Brantley Gilbert’s ‘Bad Boy’ Tells His Love Story [LISTEN]

Brantley Gilbert's "Bad Boy" channels his real-life love story with his wife Amber into a heartfelt song about finding the good in the ones we love, and in the ones our loved ones love. Readers can press play above to hear it.

Gilbert often leans into his bad boy image in his music, but he's occasionally shown off his softer side. "Bad Boy" brings both themes together, telling the story of the girl who loves the tough guy and the mother who cautions her to stay away from him: "He's that bad boy / He's that wrong-side-of-the-tracks boy / That break-you-hard-and-won't-come-back boy / Why's that boy the one you love?" Gilbert sings in the chorus.

The second verse sees the girl uncovering her love's gentler side -- and by the third verse, her mother's come around, too. As the titular bad boy asks for the girl's hand in marriage, her mother tells him, "Boy, I always knew you loved my daughter / She loves you too, and I think I know what she sees."

""Bad Boy" is about as real as it gets for me ... It’s a reminder that no matter where you are in life, it’s never too late to be the person you wanna be," says Gilbert on Twitter. In another tweet, he adds, "Every line in this song is the truth ... Amber and I haven't always had the easiest of journeys, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

Gilbert has been open about his and wife Amber's rocky road to marriage in 2015. They're hometown sweethearts, but Gilbert's bad behavior and alcohol and drug use kept them apart for years.

"She’s always had a very, very, very big piece of my heart, and I think that had a lot to do with why I never could give a lot of myself away," Gilbert says. "With her, she’s my best friend, too, so finally having somebody to actually share all of this with and somebody that knows me very well, that I can vent to and that can vent to me ... There’s nothing like having somebody that loves every single bit of you, and that you love the same way, to actually really share it with."

The couple welcomed their first child, a son, in 2017; their second baby, a girl, is due later this year.

"Bad Boy" comes from Gilbert's just-announced new album, Fire & Brimstone. The project is due out on Oct. 4.

About That Fire & Brimstone Title Track ...