Carrie Underwood's strong vocals and incomparable stage presence are what led to not only her American Idol win in 2005, but also her ability to continue having a successful music career in Nashville. Her debut album Some Hearts included some now-classic hit songs like "Before He Cheats," but it was her third studio album, Play On, that debuted with a bang with its lead single in 2009, "Cowboy Casanova."
The song was written by Underwood and songwriters Mike Elizondo and Brett James. Underwood and James, who had previously worked together on "Jesus, Take the Wheel," initially came up with the concept of that type of guy that every girl has met at a bar, the charming type that tries to take you home. But the angle of the song was warning other women to be on the lookout for him. James told the Tennessean that they initially pitched the title to Elizondo when he came out to Nashville for their writing session. It was actually his first time out to work on a country song as he had previously worked with artists like Eminem and Dr. Dre out in Los Angeles.
"I remember that title happened to be on my title list that day, and I thought, 'We could do something with this.' We had so much fun writing that song. ... We're getting to make fun of (the 'casanova') a little bit and warn other girls about him," James said. "It became this full-on attitude day, and Carrie is such an amazing writer. Her input into all of that was fun to watch, like 'Let's just sting a little harder.'"
Not only did listeners love the song, but Underwood won music video of the year at the CMT Music Awards, American Country Awards, and even the French Country Music Awards. She had another hit on her hands but a lot of people didn't believe the story that the song was concocted in a writing room. Rumors started that she actually found inspiration from her famous ex-boyfriend, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
The country star and NFL player dated in 2007 but after things ended, Underwood was pretty open about the fact that it didn't end well. She explained that Romo put his career before any kind of relationship (which we later saw with Jessica Simpson).
"Point blank, he is about football. I don't know if it's that I'm not quite his type or whatever, but I don't think he's at the point in his life where he would be willing to sacrifice football," Underwood said at the time. "He hated so much that people thought that he was paying more attention to me and that was causing him to not do well.''
But in an interview with Esquire, Underwood shot down rumors that he inspired "Cowboy Casanova" pretty quickly.
"No. I would never immortalize a guy that did me wrong. I would never give him that much credit."
What do you think? Did the NFL player offer even a little inspiration? Refresh your memory with the lyrics below, and decide for yourself.
"Cowboy Casanova" Lyrics
That boy is like a disease
You're runnin' and tryin' and tryin' to hide
And you're wondering why you can't get free
He's like a curse; he's like a drug
You get addicted to his love
You wanna get out, but he's holding ya down
'Cause you can't live without one more touch
Leaning up against the record machine
He looks like a cool drink of water
But he's candy-coated misery
He's the devil in disguise
A snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don't wanna fight
You better run for your life
You ain't hearing what I say
So I'll say it again 'cause I been where ya been
And I know how it ends, you can't get away
Don't even look in his eyes
He'll tell you nothing but lies
And you wanna believe that you won't be deceived
If you listen to me and take my advice
Leaning up against the record machine
He looks like a cool drink of water
But he's candy-coated misery
He's the devil in disguise
A snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don't wanna fight
You better run for your life
He'll tell you anything you wanna hear
He'll break your heart; it's just a matter of time
But just remember
Leaning up against the record machine
He looks like a cool drink of water
But he's candy-coated misery
He's the devil in disguise
A snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don't wanna fight
You better run for your life
Oh, you better run for your life
