Dirt On My Boots By Jon Pardi

I’ve been working on this song for a few months now. It’s mostly about getting home from work, kicking off your boots, and then having some fun in the country with friends. I hope you like it!

You can take the boy out of the country

“You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.”

This is one of my favorite sayings because it’s true. I was born in a small town in Iowa to parents who were farmers and ranchers. We lived on a farm in Grundy County, Iowa for most of my childhood. When I was five years old, we moved to California where my mother had a job waiting for her at Boeing as an electrical technician. At that point, I had already been exposed to a variety of musical influences ranging from Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson to The Doobie Brothers and The Eagles (I would later find out they are all from Southern California).

But you can’t take the country out of the boy

If you’re a country music fan, you know that Jon Pardi is one of the genre’s rising stars. His songs are catchy, fun and traditional in all the right ways. His debut album, California Sunrise, was met with critical acclaim when it dropped in 2017 and now he’s back with Dirt on My Boots—a follow-up record that feels both familiar yet fresh at the same time. While there’s no doubt that Pardi loves playing country music (and who doesn’t?), there are times when his personal identity as an artist can get lost within its confines

We spoke with Pardi about his upbringing in Bakersfield, CA., how being raised by parents who were both teachers influenced him as an artist and what it means for him to have such a strong connection with fans around the world based on just one album cycle.

Just got home from work

You just got home from work and you’re kicking off your boots in the front yard. The sun is setting, and before you know it, your boots are filthy again. There’s a twinkle in your eye because we all know why you work so hard: it ain’t ever gonna get these boots clean!

Kicked off those boots in the front yard

The next time you’re kicking back in front of the TV with a beer, don’t worry about getting your boots clean. Dirt on my boots is here to stay.

I ain’t ever gonna get this dirt on my boots off

The dirt on your boots is there to stay. You may as well get used to it. You can’t keep the dirt off of your boots forever—they’re just not made that way. It’s time to accept that fact and move on with your life, because there’s no point in trying to make them clean when they’re not meant for that purpose in the first place.

Don’t worry about getting your boots clean.

Dirt is the stuff of life, and it’s good for you.

Wearing boots while working in the garden or on a construction site can get them dirty. You shouldn’t worry about this, though! Dirt is natural, and it’s part of what makes our world so beautiful. It also helps keep your skin healthy and your soul happy. It keeps you grounded because it reminds you that there are things in life more important than getting your boots clean (like breathing).

I hope this blog post has helped you to better understand the song “Dirt on My Boots.”