Jake Owen and Kid Rock voice the concerns of the everyday American in a humorous new duet titled “Grass Is Always Greener,” but with a very surprising twist.
Owen recently told reporters at a Nashville roundtable that the song was inspired in an unlikely way after he and Kid Rock started hanging out playing pickleball at the rocker’s house. Pickleball is a blend of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, or as Owen puts it, “a short version of tennis, but with a paddle and a wiffle ball.”
When he saw some of the rap-rocker’s outlandish possessions, he started thinking, ‘I wish I had that.’ But then he caught himself, and that’s what inspired the collaboration.
“I’ve had a great career,” Owen says. “I’m happy with where I am in life. I love where I live. I have a great family. My daughter (Pearl) is taken care of. I’ve been blessed … but I found when I went over to play pickleball at Kid Rock’s house, I was like, I want a frickin’ Dukes of Hazzard car. Know what I mean? Or why does he have this?”
The mid-tempo, easygoing track opens with a unique audio combination of acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, a chorus of background vocals and a whistling melody to create a laid-back, carefree vibe before Owen begins to sing. He lays out the universal complaints of hard-working Americans who just can’t quite seem to ever keep up with their neighbors in terms of material possessions.
The carefree takeaway is, so what if the grass is always greener in somebody else’s joint? At least you’ve got a joint!
“Grass Is Always Greener” is one of 14 new tracks on Greetings From … Jake, which Owen released on Friday (March 29). The album features the platinum-selling No. 1 single “I Was Jack (You Were Diane)” and Owen’s current hit, “Down to the Honkytonk,” which is nominated for Single of the Year at the 2019 ACM Awards.
