Who’s cutting onions?
If you call yourself a dog person, it’d be best if you went ahead and got the tissues. Country music singer-songwriter Hardy, who is one of the more underrated songwriters in the country music industry right now, just dropped a song that’ll make you want to run to your furry friend and give them a big ol’ hug.
It’s called “Dog Years,” and I’m likening it to the book (and subsequent movie) Marley & Me.
The song, which was released ahead of his Country! Country! album that’s dropping on September 26, is one that Hardy has had waiting in the wings for quite some time now. The country star says that he penned the track over 10 years ago, before he had even signed a publishing deal.
Before it’s official release today, Hardy had played it on a number of different occasions, with the most recent example being Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation charity event back at the end of 2o24. Ever since Hardy played that fitting song for the event, fans have been asking for a studio version to be dropped.
Hardy was evidently listening to those requests.
Because today, the Mississippi native finally dropped the song that’s written from a dog’s point of view. And from the very moment the song starts, it tugs at the heartstrings of anyone out there who has ever been lucky enough to call themselves a pet owner.
The opening lines sing:
“I was a blacktop traveler
An accident waiting to happen
And thank God you and your Daddy pulled over and let that tailgate down
Never would I have imagined
When you set me up in the back of that truck I fell in the hands of a new best friend
Looking back at it now.”
That takes the song into the chorus, which describes the dog years as “the best life I could ask for,” which is just straight up making me tear up on a Friday afternoon (I’m not afraid to admit that). And if you were hoping that’s as emotional as the track gets… remember that I compared it to Marley & Me.
Just as the movie cheers you up before ripping your heart out, Hardy’s “Dog Years” covers a dog’s life all the way up to the point where they have to say goodbye to their owner. It reminds me of the saying that a pet’s life is only a couple of years out of our life, but for them, it’s their entire life.
That’s why this portion of the song especially hurts:
“And right now I know you’re fightin’ a lot of feelings
Starin’ at me
Knowin’ this time when you scratch my head it’ll probably be the last
But if I could speak your language
All that I would do is thank you for the best years,
Though they went by seven times too fast.”
All in all, besides the song being an absolute water-works factory, Hardy does a great job capturing the life, the journey, and the crossing of the rainbow bridge that comes with dog ownership. It’s one of those hurts-so-good songs, and it definitely falls into the category of “Sad Country Songs.”
Though this one from Hardy might take the cake for the saddest of them all:
“Dog Years”
