Chris Janson delivers his lyrics like the greats did, with that humor-tinged sadness — or is it sadness-tinged humor? What Janson has is that firm grasp on reality that makes country music so powerful. His hit “Buy Me a Boat” gets the whole formula down in two lines: he knows money “can’t buy happiness” but it can “buy me a boat.” Yup, understood. And while on said boat, happiness may just well ensue — so keep your preaching about what money can’t buy to yourself. I’m going for a spin on the Gulf. Janson took his talents to Team Coco this week so Conan fans could get a dose. And it sounded good:
The Missouri-born Janson, like that other current king of country Chris Stapleton, has had big success writing for others too — before he started crushing it himself. (He wrote for Tim McGraw, for one.) He probably saw McGraw’s boat. That’s what gives his voice the distance and truth-telling quality — that onlooker’s wisdom — that makes it so appealing to fans of all kinds of music. And who doesn’t want a boat? Or at least the idea of having a boat?
