Music Review: Florida Georgia Line & Luke Bryan "This Is How We Roll"

Florida Georgia Line & Luke Bryan

This Is How We Roll

Album: Here’s To The Good Times (Deluxe Edition)

Year: 2014

      Tyler Hubbard and his girlfriend drink and drive as they joyride around town in the           delinquent “This Is How We Roll.”

             A frivolous guitar opens the single, setting a foolish tone. The CD switches over from Hank Williams “There’s A Tear In My Beer” to the bass line from Drake’s “Take Care” vibrates throughout Hubbard’s pickup truck. He and his girlfriend raise their plastic bottles of Coke, spiked with vodka and back out of the parking lot of the convenience store. His girlfriend is worried a cop will come by and catch them. He tells her it’s not a big deal. No one will notice. She also tells him people are hanging out at Chili’s. He says that’s where they are headed. (“The mixtape's got a little Hank, little Drake/A little something bumping, thump, thumping on the wheel ride/The mix in our drink's a little stronger than you think/So get a grip, take a sip of that feel right/The truck's jacked up, flat bills flipped back/Yeah you can find us where the party's at.”)

             In the chorus, he turns off the CD player and turns on the radio. His girlfriend exclaims how much she loves the song and starts yelling the lyrics. He laughs, knowing people in their houses can hear them. (“This is how we roll/We hanging ‘round singing out everything on the radio/We light it up with our hands up/This is how we roll/This is how we do/We're burning down the night shooting bullets at the moon baby/This is how we roll.”)

They drive into the Chili’s lot and wave to some of their friends. The Chili’s is the hangout for everyone in town. There are not a lot of places to go. Down the road, there are two bars. They are open to company, if anyone wants to join them. He puts his arm around his girlfriend and comments on her beauty. She giggles and give him kisses. He smirks and says it’s as though it’s a reflex with her. People may think he may not have any ambitions. However, he likes it. Everything stays the same everyday. (“Yeah baby this is how we roll/
We rollin' into town/With nothing else to do, we take another lap around/Yeah holla at your boy if you need a ride/If you roll with me yeah you know we rollin' high/Up on those 37 Nittos, windows tinted hard to see though/How fresh my baby is in the shotgun seat oh/Them kisses are for me though, automatic like a free throw/This life I live it might not be for you but it's for me though/Let's roll!”)

             In the second chorus, he adds that his girlfriend is the respite from the sneers he gets from everybody else in town. (“This is how we roll/We hanging round singing out everything on the radio/We light it up with our hands up/This is how we roll/This is how we do/When the world turns ugly I just turn and look at you baby/This is how we roll.”)

In the bridge, Luke Bryan chimes in and says he’s enjoying his 20s. He and his friends don’t feel the need to listen to anyone. They won’t let people determine their relationships. During the week, they tell the older people to fuck off. In church, though, on Sunday, they sit in the pew and ask God to show them His way to lead a righteous life. Once home, they light up a joint and talk about leaving their dingy small town. Karma will come back to those people who get them into trouble. (“Yeah we're proud to be young/We stick to our guns/We love who we love and we wanna have fun/Yeah we cuss on them Mondays/And pray on them Sundays/Pass it around and we dream about one day.”)

In the third chorus, he adds he and his girlfriend drive 50 mph over some farmland, coating the truck with mud to get back home. (“This is how we roll/We hanging round singing out everything on the radio/We light it up with our hands up/This is how we roll/This is how we ride/We slingin' up the mud, cuttin' through the countryside baby/This is how we roll.”)

          An extended final chorus ends the single. (“Yeah this is how we roll..yeah this is how we roll.”)

            Florida Georgia Line’s posturing vocals claim to be rebellious. However, once they advocate  drunk driving (implied), he loses any right to bitch at authority. He shows off his thuggishness in the second verse by rapping. However, it only cements the stupidity. They really need to stop drinking and read a book every once in awhile.

         Bryan’s peacekeeping vocals try to explain away their attitude, saying it stems from how they stuck how feel. They believe they are entitled and above the law (including God’s). However, by throwing God in their faces to those they hurt is not only hypocritical but disrespectful. The Bible placed on the dashboard may as well be an extra cup holder.

       The  irresponsible “This Is How We Roll” needs an attitude adjustment or maybe a DUI to get the point.