Luke Bryan Admits He Passed on Recording ‘Sand in My Boots’ After Worrying He Was Becoming Country’s ‘One-Trick Pony’

“Man, I sing about trucks a lot, I sing about tailgates,” the country star says he decided. The song ultimately became a hit for Morgan Wallen

Luke Bryan; Morgan Wallen. Photo: Taylor Hill/WireImage; Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty

Luke Bryan passed on this song for an understandable reason.

During a March 11 appearance on Bobby Bones’ BobbyCast, the American Idol judge spoke about turning down the HARDY, Ashley Gorley and Josh Osborne track “Sand in My Boots,” which ultimately went on to become a huge hit for Morgan Wallen.

When Bones asked if Bryan, 48, was “picking songs that you wouldn’t have cut five years ago because of what the songs about” Bryan cited the 2024 song “4x4xU,” which was recently released by Lainey Wilson.

“There was a point in my career where I had sang about trucks enough to where I passed, stupidly, on the Morgan [song] ‘Sand in My Boots,’ because it had Chevrolet in it,” Bryan said.

“But now I’m dodging potholes in my sunburnt Silverado,” Wallen, 31, sings in the 2021 tune’s chorus, name-checking the Chevrolet pickup truck.

Luke Bryan.Luke Bryan/Instagram

“I just went through two years of my life where I was like, ‘Man, I sing about trucks a lot, I sing about tailgates.’ I got in my head a little bit because I think I had a lot of negativity, socially, on socials, that I was getting pegged as maybe a one-trick pony in that lane.”

Bryan then spoke about when he was doing “spring break stuff” when he was in his mid-30s, trying to appeal to 20-year-olds. He then realized that “it’s time to move on” from singing songs for college-age students.

“It was awesome and it totally told the world that’s my personality,” Bryan added, calling his vibe “let’s have some fun.”

“If I don’t get male vocalist of the year, and Grammys because I may be known as the guy that has had fun through throughout his career and put out a lot of fun songs, I’m cool with that.”

Bryan’s songs about trucks and tailgates include “That’s My Kind of Night,” “This Is How We Roll” and the aptly titled “We Rode in Trucks.”

Luke Bryan in Las Vegas in February 2022.John Shearer/Getty

The country star spoke about singing “bro country” songs in 2018, telling Billboard about the difficulty of combining stereotypical country music with deeper topics.

“When I started singing about stuff like that, a lot of people saw that it worked, so they incorporated it,” Bryan explained at the time. “Then sometimes things get beat to death, and then it’s time to move on.”

“I know that there are more layers to describing the country way of life than a pickup truck and fishing,” he continued.

“When I’m in a songwriting session with one of my songwriter buddies who’s going down the back-road path, can I sing a song about hunting and fishing ever again? I have enough intelligence to know I have to move the needle from singing about trucks and back roads and fishing.”