It’s been about a week and a half since Cody Johnson dropped his much anticipated Human double-album, and I’ve finally gotten a chance to process it all.
We kind of had an idea of what we were getting from the project beforehand, as CoJo dropped several heaters before the release.
Whenever you have a double-album (or triple album, in Eric Church’s case), you know you’re gonna listen to a broad variety of songs, especially in the case of Johnson, who has been known for his ability to perfect the boot stomper, waltz, and sappy love song, and just about every kind of country song under the sun for his entire career.
A couple of days ago, I found myself going on a drive just to clear my head, so naturally I had to continue my effort to finish Human.
I realized I only had a couple more songs left to listen to, and when I began listening, I discovered a badass song that I haven’t really heard anybody talk about so far…
And that’s “Cowboy Scale of 1 to 10.”
Now if you know anything about ol’ CoJo, it’s that he’s a former bull rider, and a huge advocate for the cowboy way of life.
Needless to say, he sums up that lifestyle perfectly in the 2 minute and 56 second span of this song.
It’s an up-tempo, fast-talker that calls out all the fake cowboys out there who’re trying to flash the shiny belt buckles and the fake cowboy façade, but at the end of the day, it ain’t about what you show on the outside, it comes from within.
You can see it summed up perfectly in the lyrics:
“Now take the pretty boy over there at the bar for example
His Resistol’s huge and his B.S. is ample
But I got a feelin’ he’s never stepped in none
And on the cowboy scale that puts him down around a one
Now the guy in the ball cap, the tshirt, and dirty ol’ jeans
Got a dozen gold buckles that you’ll probably never see
‘Cause he really don’t give a damn what you think he is
On your cowboy scale of one to 10.”
The man is speaking FACTS.
Not to mention, the song features Corb Lund, Ned LeDoux, Red Steagall and Dale Brisby.
I’m in no way, shape, or form a cowboy, bull-rider, rancher, or anything close… but every time I hit up a country bar or country concert, you can sniff out the fakes from a mile away.
Gotta love it.
