I was born in Oklahoma in 1969
My daddy played the honky tonks
Out on the county line
One night he took me with him
Through those swingin' doors
And I heard that country music
Saw that crowded dance floor
Dad made fifty dollars
And I stayed up 'til three
And I thought
This is the life for me.

By the time I turned fourteen
I was pickin' lead guitar
Everyday I went to school
And at night I played the bars
Two or three years later
I noticed something strange
All the looks that I was gettin'
From the girls began to change
I knew right then and there
What I was gonna be
This is the life for me.

This is the life
The only one I want to know
Everyday another town
And every night another show
Ever since I was a boy
I've had this crazy dream
Now I know it was meant to be
This is the life
This is the life for me.

Well, I tried to go to college
Just to see if I was wrong
But that ain't the kind of knowledge
That helps you write a country song
I got my education on the wild side of life
Through a cloud of smoke so thick
That you could cut it with a knife
There was no doubt about it
As far as I could see
This is the life for me.

This is the life
The only one I want to know
Everyday another town
And every night another show
Ever since I was a boy
I've had this crazy dream
Now I know it was meant to be
This is the life
This is the life for me.

Yeah, this is the life
This is the life for me...