Some songs don’t just speak — they stand their ground.
A Country Boy Can Survive is one of those songs.
Originally written and recorded by Hank Williams Jr., this anthem of resilience and rural pride became even more personal when Toby Keith made it his own. And if you’ve ever heard Toby talk about his roots — small towns, hard work, family — you know why this song fits him like a worn pair of boots.
It’s not about posturing.
It’s about identity.
Toby didn’t just cover the song — he lived it. He was the boy who grew up knowing how to fish, fix a truck, and get by when things got tight. His version hits with a little more weight, a little more weather — like someone who’s walked through a few more storms and come out with dust still on his boots.
The lyrics remind us that survival isn’t loud. It’s quiet confidence. It’s knowing how to make do, how to take care of your own, and how to keep going — even when the world changes around you.
Toby’s performance brings all of that to the surface.
When he sings it, it’s not a story. It’s a truth.
Video
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
The preacher man says it’s the end of time
And the Mississippi River, she’s a-goin’ dry
The interest is up and the stock market’s down
And you only get mugged if you go downtown
I live back in the woods, you see
My woman and the kids and the dogs and me
I got a shotgun, a rifle and a 4-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive, country folks can survive
[Verse 2]
I can plow a field all day long
I can catch catfish from dusk ’til dawn
We make our own whiskey and our own smoke, too
Ain’t too many things these old boys can’t do
We grow good ol’ tomatoes and homemade wine
And a country boy can survive, country folks can survive
[Chorus]
Because you can’t starve us out and you can’t make us run
‘Cause we’re them old boys raised on shotguns
And we say grace and we say Ma’am
If you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn
[Verse 3]
We came from the West Virginia coal mines
And the Rocky Mountains and the western skies
And we can skin a buck, we can run a trotline
And a country boy can survive, country folks can survive
[Verse 4]
I had a good friend in New York City
He never called me by my name, just “hillbilly”
My grandpa taught me how to live off the land
And his taught him to be a businessman
He used to send me pictures of the Broadway nights
And I’d send him some homemade wine
But he was killed by a man with a switchblade knife
For 43 dollars my friend lost his life
I’d love to spit some Beech-Nut in that dude’s eyes
And shoot him with my old .45
‘Cause a country boy can survive, country folks can survive
[Chorus]
‘Cause you can’t starve us out and you can’t make us run
‘Cause we’re them old boys raised on shotguns
And we say grace and we say Ma’am
And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn
[Verse 5]
We’re from north California and south Alabam’
And little towns all around this land
And we can skin a buck, and run a trotline
And a country boy can survive, country folks can survive
[Outro]
A country boy can survive
Country folks can survive