EXCLUSIVE: Corb Lund Premieres Bare-Bones Version of 'Out On a Win' as Part of Career-Spanning 'Dark Horses' Album

If you thought you couldn't love 'Out On a Win' even more, Corb Lund has brought his El Viejo brawler into a new light – or perhaps, one could say into the dark.

As a part of the Canadian troubadour's upcoming Dark Horses release – set to arrive on Aug. 7, via New West Records – this bare-bones re-imagining offers a fresh hit from a song that already packed a punch when it was released in early 2024.

Now, Lund pares down the crisp strums and the full-bellied beat, transforming the tune into an impossibly more intimate number. Just the artist and a few ruminative riffs cutting through the silence like a glinting blade.

That seems to be the mission of Dark Horses, in general. Alongside 'Out On a Win', this project will comprise 10 other acoustic versions of cross-catalog favorites, creating a stripped-back, career-spanning oeuvre that showcases the very core of Lund's essential songcraft.

Dark Horses has been a long time coming, the project acting as the twelfth and final installment of the Dark Horse Vinyl Club, a subscription series that has seen the artist opening up the vaults and committing all 11 of his albums to vinyl for the very first time. His last three records have been the latest to get the "dark horse" treatment before Dark Horses trails the pack this August.

“Dark Horses is a number of my songs that are favourites of mine but didn’t necessarily light up the charts," the artist shares of the project. "I chose one track from each of my eleven albums of original material and re-performed them in my living room, unaccompanied."

More than just revising his old sleeper hits, this final endeavor allows the heart of Lund's artistry to shine through. "This presents the songs in their rawest form, boiled right down to their essence," he explains. "It felt good to put a little emphasis on some of these tunes that have always meant a lot to me but didn’t get much attention. Thanks to those of you out there who have appreciated these dark horses over the years.”

'Out On a Win' acts as a striking example of what's to come from Dark Horses, a collection that feels like a necessary companion to Lund's decades-long career.

Listen to Corb Lund's new, stripped-down version of ‘Out On a Win’, premiering exclusively on Holler, below:

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For the full lyrics to 'Out On a Win', see below:

I fought in Brazil, I fought in Japan
I wrestled with the Chechens and in Dagestan
I worked amateur promotions all over the States
I always showed up and never missed weight

I been choked out, tapped out, and knocked out cold
I been heel hooked, leg locked, and TKO-ed
Hammer fist finished and triangle choked
I hate to tell ya boys, but I mighta got old

Lord all I wanna do is go out on a win
Feel the ref raise my arm up feelin' again
Styles make fights and with some time in the gym
All I wanna do is go out on a win

Competed in college NCAA
I drifted around and found MMA
A quick left hook and stiff right hand
They said'd be my tickets to the promised land

Well, I rolled with the Gracies a couple of times
Took a few meetings with Dana's guys
Did most everything short of makin' the show
Now it's a little too late and I'm a little too slow

Lord all I wanna do is go out on a win
Feel the ref raise my arm up feelin' again
Styles make fights and with some time in the gym
All I wanna do is go out on a win

These kids coming up are training everything young
Muay Thai, BJJ and Wing Chun
About all that's left of me before I retire
Is an old school, broke down fighter's desire

I give it all up for the Octagon
But with the first few notes of my walk out song
Adrenalin hits and with a puncher's chance
I bite down on the mouthguard for one last dance

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For more on Corb Lund, see below: