"Old Enough to Know Better" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Wade Hayes Tony Wade Hayes (born April 20, 1969) is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Records in 1994, he made his debut that year with his gold-certified album '' Old Enough to Know Better''. Its title track, which served as his debut ...

. It was released in November 1994 as the first single and title track from his debut album '' Old Enough to Know Better'', as well as his debut single. The song is also his only Number One hit, having reached its peak on the '' Billboard'' country charts in February of that year. It was written by Hayes and Chick Rains.

Content

"Old Enough to Know Better" is a moderate up-tempo that begins with a fiddle solo. The male narrator tells of how a lifestyle of nighttime partying leaves him short on money and criticized by his boss. The narrator then concludes that he is "old enough to know better, but still too young to care".

Critical reception

Alanna Nash Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1950, Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books. She is a 1972 graduat ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', in her review of the album, called the song "a born-to-win dance number", and Charlotte Dillon of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

called it "an impressive honky-tonk

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Chart positions

"Old Enough to Know Better" debuted at number 64 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of November 19, 1994.

Year-end charts

References

{{Wade Hayes 1994 songs 1994 debut singles Wade Hayes songs Columbia Nashville Records singles Songs written by Chick Rains Songs written by Wade Hayes Song recordings produced by Don Cook