"Back That Thing Up" is a song written by
Jeremy Stover and
Randy Houser
Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2008, he charted the single " Anything Goes". It was a top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' country singles chart ...
, 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, o ...
artist
Justin Moore
Justin Cole Moore (born March 30, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Big Machine Records imprint Valory Music Group. For that label, he has released six studio albums: his self titled debut in 2009, '' Outlaws ...
. It was released in July 2008 as Moore's second single from his
self-titled debut album, and the only track from the album that Moore did not co-write. The song peaked at number 38 on the US ''
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 chart.
Content
This song uses elements of
country rap
Country rap (or country hip hop and sometimes hick hop) is a fusion genre of popular music, blending country music with hip hop–style singing or rapping.
History Prototypes
Early influences on the emergence of country rap as a distinct genre ...
and
country rock
Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...
as well as
sexual innuendo
An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...
to describe a girl handling equipment on a farm (e.g. "Throw it in reverse, let Daddy load it up").
Critical reception
Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a B− grade, stating that he would be "lying if
esaid
ewasn't disappointed that this isn't a countrified version of the Juvenile hit. Alas, it's just a hillbilly rave-up that finds a country boy trying to get a city girl used to farm life, using backing up a truck as an awkward sexual metaphor" and that Moore "throws himself fully into the lyric like he was
Joe Diffie
Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and 2004, Diffi ...
singing a mid-1990s novelty number". In 2017, ''
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 ...
'' 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 "Back That Thing Up" at number ten on his top 10 list of Moore's best songs.
Music video
The music video was directed by
Wes Edwards
Wes Edwards is a music video and commercial director. He has directed over 150 official music videos in various genres from country to EDM. He has created multiple videos for Brothers Osborne, Dierks Bentley, Dash Berlin, and Emma Hewitt. In 202 ...
and premiered in June 2009.
Chart performance
This song debuted at number 55
on the ''
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 chart for the week of August 23, 2008.
References
{{authority control
2008 singles
2008 songs
Justin Moore songs
Big Machine Records singles
Music videos directed by Wes Edwards
Song recordings produced by Jeremy Stover
Songs written by Jeremy Stover
Songs written by Randy Houser