13 Compelling Songs That Raise the Bar

Reading Time: 13 min read

13 Compelling Songs That Raise the Bar features songs by ericdoa, Evangeline Gentle, Lil Darkie, Morgan Wallen, Shaboozey, and Zach Bryan.

Simply put, the BAR has been set! And by a bar, in most cases, 13 Compelling Songs That Raise the Bar references “a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks and sometimes food are served”. But, look up the word, and there are multiple definitions. This playlist highlights songs related to a bar where alcohol is consumed, but it also offers a few variations of the word. 13 Compelling Songs That Raise the Bar features songs by ericdoa, Evangeline Gentle, Lil Darkie, Morgan Wallen, Shaboozey, and Zach Bryan. So, without further ado, grab a couple a drinks – they don’t have to be alcoholic – and let’s dive into these compelling songs that raise the bar!

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1. Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

2. Evangeline Gentle, “Gay Bar” / “Gay Bar (Daniel Adams Remix)”

3. ericdoa, “song for when the bar closes”

4. Lana Del Rey, “Bartender”

5. Thomas Rhett, “After All The Bars Are Closed”

6. BabyTron, “100 Bars”

7. Zach Bryan, “The Great American Bar Scene”

8. Lil Darkie, “BAR FIGHT MUSIC”

9. Rosie Tucker, “Gay Bar”

10. Morgan Wallen, “Man Made a Bar” (Ft. Eric Church)

11. Tamar Braxton, “Raise The Bar”

12. T-Pain, “Bartender” (Ft. Akon)

13. Electric Six, “Gay Bar”

1. Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

***Where I’ve Been, isn’t Where I’m Going* // American Dogwood / EMPIRE // 2024**

Shaboozey (Collins Obinna Chibueze) delivers an entertaining country record with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, the second track on his 2024 album, Where I’ve Been, isn’t Where I’m Going. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was written by Shaboozey, Nevin, Sean Cook, and Mark Williams. Nevin and Sean Cook also produced it. Fun is the modus operandi. Shaboozey doesn’t hold back on the personality. “My baby want a Birkin, she’s been tellin’ me all night long,” he sings in the first verse, later adding, “This 9 to 5 ain’t workin’, why the hell do I work so hard?” Birkins aren’t ‘country,’ but the reference to work – that’s country to the core! Also, ‘country’ is the pre-chorus and chorus, where he drowns his sorrows: “Tell ‘em, ‘bring another round,’ we need plenty more,” and “Someone pour me a double shot of whiskey / They know me, and Jack Daniel’s got a history.” Woo! The follow-up in the second verse is entertaining too – a drunk Shaboozey: “Woke up drunk at 10 a.m., we gon’ do this shit again / Tell your girl to bring a friend.” Shaboozey brings plenty of energy and fun to the table. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has been a dominant force on the Billboard Hot 100. Also, the hit earned Chibueze four of his five Grammy nominations.

Appears in 🔻:

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2. Evangeline Gentle, “Gay Bar” / “Gay Bar (Daniel Adams Remix)”

“Gay Bar (Daniel Adams Remix)” // Evangeline Gentle // 2024

“Oh, there’s no better party / Just throw some glitter on it honey / And take me dancing, dancing at the gay bar.” Woo! Scottish Canadian folk-pop singer/songwriter Evangeline Gentle has a fun night planned. She asserts, “I wanna lose my voice screaming every anthem / It’s time I let go, let loose, have fun.” Word! This fun takes place at the gay bar, hence the title of her single, “Gay Bar”. “Gay Bar” appeared on her 2023 album, Where The Diamonds Are. Gentle penned “Gay Bar” while Jim Bryson produced it. Have I mentioned that fun is the modus operandi?!

In 2024, Daniel Adams produced the remix titled “Gay Bar (Daniel Adams Remix)”. The synths are assertive, bright, and warm, amplifying the original song. The remix is even more danceable, fitting the vibe of the gay bar Evangeline is visiting. “Radiant queens adorned in jewels / Platform heels, Chanel perfume,” she sings, adding, “Help me forget / About this troubled world tonight / And take me dancing at the gay bar.” No deep analysis is necessary: A gay bar is an F-U-N place to be! The perfect way to de-stress. Carefree, Gentle knows where to go to have a good time!

Appears in 🔻:

Evangeline Gentle, Gay Bar / Gay Bar (Daniel Adams Remix): Beaming with Pride 🏳️‍🌈 78 (2024)

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3. ericdoa, “song for when the bar closes”

“song for when the bar closes”// ericdoa / LISTEN TO THE KIDS // 2024

“I don’t wanna leave yet, when the lights come on / I just wanna dance (Give me one more song).” 22-year-old, Connecticut-based, genre-blurring artist ericdoa (Eric Lopez) always seems to have tricks up his sleeves. Better yet, he always seems to be releasing new music. Firmly entrenched in the hyperpop realm, ericdoa dropped a short, ear-catching single with “song for when the bar closes”. Lopez penned and produced the sub-two-minute record. “Song for when the bar closes” features messy musical accompaniment/production. It seems intentional. It’s loud, muddy, heavily distorted, lacking refinement, and unsettling. Also, it’s rhythmic. The unrefined, rhythmic nature is part of the charm. Ericdoa gives us expressive vocals, remaining true to himself. His M.O.? To woo a girl, of course! “She think I’m important / Maybe ‘cause my cards are silver and my whip’s imported,” he asserts in the second verse, adding, “I know you got a lifestyle, does your man support it? /…Your lil’ shit be mild, I be really scorchin’.” Confident! The chorus is the most melodic section – the one to beat!

“I know you’re not the type that’s gonna play on both sides

I just wanna see you at the end of my night-night

Said that you were perfect, girl, I knew the whole time-time

I just wanna see you at the end of my night.”

All in all, “song for when the bar closes” is another fun joint from ericdoa, loud, distorted musical backdrop and all!

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4. Lana Del Rey, “Bartender”

Norman Fucking Rockwell! // Interscope // 2019

“‘Cause they don’t yet know what car I drive / I’m just tryna keep my love alive / With my bartender, hold me all night.” “Bartender” isn’t the crowning achievement of Norman Fucking Rockwell!, but it’s quite alluring, nonetheless. Something quite telling is how Grammy-nominated artist Lana Del Rey refers to her own life (seemingly). This includes escaping fame (“Photo-free exits from baby’s bedside / ‘Cause they don’t yet know what care I drive”), avoiding alcohol (“But that Cherry Coke you serve is fine”), and, of course, a relationship with an unnamed bartender (“And our love’s sweet enough on the vine / Bartender”). Del Rey wrote “Bartender” alongside her frequent collaborator, Rick Nowels, who also produced the track.

Appears in 🔻:

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5. Thomas Rhett, “After All The Bars Are Closed”

About A Woman // Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records, LCC / The Valory Music Co. // 2024

“After all the bars are closed / Tell me where you wanna go / We can find a place to park / Open the bottle in our hearts.” Aww, Thomas Rhett! The country singer concludes the chorus of “After All The Bars Are Closed,” “We still got a lot of good night left to go / After all the bars are closed.” Fo’ sho’! Rhett penned the sixth track from his 2024 album, About A Woman, alongside Julian Bunetta, John Byron, Jaxson Free, and Jacob Kasher. Bunetta and Dann Huff produced. The modus operandi is simple: love post-bar. “Don’t gotta go home / But we can’t stay here,” Thomas sings in the first verse, adding, “We can go anywhere / Take a ride to the boondocks / Turn my truck to a boombox…” There’s always a truck involved in country music, isn’t there? In the second verse, he’ll “Be your bartender on the kitchen counter / Wrappin’ up the night, arms wrapped around ya.” No deep analysis is necessary! Thomas and his girl, likely his wife, have things to ‘do’ “After All The Bars Are Closed.” Vocally, the twang is heavy. Musically, the country is country-ing, with a dash of pop.

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6. BabyTron, “100 Bars”

6 // The Hip Hop Lab / EMPIRE // 2023

“Bitch, yeah, let me count for y’all.” WOO!!! Michigan rapper BabyTron (James Johnson) teaches us to count to 100 on “100 Bars”. Who would’ve thought the opener from his 2023 album, 6, would be so educational? Technically, there are more than 100 bars, but this two-part rap banger wasn’t devised to be a music theory lesson 😉. Instead, this is an opportunity for Johnson to show off his creative rap skills. Aiding those skills are his masculine voice, and his chill but commanding approach and flow. BabyTron came to rap, eating up the beat by Damjonboi. Earlier, I mentioned that “100 Bars” was a two-part song. Expectedly, half the bars (50) fall into part one, beginning with “One of one, it ain’t no duplication of my DNA,” and concluding with “Fifty rackies if you never seen that lil’ boy, you a shrimp.” Part II acknowledges the beat switch, beginning with “Fifty-one lines in, forty-nine to go,” and concluding with “Ninety-nine my overall, that ain’t shit to go get a bucket / Only right we end it here, gon’ always keep this shit a hundred.” Now that’s 💯 for sure! In between, Johnson catches the ears many times whether he has “20/20 vision off the shrooms, I’m in Wonderland,” “Twenty-two, I tote the deuce, deuce, this bitch a tummy tuck,” or “Fourth and fifty-six, fuck it, gang, I’m goin’ long.” “100 Bars” needs no extensive analysis – it speaks for itself!

Appears in 🔻:

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7. Zach Bryan, “The Great American Bar Scene”

The Great American Bar Scene // Belting Bronco / Warner // 2024

“But you can’t bet your life on the table / When you’ve got yourself a bad hand.” Facts! Even so, Zach Bryan got his friend, they made “a bold stand,” and “Wound up bleedin’ on the bar floor / And we don’t bet on ball no more.” Does Bryan ever miss? If he does, it’s rare. “The Great American Bar Scene” marks another triumph for the Grammy-nominated country singer/songwriter. It is the third track from Bryan’s 2024 LP, The Great American Bar Scene. Bryan penned the record, which features intriguing songwriting. Zach has a knack for imparting a mean story, as evidenced by the first verse. Of course, it doesn’t stop there – he gives us three more exciting verses. In the second, he’s no rat, despite being questioned about his brother from Tulsa, who cops “Put cuffs on so tight he started bleedin’ / From his wrist down through to his right hand.” Reflective, in the fourth verse, Zach asserts, “I’ve tried like hell to keep my health / Treat others well and understand.” Besides excellent songwriting, Bryan impresses with his pipes. His vocals are strong, sounding expressive and nuanced. Furthermore, the musical accompaniment is a win, too. One of the best instrumental features is the use of harmonica, which appears at the beginning, setting the tone. “The Great American Bar Scene” is great, even if the scene is questionable per Bryan’s vivid tales.

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8. Lil Darkie, “BAR FIGHT MUSIC”

SWAMP // Lil Darkie // 2020

“Everybody pussy, not a real man / I can put a hole in a motherfucker with a steel can / Ain’t nobody fucking with niggas that wanna feel bad.” Oh, snap! More like holy shit! Lil Darkie doesn’t fuck around on “BAR FIGHT MUSIC.” The rapper, producer, artist, and animator comes in hot on “BAR FIGHT MUSIC.” “BAR FIGHT MUSIC” graces his 2020 album, SWAMP. Lil Darkie, MKULTRA, and Wendigo produced this boisterous, high-energy, quick rap track that has ample punk influence. The f-bombs are abundant, as is the violence. “Bar fight music like Tarantino / I’ma kill Bill with the tip of my blade,” Darkie spits, adding, “Fuck a nigga, I’ma fold him like a bitch tight /… We can have a fistfight…” Woo! “BAR FIGHT MUSIC” is something else, whether it’s the bridge (“Bar fight music for the good of the masses”) or more outlandishness in the second verse (“Drank too much alcohol / All up in my system / All I let this motherfucker taste some of addiction”). If nothing else, this is what a bar fight should sound like 🤘!

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9. Rosie Tucker, “Gay Bar”

Never Not // The Sunshine Sound / New Professor Music // 2019

“If you told me that we’d died / And gone to the gay bar / I woulda said, ‘That seems right.’” Rosie Tucker provides a vivid portrait in her entertaining song, “Gay Bar.” “Gay Bar” arrives as the opener on Tucker’s 2019 sophomore album, Never Not Never Not Never Not, commencing with a certified BANG! According to Stereogum, who premiered the single, Tucker states “‘Gay Bar’ celebrates the incredible spectrum of characters dressed to impress at your average regional queer watering hole.” Sounds accurate judging the characterizations established lyrically. There are many memorable lines such as personal favorites “Saint Peter clad in leather / She was looking quite salacious” and, of course, “Cowboys dipped in glitter.” Tucker paints a picture where she’s in heaven – gay bar heaven!

Appears in 🔻:

15 Utterly Thrilling, GAY Songs (2021)

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10. Morgan Wallen, “Man Made a Bar” (Ft. Eric Church)

One Thing At A Time // Big Loud // 2023

“I sat down on a barstool, like a dern fool / ‘Cause she walked out again.” Drowning those sorrows, Morgan Wallen! The Grammy-nominated country singer loves a bar. How do we know? He’s sung many bar-related songs like “This Bar” or “Your Bartender”. Both songs hailed from Dangerous: The Double Album. On his 2023 album, One Thing At A Time, Wallen informed us that “Man Made a Bar”. Word. Helping him to articulate this point he tapped fellow country artist Eric Church for the assist. The fourth track from One Thing At Time was written by Rocky Block, Jordan Dozzi, Larry Fleet, and Brett Tyler. Joey Moi produced it.

The bartender relates to Wallen’s situation. In the first verse, he tells him, the bar “‘Got me over my first wife’,” insinuating this situation is “a story old as time.” From there, “Man Made a Bar” gets Biblical think Genesis, in the chorus. The scripture ‘takes some liberties’:

“… God made a man, and man got lonely

He said, ‘Please, Lord, if I could only

Have an angel to hold in my arms’

So, God made a girl, His best work of art

Oh, but He didn’t make no place to go when she breaks your hеart

So, man made a bar.”

Eric Church enters the picture in the second verse, asserting at the end, “Damn, the devil do some damage.” After singing the second chorus, with some Wallen contributions, Wallen performs the bridge, which involves a fallen angel. Both Wallen and Church sing marvelously, with ample twang. Besides the vocals, the melodies are tuneful, and the music accompaniment is ‘tried-and-true’ country. In case you didn’t know, “Man Made a Bar” for men to cope, or so Wallen and Church say.

Appears in 🔻:

Morgan Wallen, Man Made a Bar: Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 94 (2024)

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11. Tamar Braxton, “Raise The Bar”

Calling All Lovers // Epic // 2015

“I thought that I knew everything about it / But then came you and ain’t no doubt about it.” Ooh-wee, it’s those matters of the heart! Oh, the feels! “Like I wished on a star / You, you, you, you raise the bar.” Oh, snap! “Raise The Bar” is the eighth track from Calling All Lovers, the third studio album by Grammy-nominated R&B artist Tamar Braxton. Braxton, Claude Kelly, and producer Camper penned the bar-raising “Raise The Bar.” What is the big takeaway from this adult contemporary R&B ballad? This man that Braxton has found is EVERYTHING – the sugar honey iced tea! According to her, in the second verse, “You’re the first, the only man on this earth / That I trust to give my heart to.” Aww 🥰! In the chorus, a passionate Braxton asserts, “And every wrong turn that I made / And every scar and every burn and every pain / Led me to ya.” Aside from the chorus, another high-flying moment from “Raise The Bar” is the chorus, where Tamar swears a lil’ bit – she is so taken with him, after all!

“Ooh, don’t know what I did before

I met your sexy ass and changed the score

I couldn’t ask for more than who you are

‘Cause baby, you, you, you, you raise the bar.”

Alcohol isn’t involved in this particular bar song, but it deserves to be recognized regardless. Braxton sounds beautiful over Camper’s lush musical backdrop.

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12. T-Pain, “Bartender” (Ft. Akon)

Epiphany // Zomba // 2007

“Two hundred bitches in the building ain’t none of them hot / Except for this pretty young thang that was workin’ on the way, at the top.” Back in 2007, Grammy-winning, autotune-loving R&B singer T-Pain fell in love with the “Bartender.” “Bartender” served as one of the biggest hits from his most successful album to date, Epiphany (the song is second only to “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’)”. “Bartender” isn’t profound in the least – “Oh she made us drinks, to drink / We drunk ‘em, got drunk” – but like so much of Epiphany, it’s incredibly fun and entertaining. Can’t knock him for wanting to bang the bartender, right? Oh, and by the way, he’s assisted Akon.

Appears in 🔻:

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13. Electric Six, “Gay Bar”

Fire // XL Recordings Ltd // 2003

“Girl! I wanna take you to a gay bar / I wanna take you to a gay bar / I wanna take you to a gay bar, gay bar, gay bar.” Woo! Well, it’s pretty easy to figure out what Dick Valentine (real name Tyler Spencer) and his rock band, Electric Six had in mind on “Gay Bar.” One of the band’s biggest hits, “Gay Bar,” appears on their 2003 album, Fire. Though it is short, there’s plenty of firepower on this Damien Mendis and Stuart Bradbury-produced track. If you are hoping for extremely explicit, scandalous lyrics from “Gay Bar,” well, there’s really nothing extreme. I mean, I guess “I’ve got something to put in you” might be, um, a bit hypersexual, but otherwise, this is a record that’s filled with energy more than incredibly risqué lines. Still, it is interesting to note that (1) the music video is epic – edgier (and ‘gayer’) than the song itself and (2) the words “war” and “nuclear” are often censored given the timing of the release – the height of the war. It’s an interesting listen, to say the least.

Appears in 🔻:

15 Utterly Thrilling, GAY Songs (2021)

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13 Compelling Songs That Raise the Bar (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; American Dogwood, Belting Bronco, Big Loud, EMPIRE, Epic, ericdoa, Evangeline Gentle, Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records, LCC, Interscope, LISTEN TO THE KIDS, The Hip Hop Lab, The Valory Music Co., Warner, XL Recordings Ltd, Zomba; casper somia, cottonbro studio, Rajesh Kumar Verma, Sydney Sang, The Lion Tribe from Pexels; Alexander Lesnitsky, Diana Wolfskin, Likesilkto, myyur purwanto, OpenClipart-Vectors, PixLoger, prad123rita from Pixabay]

13 Compelling Songs That Raise the Bar | Playlist 🎧

Published by the musical hype on December 25, 2024December 25, 2024