hits]]'' version)</small>

"Beer for My Horses" was extremely popular but received mixed reviews from [[music critics]]. The single reached #22 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], making it Keith's highest charting song of his career at the time. The song also peaked at number one for six weeks in the US ''Billboard'' [[Hot Country Songs]] (one of two songs to stay that long at the top for Keith), becoming Keith's eleventh number one single and Nelson's twenty-third, and his first since "[[Nothing I Can Do About It Now]]" in 1989. "Beer for My Horses" was certified Platinum once by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA).

The accompanying music video was directed by [[Michael Salomon]] and premiered on CMT on April 9, 2003, during ''CMT Smash Hits of Country''.<ref name="cmt">{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/videos/toby-keith/26552/beer-for-my-horses.jhtml|title=CMT : Music Video : Beer for My Horses : Toby Keith|publisher=cmt.com|access-date=2014-03-22}}</ref>

The phrase, "Whisky for me beer for my horse" is said in the 1975 film, ''[[Bite the Bullet (film)|Bite the Bullet]]'', by [[Jan-Michael Vincent]].

The song expresses frustration at an ineffectual justice system's inability to address crimes such as theft, abuse, and "gangsters doing dirty deeds.”{{Citation needed|reason=No source|date=December 2023}}

The music video for the song features Keith, Nelson, and [[Corin Nemec]], as detectives hunting a serial killer, played by Gregg Gilmore. The detectives eventually convince Nemec to dress up as a woman to lure the serial killer and they end up capturing him. The video, directed by Michael Salomon, was shot in downtown Los Angeles and at the nearby [[Golden Oak Ranch]], in [[Newhall, California]]. It is also the first video in which Keith does not actually sing. On March 4, 2004, the video was nominated for Video of the Year for the [[Academy of Country Music Awards]].

The 2008 film ''[[Beer for My Horses (film)|Beer for My Horses]]'' was based on the song, which was featured in the film. The film starred Keith and Nelson, among others. The song was also used in an episode of ''[[Lethal Weapon (TV series)|Lethal Weapon]]'' in 2016.<ref name="billboard">{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/72116/38th-annual-academy-of-country-music-awards-nominees|title=38th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards Nominees &#124; Billboard|date=4 March 2003|publisher=billboard.com|access-date=2014-03-22}}</ref> It won the award for Video of the Year in May later that year.<ref>{{cite web| url-status = live| archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/mipYZX9b_ho| archive-date = 2021-12-05| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mipYZX9b_ho| title = Toby Keith and Willie Nelson Win Video Of The Year "Beer For My Horses" - ACM Awards 2004 | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 2021, U.S. Representative [[Chip Roy]] of Texas caused controversy by unknowingly quoting a lyric from the song that seemed to invoke frontier justice while he was serving on a committee concerned about an increase in hate crimes towards Asian-Americans.<ref>{{cite news|title=GOP Rep. Extols Lynchings During Hearing on Anti-Asian American Violence|author=Justin Baragona|publisher=The Daily Beast|date=March 18, 2021|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-rep-chip-roy-extols-lynchings-during-hearing-on-anti-asian-american-violence}}</ref> At the time Roy claimed the line was "an old saying in Texas" but later admitted it was from the Keith song.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/chip-roy-toby-keith-beer-for-my-horses/|publisher=Daily Dot|author=David Covucci|date=March 19, 2021|title=Congressman mistakes Toby Keith's 'Beer for my Horses' as ancient Texas saying}}</ref>

[[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] found the song to be "absurdly anthemic".<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=mw0000221917|pure_url=yes}}|title=''Unleashed'' review|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=July 26, 2013}}</ref>

==Charts==

| US [[Hot Country Songs|Country Songs]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{Cite magazine | url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2003/hot-country-songs| title=Best of 2003: Country Songs | magazine=Billboard | publisher=Prometheus Global Media | year=2003| access-date=July 13, 2012}}</ref>

{{columns-end}}

== Certifications ==

{{certification Table Entry|region=United States|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=2023|title=Beer For My Horses|artist=Toby Keith|type=single|access-date=August 3, 2023|relyear=2003}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

A [[Beer for My Horses (film)|film adaptation]] of the song entered production in mid-2008,<ref name="countrystandardtime.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.countrystandardtime.com/news/newsitem.asp?xid=1443|title=Toby Keith stars in "Beer for My Horses" movie|access-date=2008-07-08 |date= September 9, 2006 }}</ref> and was released on August 8, 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1178640/|title = Beer for My Horses|website = [[IMDb]]}}</ref>

[[Category:Male vocal duets]]

[[Category:Songs about beer]]

[[Category:Songs about alcohol]]