Court Yard Hounds Question Toby Keith’s ‘Bullets in the Gun’

Dixie Chicks and Court Yard Hounds singer Emily Robison may have just resurrected an old rivalry with Toby Keith. During Tuesday's (January 18) Court Yard Hounds live web chat, Emily posed this challenge to viewers:

"I'm going to send y'all on a mission," she said. "Go listen to a song by Robert Earl Keen called 'The Road Goes on Forever,' and then listen to Toby Keith's new single ['Bullets in the Gun'] and you write back and tell us what you think. It's up to you to do the compare/contrast."

Robert Earl Keen's classic tune is about a small-town waitress, Sherry, who falls for an ex-con, Sonny, after he saves her from a customer who's getting fresh. Sonny beats up the unruly patron and flees with his new love to go on a wild bender that ends with a botched drug deal. In the end, Sherry shoots and kills a police officer, but Sonny takes the fall for it.

Toby's new single is about a guy who falls for a small-town saloon dancer being abused by her boss. She ends up robbing her boss, using her new love's gun, and they end up in a seemingly deadly standoff with police. Both are Bonnie and Clyde-style stories ... but are they too similar? Like Emily said, that's for you to decide.

Toby's reps had no comment on the matter. Read the lyrics to his 'Bullets in the Gun' here, and watch the song's video below. Read the full lyrics to 'The Road Goes on Forever' here, and watch a live performance of the song in the second video player below.

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Download 'Bullets in the Gun' | Download 'The Road Goes on Forever'