"That's Right (You're Not from Texas)" is a song written by

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957)Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and releas ...

Willis Alan Ramsey Willis Alan Ramsey (born 5 March 1951) is an American singer/songwriter, a cult legend among fans of Americana and Texas country. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Dallas, Texas. Ramsey graduated from Highland Park High Schoo ...

and Alison Rogers and recorded by Lovett for his 1996 studio album '' The Road to Ensenada''. It was released as the album's fourth single on February 24, 1997. Due to its use in a series of advertisements promoting

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

tourism, the phrase has also come to be used independently to describe the quirky and sometimes misunderstood attitudes associated with Texas.

Lyrics

''That's Right'' is a lighthearted song that lightly mocks the popularity of cowboy fashions in urban settings, and reflects the general sense of

Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

pride that newcomers and outsiders often misunderstand. The second verse is a tribute to the members of Uncle Walt's Band, a band actually from South Carolina who later became associated with the

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

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 ...

scene.

Those boys from Carolina
They sure enough could sing
But when they came on down to Texas
We all showed them how to swing
Now
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
's on the radio
And old
Champ Champ is the short form of champion. It may also refer to: People * Champ (nickname) * Champ (surname) * Champ Butler (1926–1992), American singer * Champ Lyons (born 1940), justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 1998 to 2011 * Champ Se ...
's still on the guitar
And Uncle Walt he's home with Heidi
Hiding in her loving arms

Lovett was a huge fan of Uncle Walt's band as a college student, and Lovett had gone on to produce Hyatt's 1990 album ''King Tears''. Walter Hyatt died a month before the release of this album.

Other media

In 1999, the Texas tourism board ran an ad campaign featuring Lyle Lovett singing the refrain "That's Right, You're Not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway." Possibly because of the national exposure of the ad campaign, the phrase has been used independently, even in non-musical contexts as a general expression conveying Texans' sometimes baffling customs.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

titled a compilation of responses to his review of the movie '' Friday Night Lights'' "That's right you're not from Texas", in which most of the writers rebuked Ebert for misunderstanding the devout Texan football culture.

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show '' A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

used the same title for a tribute to

Molly Ivins Mary Tyler "Molly" Ivins (August 30, 1944 – January 31, 2007) was an American newspaper columnist, author, political commentator, and humorist. Born in California and raised in Texas, Ivins attended Smith College and the Columbia Univers ...

, explaining that she exemplified and celebrated a distinct Texan attitude that many others didn't understand.

Reviews

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 dat ...

's review of '' The Road to Ensenada'' praises several songs on the album as being "funny without being silly". Review of ''The Road to Ensenada''from

References

{{Reflist 1996 songs 1997 singles Lyle Lovett songs Songs about Texas Songs written by Lyle Lovett Songs written by Willis Alan Ramsey