About The Song
“Bubba Shot the Jukebox” is a song written by Dennis Linde, and recorded by American country music singer Mark Chesnutt. It was released in September 1992 as the third single from his album Longnecks & Short Stories. It peaked at number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and at number 14 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
The song is an uptempo, in which a man named Bubba shoots a jukebox when he hears a song that makes him cry, which causes a scene. Bubba is taken to jail.
“Bubba Shot the Jukebox” charted for several weeks prior to its release, due to several stations giving it unsolicited airplay while “I’ll Think of Something” was Chesnutt’s active single. A column in Billboard described the song as “not thought to be viable for radio by some in both Chesnutt’s and MCA’s camps”, but that the unsolicited airplay made it “destined” to be a single.
Video
Lyrics
We were all down at Margie’s bar
Tellin’ stories if we had one
Someone fired the old jukebox up
The song it sure was a sad one
A teardrop rolled down Bubba’s nose
From the pain the song was inflictin’
And all at once he jumped to his feet
Just like somebody kicked him
Bubba shot the jukebox last night
Said it played a sad song, it made him cry
Went to his truck and got a 45
Bubba shot the jukebox last night
Bubba ain’t never been accused
Of bein’ mentally stable
So we did not draw an easy breath
‘Til he laid that Colt on the table
He hung his head ’til the cops showed up
He tried to ride outta Margie’s
They told him, “Don’t you play dumb with us son
You know damn well what the charge is”
Bubba shot the jukebox last night
Said it played a sad song, it made him cry
Went to his truck and got a 45
Well, he shot the jukebox last night
When the sheriff arrived with his bathrobe on
The confrontation was a tense one
He shook his head and said
“Bubba boy, you was always a dense one”
A reckless discharge of a gun
That’s what the officers are claimin’
Bubba hollered out reckless hell
I hit just where I was aimin’
Bubba shot the jukebox last night
Said it played a sad song, it made him cry
Went to his truck and got a 45
Well, he shot the jukebox
Stopped it with one shot
Bubba shot the jukebox last night
Well, he could not tell right from wrong
Through the teardrops in his eyes
Beyond a shadow of a doubt
It was a justifiable homicide
Bubba shot the jukebox
Stopped it with one shot
Bubba shot the jukebox last night