[For the story behind the song, see the note from Chely Wright following the lyrics to “The World Needs a Drink”]

I’ve got a bright red sticker on the back of my car
Says United States Marines
And yesterday a lady in a mini-van held up a middle finger at me
Does she think she knows what I stand for
Or the things that I believe
Just by looking at a sticker for the US Marines /On The Bumper Of My SUV

See, my brother Chris, he’s been in for more than 14 years now
Our dad was in the Navy during Vietnam
Did his duty then he got out
And my grandpa earned his purple heart
On the beach of Normandy
That’s why I’ve got a sticker for the US Marines/ On The Bumper Of SUV

But that doesn’t mean that I want war
I’m not Republican or Democrat
But I’ve gone all around this crazy world
Just to try and better understand

Yes I do have questions
I get to ask them because I’m free
That’s why I’ve got a sticker for the US Marines/ On the Bumper Of My SUV

Cause I’ve been to Hiroshima
And I’ve been to the DMZ
I’ve walked on the sand in Baghdad
Still don’t have all of the answers I need
But I guess I wanna know where she’s been
Before she judges and gestures to me
Cause she don’t like my sticker
For the US Marines/ On the bumper of my SUV

So I hope that lady in her mini-van
Turns on her radio and hears this from me
As she picks up her kids from their private school
And drives home safely on our city streets
Or to the building where her church group meets

Yeah, that’s why I’ve got a sticker for the US Marines/ On the bumper of my SUV

I Think The World Needs A Drink
Terri Clark

Turned on the TV
More crime in the streets
More trouble in the middle east
And fires out west

Politicians flingin dirt
Got decension in the church
Another law suit in the works
Man you talk about a mess

Too much tension between miss liberty and The eiffel tower
It’s about time we all made up at some big Happy hour

I think the world needs a drink
I think enoughs enough
She’s been spinnin around so long i’d say She’s pretty wound up
Calm down, Sit back, Relax
Tear up the contracts and save the ink
Yeah I think the world needs a drink

I bet we’d get somethin done
Over 2 for ones
Rubbin elbows with the big guns
Wouldn’t that be cool

Call all the rich and the poor
The peace keepers and the warlords
We’ll cut some deals over nothing more
Than a shot of 90 proof

There ain’t nothin wrong a few cold beers Can’t iron out
In fact you tell me just when and where and I’ll buy the first round

I think the world needs a drink
I think enough’s enough
She’s been spinnin around so long i’d say She’s pretty wound up
Let’s all calm down sit back relax
Tear up the contracts and save the ink
Yeah i think the world needs a drink

Hey let’s all calm down, sit back, relax
Tear up the contracts and save the ink
Yeah i think the world needs a drink
Dont you think the world needs a couple Drinks

I know I do
Yeah that’s Right

The Story Behind the Song
In June of 2003, I was one of many entertainers, athletes, and actors who traveled to the Middle East to entertain the troops. It was a moving, powerful experience as we were the first to enter Iraq in our effort to reach out to the troops to say “thank you” after the fall of a dictatorial regime. Truly inspirational for me due to the fact that my brother had just served in Iraqi Freedom. Our tour missed him by 10 days. Chris is a Marine. And as I write this today, he is approaching his 15th year. Before he was deployed to the Persian Gulf, my brother sent me a small Marine Corps sticker. I proudly marched down to my vehicle in my garage and slapped that thing on the back. Most of my motivation for doing that was pride, but a bit of my reasoning was simply that I was scared. My brother was going off to War. I wanted to show my support of this fact. I have never in my lifetime had a bumper sticker of any kind displayed on a vehicle that I own. This seemed appropriate. So…..after I returned from that initial trip into Iraq, I was driving down a Main Drag there in Nashville called West End when something happened. Something obviously moving enough for me to drive straight home and write this song. What you will hear in the song “The Bumper Of My S.U.V.” is the absolute truth. No exaggerations, no poetic license, and truly how it made me feel. I had no intention on ever playing this song for anyone.

So………my band, crew and I took another trip to Iraq from September 13th-22nd, 2004. I had stumbled across this little home studio demo that I had done some 16 months earlier. Truthfully, I had forgotten about it, but was curious, so I burned a copy from the hard drive of my home studio. I played it for a couple of guys in my crew and a couple of other friends. They all commented that I MUST perform this song in the Middle East during our tour through Kuwait and Iraq. About 20 minutes prior to the first show of the tour, I sat down with my band leader and we wrote out a rudimentary chart. I didn’t even sing it all the way through to rehearse it with him. I just said, “Have this ready to do….just you and I on stage”. Well, we did it. And we continued to do it on every show. I had 3-4 hour autograph signings after each show and I’ll bet 7 out of 10 Soldiers, Shipmen, Airmen, Marines, Reservists and such ask me to “Please record “The Bumper OF My S.U.V.” song. It would mean so much to us if you would. Thank you for that song and for acknowledging that we’re not a bunch of warmongers. Many of us believe that we are doing great things, and furthermore…..we’re just doing our jobs”. I thanked them all for their kind words and promised that I would record it and send it back to AFN (Armed Forces Network) who, by the way, has been playing my home studio version a LOT. All the more reason to send them a proper recording of this song. I am in no way trying to exploit the situation in the Middle East by “writing a country song about it and “cashing in.” I am simply keeping my promise to about 4,000 young men and women who personally asked a favor of me…..and I humbly said yes. So, here it is. Half of the revenue made from the sale of the single will be donated to Stars For Stripes, the nonprofit organization that took us on this trip, and is committed to taking entertainment to the guys and gals who need it the most. Check out their website. www.starsforstripes.com.

Thank you—Chely Wright