I got my first guitar when I was just a boy

I was playing the blues instead of playing with toys

Listening to the Opry and dreaming of the neon lights

So it was late to bed and early to rise

I worked the field all day and the crowd all night

My finger on the trigger and Nashville in my sights

I'm the real thing and I sing songs about real life



And I never heard a fiddle called a violin

Never really worried if I fit in

Country ain't what I sing it's what I am

This hat ain't something I wear for style

These boots have been around a while

Country ain't what I sing it's what I am



I learned to drive on a dirt road

Cruised the strip on rock and roll

And drove around on "Miles and Miles of Texas"

And as I grew Daddy showed me now

To earn a living by the sweat of my brow

But he never made me follow in his steps

He said work hard and let the good Lord do the rest



And I never heard a fiddle called a violin

Never really worried if I fit in

Country ain't what I sing it's what I am

This truck ain't something I drive for style

These boots have been around a while

Country ain't what I sing it's what I am



And I never heard a fiddle called a violin

Never really worried if I fit in

Country ain't what I sing it's what I am

This hat ain't something I wear for style

These boots have been around a while

Country ain't what I sing it's what I am