About The Song
Can you believe that we’ve been singing David Lee Murphy’s “Dust On The Bottle” for nearly three decades already? The classic hit was released in 1995 as the fourth single from Murphy’s debut album Out with a Bang.
The song then reached the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart – making it Murphy’s first and only No. 1 hit for almost twenty-three years until he topped the country charts again in 2017’s “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” featuring Kenny Chesney.
Meanwhile, Out With a Bang also turned out to be the best-selling album by a new male country artist that same year and eventually earned a Platinum certification.
Written by Murphy himself, “Dust On The Bottle” tells the tale of a young man asking his neighbor – an old man named Creole Williams – some advice on how to impress his lover. Williams then gave him a bottle of homemade wine and told him, “There might be a little dust on the bottle, but don’t let it fool ya about what’s inside.”
David Lee Murphy songs have been a hit to several artists, including Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, Kenny Chesney, among others. But this time, he made a hit of his own, and he shared how the catchy, up-tempo ballad inspired by a real-life character came to life.
Creole Williams was actually an old man from Murphy’s hometown and was a good friend of the singer-songwriter’s cousin. He made homemade wine – which Murphy said may not be the finest one but is enough to get the job done.
As he started playing the opening chords on his guitar, the amateur winemaker crossed his mind along with the title “Dust on the Bottle,” which he had written on a notebook page a long time ago. From there, the lyrics flowed as swift as running water. And the rest was history!
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Lyrics
Creole Williams lived down a dirt road
He made homemade wine like nobody I know
I dropped by one Friday night and said, “Can you help me, Creole?
I got a little girl waitin’ on me and I, I want to treat her right”
He said, “I got what you need, son” as we stepped down in the cellar
He reached through the cobwebs as he turned on the light and said
There might be a little dust on the bottle
But don’t let it fool ya about what’s inside
There might be a little dust on the bottle
But it’s one of those things that gets sweeter with time
You were sittin’ in the porch swing as I pulled up the driveway
My ol’ heart was racing as you climbed inside
You slid over real close as we drove down to the lake road
Watched the sun fade in that big red sky
I reached under the front seat and said, “Now here’s something special
It’s just been waiting for a night like tonight”
But there might be a little dust on the bottle
But don’t let it fool ya about what’s inside
There might be a little dust on the bottle
But it’s one of those things that gets sweeter with time
You’re still with me and we’ve made some memories
After all these years, there’s one thing I’ve found
Some say good love, well, it’s like a fine wine
It keeps getting better as the days go by
But there might be a little dust on the bottle
But don’t let it fool ya about what’s inside
There might be a little dust on the bottle
Well, it’s one of those things that gets sweeter with time
There might be a little dust on the bottle
But don’t let it fool ya about what’s inside
There might be a little dust on the bottle
Well, it’s one of those things that gets sweeter with time
Don’t let it fool ya
