Carrie Underwood isn’t exactly one of Nashville’s most controversial artists, but she ended up in the middle of controversy after releasing “Smoke Break” in 2015.
The “Smoke Break” lyrics actually came about during a break from work.
Who Wrote Carrie Underwood’s “Smoke Break”?
Underwood was initially writing another song with Nashville songwriters Chris DeStefano and Hillary Lindsey, two of her frequent collaborators.
They were holed up at her cabin where she often writes, and since the weather was so beautiful, they kept taking frequent breaks by the fountain outside.
What Inspired Carrie Underwood’s “Smoke Break”?
“We kind of got stuck a little bit on the song that we were writing, so we decided to take another break, and I think Carrie might have said, ‘Hey, we should write a song called ‘Smoke Break,'” DeStefano told Taste of Country in 2015. “You know, ‘Coffee Break’ doesn’t really sing that good, but ‘Smoke Break’ would be awesome to write about.”
The idea grew very quickly and organically, and the result was a sharp turn away from Underwood’s two previous offerings, “Something in the Water” and “Little Toy Guns,” both of which the trio wrote together.
“The process was a bit different, too, which I think definitely came out in the song,” DeStefano said.
“We wrote the whole thing just on acoustic guitar. I went in and grabbed my guitar and just kinda started on that vibe, that little intro riff, and we were just off to the races. The whole song came out in about … it wasn’t even an hour that it took us to write that song. It was just one of those writes that was such a different dynamic than usual, but it just came out so effortlessly.”
The “Smoke Break” lyrics present Underwood in a different light, as a blue-collar worker who just needs some time away from her hectic life:
“She said I don’t drink, but sometimes I need a stiff drink / Sipping from a high, full glass / Let the world fade away / She said I don’t smoke, but sometimes I need a long drag / Yeah, I know it might sound bad / But sometimes I need a smoke break.”
“It wasn’t the literal meaning of it, but more the idea of, look, life gets crazy sometimes, and sometimes you’ve just gotta step away,” DeStefano told us.
“It can be anything … just sitting down to a movie or going out on the lake, or going on a vacation somewhere. We’ve all been there. We’re all there; we’re all trying to do what we can to stay afloat and to work hard, and for me, make my parents proud. Like the song says, be a good son and always strive.”
The second verse switched the narrator from a blue-collar woman to a white-collar man, then tied it back into the central theme of the chorus, making the message much more universal than just the lament of one person.
DeStefano said that came about just in the process of working on the song.
“That was really the ripple effect of staying very focused on these two characters and where they’re at in their lives,” he shared. “So many people can relate to both of those people in the lyrics.”
Though many fans interpreted the “Smoke Break” lyrics as reflecting Underwood’s post-baby stress, the song was written before she knew she was pregnant.
“It’s really interesting how it’s all played out,” DeStefano said. “Obviously I couldn’t be happier for Carrie and Mike, but we certainly didn’t see that all coming when we wrote ‘Smoke Break.’ That’s one of the powerful and awesome things about songwriting; sometimes people will find different angles and ways of looking at the songs you write.”
DeStefano finished up a rough demo after Underwood sang her guide vocals, and he said producer Jay Joyce perfectly captured the vibe they were going for with the song in the master studio recording.
“Jay did such an amazing job,” he gushed. “The heart and the soul that was originally there on the demo was captured, but he definitely exploded it more, which I love. I love the big choruses, I love that kind of vibe. I feel like he really captured that, so I couldn’t be happier.”
What Was the Controversy Around Carrie Underwood’s “Smoke Break”?
The song touched off a fair bit of controversy online, with some fans accusing Underwood of promoting smoking.
Several media outlets staunchly defended Underwood.
“A ‘stiff drink’ and a ‘long drag’ are just placeholders for any vice the overworked might depend on to survive,” Vulture opined.
“The concern, Carrie suggests, isn’t how Americans cope with their blue-collar lives (though she’s by no means undermining the severity of addiction); it’s the culture of stress that suffocates everyone — including both the mom working three jobs to feed her four kids and the first-generation college graduate just trying to do right by his family — that should piss people off.”
How Did Carrie Underwood’s “Smoke Break” Do in the Country Charts?
“Smoke Break” reached No. 2 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, and has been certified Platinum.
PICTURES: See Inside Carrie Underwood’s Breathtaking Nashville Mansion
Carrie Underwood and her husband, Mike Fisher, owned a 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom, 2-half-bathroom home in an affluent Nashville suburb called Brentwood. The 7,000-square-foot mansion features a wet bar, fitness center and tennis court, as well as a four-car garage, walk-out basement with heated marble floors and extra appliances, including a sub-zero fridge and wine fridge. That house is where Underwood suffered a devastating fall in 2017.
The couple sold the luxurious home for $1,410,000 in March of 2019, after they moved into the massive dream home that they had spent several years building from scratch.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
20 Things Carrie Underwood Has Done Since Winning ‘American Idol’
Carrie Underwood has been, well, busy since winning Season 4 of American Idol in 2005. Since the confetti fell, the country singer has released nine albums and embarked on seven tours. She’s also tried her hand at acting and launched a handful of businesses.
Over the years she’s become one of the biggest success stories to come out of the show, winning countless awards and amassing a staggering net worth of over $100 million.
Keep scrolling to see 20 things Underwood has done since her time on the reality singing competition.
