Every artist has a collection of songs stored away in the vault, either waiting for the perfect time to be released or never seeing the light of day because the lyrics don’t resonate with them anymore. Or maybe they are too raw to think about the possibility of singing them live every night.
Tyler Childers is a perfect example of one of those artists who has many songs that are in the vault, like “Her and the Banks,” “Redneck Romeo,” and many more. The more fans beg for those to be gifted to them, which I too am guilty of, the more that Childers is less likely to release them, but at least her performs a few of these unreleased beauties at his live shows.
However, one artist has an unreleased gem that I still hope we can get one day on streaming platforms: a hidden from Cody Johnson.
Eleven years ago, a baby-faced Cody Johnson debuted the song on a radio show, which was captured by the TV series, Troubadour TX.
“This is a song… actually, the week that I was up there with y’all talking about doing these three shows together, I came home from that trip, and the day I got home, I wrote this song. It’s a little bit different than you’ve heard from me.
But I just figured I’d try it out on you and if it’s just horrible… Guess what? We’re live.”
The song highlights the story of a man who is hit at the lowest point of his life when his woman leaves him. He begs his wife to stay, but his pleas do not work, and now he’s left alone, wrestling with the thoughts that his actions have caused his life to crumble.
The man begins to have dark thoughts about ending his life due to the depression he finds himself in, but he does not have the strength to go through with the horrific action.
“There’s a bottle on the counter to help me overcome the fear
A pistol in my dresser drawer that can take me far from here
Soon enough,
Thank God I’m not that tough
I played my guitar last night for 22 dollars in tips,
In ten days they’ll turn off my lights,
I just can’t seem to make these loose ends meet
Oh I’m dead on my feet
It’s a wonder I ain’t in jail by now
The way I let everything go down
I feel like I’m burning up in flames
The hardest part that I’ll deal with
Is knowing that I caused all this
Sooner or later I’m gonna have to lay
In this lonely bed I made…”
Johnson does not often perform this song, and this original video of the track is one of the best-quality performances of the tune on the internet. Johnson is known for some heartbreak anthems, which gives me some hope that we could still get this song on streaming platforms one day.
However, this song is much deeper than the love songs that Johnson has leaned into on his latest projects, such as “C’mon Cowgirl,” “I’m Gonna Love You,” and “Dirt Cheap.”
“Thank God I’m Not That Tough” deserves a second look. It’s a phenomenal song from Johnson’s early songwriting days.
Check it out.
Some folks in the comments have also noted that even 11 years since this video was first posted, it’s still one of their favorites.
“Still here in 2024 wishing this was released…”
“2025 and still my favorite song by Cody. Real country…..Country music roots long lost and forgotten.”
“Makes me think about how many of these he’s sitting on.”
“My FAVORITE song…I love ’em all, but this one hits me…”
“This is my favorite song by Cody, hands down. Victimless storytelling.”
“Can he please put this on an album already? Geez.”
“This song has helped me through some hard times.”
