"Ticks" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Brad Paisley. It was released in March 2007 as the first single from his 2007 album 5th Gear. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Paisley wrote this song with Kelley Lovelace and Tim Owens.

"Ticks"
Single by Brad Paisley
from the album 5th Gear
ReleasedMarch 12, 2007
Recorded2007
GenreCountry
Length4:33 (Album Version)
3:58 (Single Version)
LabelArista Nashville
Songwriter(s)Brad Paisley
Kelley Lovelace
Tim Owens
Producer(s)Frank Rogers
Brad Paisley singles chronology
"She's Everything"
(2006)
"Ticks"
(2007)
"Online"
(2007)

This song was featured as a downloadable track for the video game Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Content

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The song's main character is at a bar, attempting to pick up a date. In doing so, he uses several humorous pickup lines, such as "I'd like to check you for ticks."

Paisley stated that the song is not about blood-sucking arachnids but rather about a guy flirting with a gal. Paisley was inspired to write the song from experience working on a farm. “Working out here on the farm, I literally have to check for ticks every time I come in from the woods or the fields,” he notes. “Now, if a young guy who lives in the country were to take a girl into the woods for any reason, it would totally cross his mind that she’s going to have to check for ticks when they come back out. So it seems that an enterprising guy would at least consider that he could offer to check for her.”[1]

Critical reception

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Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a C− grade. While saying that the production was good, he went on to say "[the song] may be the very first mainstream country single to completely skeeze [him] out."[2]

Personnel

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Chart performance

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[8] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[9] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Brad Paisley biography at Arista Nashville website. Retrieved 30 Aug 2009
  2. ^ Coyne, Kevin John (2007-03-09). "Brad Paisley - "Ticks"". Country Universe. Archived from the original on April 12, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  3. ^ "Brad Paisley Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  4. ^ "Brad Paisley Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  5. ^ "Brad Paisley Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  6. ^ "Brad Paisley Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  7. ^ "Best of 2007: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
  8. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Brad Paisley – Ticks". Music Canada. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  9. ^ "American single certifications – Brad Paisley – Ticks". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 31, 2016.