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During his 2020 COVID-19 live-stream to celebrate the release of his new album, Here and Now, Kenny Chesney invited a range of co-writers to share the inspiration behind the tracks on the record. One of the most fascinating stories was that of Chesney's underrated gem, ‘Wasted’, with Bobby Hamrick revealing that this joyful, carefree tale of excess and exuberance was based on the life of George Best.
‘Wasted’, which was penned by Hamrick alongside James T. Slater and David Lee Murphy, follows a protagonist who has a chance-meeting with a famous figure in a bar, with the other character sharing his colourful life-story of luxury and joie-de-vivre.
As we hear about this eccentric man's expensive purchases and outrageous anecdotes, the temptation is to view this money as “wasted”. However, as he playfully outlines, the vibrant experiences and wild nights were well worth the money - and, when he looks back at his life, it's the rest of his savings that he feels he “wasted”.
It's a classic Chesnian narrative of celebrating every moment and seizing the day, rather than fretting and worrying about what's ahead or what's gone. The character feels warm and familiar, but as Hamrick explains during this 2020 live-stream, the idea for this former high-flier stemmed from a story he read about George Best.
Hamrick, who has penned an array of country hits, fondly recalls, “This song was originally something I heard about an old soccer player from Northern Ireland called George Best, and I came in and I told James and David Lee Murphy that story and we just laughed. And David Lee just started singing the chorus. It just happened”.
The track contains a number of references to Best, with the iconic footballer known for his extravagant, hedonistic lifestyle. He was one of the highest earners in the UK, becoming a legend at Manchester United, Fulham and more, but died bankrupt.
When reflecting on his life, rather than lamenting how he managed his finances, Best is reported to have quipped, “I spent a lot of money on booze, [women] and fast cars. The rest I just squandered”. This quote forms the basis of the hook in Chesney's ‘Wasted’: “I spent it on high livin', wild women / That roulette wheel that I kept spinnin' / Beach side bars, big shiny cars / Long vacations in warm locations / I was goin' nonstop 'til I squeezed every drop / Of that good time, top shelf sweet life that I tasted / And to tell you the truth, the rest, I just wasted".
The “squeezed every drop” line struck a particularly resonant chord with Chesney, with the ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems’ hitmaker explaining, “One song that makes me laugh on the record is ‘Wasted’...There's a lot of songs on this record about living, about living your life to the fullest, and being in the moment, which is really hard for me. But we're reminded when these guys get together and write these songs that we need to live in the moment, and we need to live our best lives”.
The Knoxville native movingly expands, “And I truly believe that - I've made this analogy before - but I believe God gives us a lemon, and it's up to us to squeeze every drop out of it that we can. When I heard ‘Wasted’, it just made me laugh, because the character in the song was doing just that - and finances just didn't matter”.
Slater - who wrote the final song on Here and Now, the soulful ‘Guys Named Captain’, about his father - pays tribute to Murphy as being the lynchpin for ‘Wasted’, “So many things have to line up. David Lee Murphy was the perfect guy to write that song”.
Chesney then hints that he's excited to perform ‘Wasted’ live, “I didn't mention ‘Wasted’ in the songs before about what I'm looking forward to doing live, but I believe my audience really goes hand in hand with living their best life out there on the road with us”.
Hamrick, Chesney and Slater then perform a stripped-back, acoustic rendition of ‘Wasted’, which you can watch around the 32-minute mark of the live-stream. Although the ‘I Go Back’ crooner doesn't tend to play ‘Wasted’ much nowadays, the wonderfully light-hearted track has blossomed into a No Shoes Nation fan-favourite.
‘Wasted’ captures the optimistic, carpe-diem spirit that permeates so much of Chesney's sunny, island-inspired catalogue, mirroring the jubilant ambience of anthems like ‘We Do’, ‘Just To Say We Did’, ‘Happy Does’, ‘Young’, ‘Trip Around the Sun’ and ‘Drink It Up’.
Aside from providing an insight into the genesis of so many songs from Chesney's Here and Now era, this live-stream also serves as a strangely bittersweet and nostalgic snapshot into what it was like to experience music during the pandemic.
Artists like Chesney, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett and Keith Urban all adapted by sharing live-streams designed to keep listeners entertained, comforted and, in all honesty, distracted from the anxieties and fears that enshrouded the early days of quarantine.
Seeing this relic of that strange period for the music industry feels in turn like a rejuvenating reminder to make the most of the fact that, now, we can spend time with our loved ones freely, enjoy outdoor concerts and - as Chesney sings so appositely on ‘Wasted’ - squeeze as much out of this wonderful, variegated life as possible.
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