Cover art for Behind the Times by Riley Green

Behind the Times

Sep. 11, 20201 viewer8.6K views

Behind the Times Lyrics

[Verse 1]
The bill on his old ball cap
Was bent like an A-frame house
We're sittin' on a park bench
With some Beech-Nut in his mouth
Said, "No one reads the paper
These days, it's all online"
But there he was, behind the times

[Verse 2]
He looked up from the front page
Said, "This world's done gone to hell
I usually don't talk politics
But as far as I can tell
We could use another Reagan
Boy, he was one of a kind"
Then he shook his head, behind the times

[Chorus]
And he said, "Son, you're still young
Save half of what you make
Trust the Lord, go buy a Ford
Or at least a Chevrolet
When you find a good girl, keep her
'Cause they don't grow on vines"
Yeah, a man can learn a lot
From a man behind the times
[Verse 3]
He said, "I've only kissed one woman
We went to church on our first date
I held the door, I held her hand
Back when free love was the rage
I waited 'til the honeymoon
And that suited me just fine
I guess I was behind the times"

[Chorus]
And he said, "Son, you're still young
But trust me when I say
Go hug your mama, 'cause boy, I promise
You'll wish you could one day
When you find a good girl, keep her
'Cause they don't grow on vines"
Yeah, a man can learn a lot
From a man behind the times

[Verse 4]
He folded up that paper
Said, "I better get on home
I don't wanna keep her waitin'
She's got supper on
When you find a good girl, keep her
Just like I did mine"
Yeah, a man can learn a lot
From a man behind the times
Yeah, man, I learned a lot
Form that man behind the times
[Outro]
Behind the times

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Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Riley Green say about "Behind the Times"?
Genius Answer

On the idea behind “Behind the Times":

“Behind the Times” is a song about an era when I think people learned from a different generation. I grew up learning from my grandaddies and some of the values they had – although [they] maybe aren’t as relevant today – I think are still pretty important, and I don’t think you see that as much anymore. I don’t think people go and talk to somebody that’s been on this earth for 80 years. I think now they go Google how to do something, or YouTube it. So, the song is definitely about a generation that lived in a simpler time and how they valued things.

–via Billboard (2020)

Credits
Steel Guitar
Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Mandolin
Keyboards
Executive Producer
Electric Guitar
Bass Guitar
Background Vocals
Assistant Recording Engineer
Acoustic Guitar
Release Date
September 11, 2020
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