I Wrote the Book is a song by Morgan Wallen from his 2023 album One Thing at A Time. Released together with two more songs, Last Night and Everything I Love, the track exposes another personal point of view on life and conduct. Fans were curious to know more about the song’s lyrics: in this article, we will analyze its meaning, and you’ll also find the complete lyrics at the end.
You can listen to Morgan Wallen’s I Wrote The Book below.
I Wrote The Book: the lyrics & their meaning
I Wrote The Book is a song that reflects on our life behavior and how good we are. In the lyrics, Morgan Wallen explains that there are many things he’s good at, but he also admits he doesn’t behave well enough according to how a good man should be. Therefore, he confirms that he can write a book about many things, but he may need to read more often the book “that lays by the lamp on the nightstand”: the Bible, which teaches us how to be good humans.
In the song’s beginning, Morgan lists several things he’s good at: the first verse is dedicated to country life (the truck, the boat, finding wood logs), and the second one explains he’s a good baseball player (throwing a curveball, catching it, getting a strike). On those two things, Morgan Wallen is so expert that he can write a book about them, the expression that gives the title to the song.
If you wanna learn
To throw a curve right
To catch a clean up
Lookin’ on a third strike
Talk a little smack
While he’s walkin’ back
Yeah, I wrote the book
But when it comes to the chorus, the central part of the song, Morgan admits that many things prove he’s not good enough. He talks about cussing, fighting, and drinking, three habits that occur every Friday night, three things he’s not proud of. He knows a good man should not do it, so he mentions the Bible, the book “that lays by the lamp on the nightstand.”
But there’s one that lays by
The lamp on the nightstand
One that says don’t cuss and don’t fight
But damn if I don’t do it every Friday night
Those get you into Heaven letters in red
Ain’t gettin’ read enough to
Keep me on a straight line
Following these thoughts, Morgan Wallen reflects on the fact that his last girl left him, something that could match the meaning of the other song from the same album, Last Night: he’s afraid she left because he wasn’t good enough and that convinces him that he should read the Bible carefully, and learn from it.
I met a good girl
She had her life straight
She said she loved that I was good at everythin’
One day she left me in a cloud of dust
‘Cause I never was too good at pickin’ up
Yeah the good Lord knows I need it
I didn’t write it but I probably oughta read it
This is the true meaning of the lyrics inside I Wrote The Book: I can be an expert in many things, but I don’t feel I’m a good man. I should learn how to behave as a man should, mainly because I believe I’m alone for this specific reason. I Wrote The Book is an introspective song, a moment of judgment and evaluation Morgan Wallen takes for himself.
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The complete lyrics
Below you can find the complete lyrics of Morgan Wallen’s I Wrote the Book.
When it comes to
Hitchin’ the boat up
Backin’ down the ramp
In my old truck
To find a bunch of logs
To catch a bunch of hogs
Yeah, I wrote the book
Yeah, I wrote the book
If you wanna learn
To throw a curve right
To catch a clean up
Lookin’ on a third strike
Talk a little smack
While he’s walkin’ back
Yeah, I wrote the book
But there’s one that lays by the lamp on the nightstand
One that says don’t cuss and don’t fight
Or let the bottle turn you into a different man
But damn if I don’t do it every Friday night
Those get you into Heaven letters in red
Ain’t gettin’ read enough to keep me on a straight line
I’m a Jack of all trades
But man I gotta say
That’s one book I didn’t write
I met a good girl
She had her life straight
She said she loved that I was good at everythin’
One day she left me in a cloud of dust
‘Cause I never was too good at pickin’ up
The one that lays by the lamp on the nightstand
The one that says don’t cuss and don’t fight
Or let the bottle turn you into a different man
But damn if I don’t do it every Friday night
Those get you into Heaven letters in red
Ain’t gettin’ read enough to keep me on a straight line
I’m a Jack of all trades
But man I gotta say
That’s one book I didn’t write
Yeah the good Lord knows I need it
I didn’t write it but I probably oughta read it
The one that lays by the lamp on the nightstand
One that says don’t cuss and don’t fight
Or let the bottle turn you into a different man
But damn if I don’t do it every Friday night
Those get you into Heaven letters in red
Ain’t gettin’ read enough to keep me on a straight line
I’m a Jack of all trades
But man I gotta say
That’s one book I didn’t write
That’s one book I didn’t write
That’s one book I didn’t write