Who knew that Willie Nelson and Toby Keith would do a song about a horse? According to Keith, the track was inspired by his experience working in a rodeo company. And for Willie, well, he just wants to do something for horses because of his passion for it.

This was a success for both country singers as it reached the top of the country charts.

via YouTubeToby Keith Working with Willie Nelson

Toby Keith used to work at a rodeo company so he met a few old cowboys in there. His experience working with them was the inspiration for the song and the title came up in one of their conversations. When they were out drinking, one of them would always say: “Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.” This was what the singer remembers, so he wrote a song about it.

In an interview, Keith explained:

“I had this title forever, and when Scott Emerick came up with a neat little melody lick, the two just went hand-in-hand. The song was written prior to September 11th. It’s about justice, but more so about the law of the Old West. It truly depicts how I feel about our justice system today.”

via YouTube

When he finished writing the song, Toby immediately wanted to record it with Willie Nelson. He was a big fan of the country legend and he always thought of recording a song with the singer. This was the first collaboration between these country stars and it was such a hit after it was released.

Scotty Emerick, one of the songwriters, recalled his experience working on the song:

“We got on his bus and played him ‘Beer For My Horses.’ That’s the first time we ever met him. And we told him we had an idea, we had a song we wanted to do a duet with him. So we just met him on his bus and hung out all night, and played him songs. And he’s so nice, he said, ‘Sure.’ Then it just all fell into place. They recorded it, and it’s great.

Watch Toby Keith and Willie Nelson sing the song here: