‘I Drink Alone’ is a rock song by George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was released as a single from the 1985 album Maverick. The song describes a man who, as the name of the song suggests, spends most of his time alone drinking. It name-checks various alcoholic beverages - Wiser's (or alternately Budweiser), Jack Daniel's, Jim Beam, Johnnie Walker (Black and Red Labels), and Old Grand-Dad - in the verses. (In some live versions, the Old Grand-Dad verse is replaced with a verse referencing Wild Turkey.) It peaked at number 13 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.
The song is one in a series of George Thorogood drinking songs, along with ‘One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer’ and ‘If You Don't Start Drinkin' (I'm Gonna Leave).’ The song's defining characteristic is that Thorogood assigns human roles to famous liquor brands such as Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker (black and red), and Old Grandad Whiskey. Though never a charting single, ‘I Drink Alone’ is a fan favorite and one of Thorogood's most frequently played songs on radio.
Thorogood has described his meat-and-potatoes approach this way: “I can understand someone writing about John Lee Hooker, James Brown, or the Beatles — people who've made an incredible impact on rock history. But the Destroyers? We're like a burger joint… Then again, there's nothing wrong with selling cheeseburgers, as long as they're quality cheeseburgers. And that's the way I like to think of us.”
The Maverick album peaked at Number 32 on the Billboard 200, sharing honors as his highest charting effort along with 1988's Born To Be Bad — although Maverick stayed on the chart nearly twice as long. Both were certified gold. Thorogood's only platinum records are Live, which was released in 1986, and The Baddest Of George Thorogood & the Destroyers compilation, which came out in 1992.
By 1985, when he released this song, Thorogood was a big enough deal that he earned an invitation to Live Aid - he performed on the Philadelphia stage after The Beach Boys and before Simple Minds. Instead of playing ‘I Drink Alone,’ his current single, he brought up two blues legends to perform with him: Bo Diddley on ‘Who Do You Love?’ and Albert Collins on ‘Madison Blues.’
Label – EMI America
Songwriter – George Thorogood
Producer – Terry Manning
SONG LYRICS
[Chorus]I drink alone
Yeah, with nobody else
I drink alone
Yeah, with nobody else
Yeah, you know, when I drink alone
I prefer to be by myself
[Verse 1]
Now, every morning, just before breakfast
I don't want no coffee or tea
Just me and my good Buddy-Weiser
That's all I ever need
[Chorus]
‘Cause I drink alone
Yeah, with nobody else
Yeah, you know, when I drink alone
I prefer to be by myself
[Verse 2]
Yeah, the other night I laid sleepin'
And I woke from a terrible dream
So I called up my pal Jack Daniel's
And his partner, Jimmy Beam
[Chorus]
And we drank alone
Yeah, with nobody else
Yeah, you know, when I drink alone
I prefer to be by myself
[Instrumental Bridge]
[Verse 3]
Yeah, the other day I got invited to a party
But I stayed home instead
Just me and my pal, Johnnie Walker
And his brothers, Blackie and Red
[Chorus]
And we drank alone
Yeah, with nobody else
Yeah, you know, when I drink alone
I prefer to be by myself
[Instrumental Bridge]
[Verse 4]
Yeah, my whole family done give up on me
And it makes me feel oh-so bad
The only one who will hang out with me
Is my dear Old Grand-Dad
[Chorus]
And we drink alone
Yeah, with nobody else
Yeah, you know, when I drink alone
I prefer to be by myself
[Outro]
Yeah, you know, when I drink alone
I prefer to be by myself
I drink alone