Are you going on a roadtrip this summer? Tearing up the roads on the route du soleil or cruising on the Costa del Sol? A romantic trip for two or going buck wild with your BFFs? George Ezra chose for the latter on Shotgun and even listening to the song gives you (vicarious) holiday vibes.

‘SHOTGUNNN!!’

Anyone who has a brother or sister knows that by the time you hear ‘SHOTGUNNN!!’, you’re already too late. The official rule is that whoever remembers to shout it first gets to ride next to mum or dad in the front passenger’s seat.

You may be wondering why we shout ‘shotgun’ en masse to take the seat of honour. The story goes that its roots lie in the Wild West. Traveling was very dangerous back then, and in order to keep the passengers of the caravan or wagon safe, the passenger next to the driver was armed with a shotgun. If the traveling party met an attacker, thief, or a hostile member of the native population, then this armed passenger could defend the group. Whether that spot was as cherished as it is now is a whole other story.

(Road)trip down memory lane

Back to George! He doesn’t seem to have bad times in his car, just fantastic times. This is his musical (road)trip down memory lane!

[Verse 1]
Home grown alligator, see you later
Gotta hit the road, gotta hit the road
The Sun, it changed in the atmosphere
Architecture unfamiliar
I could get used to this

[Pre-Chorus]
Time flies by in the yellow and green
Stick around and you’ll see what I mean
There’s a mountaintop that I’m dreamin’ of
If you need me you know where I’ll be

[Chorus]
I’ll be ridin’ shotgun underneath the hot sun
Feelin’ like a someone
I’ll be ridin’ shotgun underneath the hot sun
Feelin’ like a someone

[Verse 2]
South of the Equator, navigator
Gotta hit the road, gotta hit the road
And deep sea divin’ ’round the clock, bikini bottoms, lager tops*
I could get used to this

(…)

[Bridge]
We got two in the front
Two in the back
Sailin’ along
And we don’t look back
Shotgun – George Ezra

Destination Unknown

There’s a lot of speculation online as to where George is actually roadtripping with his friends or not. ‘Yellow and Green’ could be a reference to Australia’s national colours, but fans also claim that the mountaintop of George’s dreams could also be in South Africa or Brazil. Seeing as George spent a month in an AirBnb in Barcelona working on his newest album Staying At Tamara’s (yes, the AirBnb owner was called Tamara), it’s very possible that Shotgun’s creative roots lie in Spain.

Whatever the case, I think that this song fits perfectly with any unforgettable roadtrip, so it doesn’t matter too much. Turn up the volume and drive!

*I believe he is referring to lager beer topped up with a bit of lemon or lemonade, but he could also be referring to a tanktop printed with a beer brand’s logo.

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– Shotgun is written by Joel Laslett Pott / George Barnett © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management, 2018.
📸: Matheus Ferrero