"Lot of Leavin' Left to Do" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Bentley moved to Nashville in the late 90s to pursue a career in music, leading up to his releasing the self-funded and independent album Do ...

. It was released in January 2005 as the first single from his 2005 album '' Modern Day Drifter''. The song peaked at number 3 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart. Bentley wrote this song with

Deric Ruttan Deric J. Ruttan (born January 27, 1972) is a Canadian country music singer, songwriter and record producer from Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada. A Nashville, Tennessee resident, he has released four studio albums and has written or co-written more ...

and Brett Beavers.

Content

This song is about Dierks being on the road and having a hard time with relationships. The lyric "So lovin' me might be a long shot gamble / So before ya go and turn me on / Be sure you can turn me loose / 'Cause I still got a lot of leavin' left to do" is a warning to any potential love interest that you shouldn't "fall for im because he is on the road 365 days a year.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price of ''

'' reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "personality packed uptempo number" "with the driving lead guitar and macho-lover lyric." She goes on to say that the song is "reminiscent of

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

at his charismatic outlaw best." On Bentley's vocals, she says that he "infuses the lyric with reckless, sexy charm." In 2017, ''Billboard'' contributor

Chuck Dauphin Charles Frederick Dauphin III (February 17, 1974 – September 18, 2019) was an American sports and country music journalist. He was a radio broadcaster for WDKN in Dickson, Tennessee for 18 years, a radio show host and sports director at WNKX i ...

put "Lot of Leavin' Left to Do" at number eight on his top 10 list of Bentley's best songs.

Music video

The music video was directed by Sam Erickson. It reached number 1 on CMT's Top 20 Countdown in the summer of 2005.

Chart positions

"Lot of Leavin' Left to Do" debuted at number 46 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs for the week of February 5, 2005. When the song peaked at number 3 on the June 4, 2005 chart, the Top 3 songs on the country chart were all by artists on Capitol Records. This was only the third time since 1990 that the same label had the Top 3 singles on that chart.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2005 songs 2005 singles Dierks Bentley songs Songs written by Dierks Bentley Songs written by Deric Ruttan Songs written by Brett Beavers Capitol Records Nashville singles Song recordings produced by Brett Beavers