'I've Got a Tiger by the Tail' Ranked Among 'Best Country Songs of All Time'

Buck Owens' iconic 1964 hit "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" was ranked No. 16 on Rolling Stone's list of the 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time. The song topped the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart upon its release, cementing Owens as a pioneer of the genre.

The song quickly became one of the most recognizable tracks of Owens' career, and introduced a whole new audience to the growing Bakersfield sound that was emerging in the mid-60s.

The Bakersfield subgenre blended traditional country music with a bluesy, honky-tonk sound that had, in turn, drawn inspiration from rock and roll hits over the previous decade. Owens quickly became one of the leading figures in this movement, alongside contemporaries such as Merle Haggard and Don Rich. It's typically viewed as a more modernized, electric-driven counterpart to Nashville country music.

According to the liner notes of The Buck Owens Collection: 1959-1990, the singer found inspiration for the song's lyrics when passing by a gas station and reading the slogan "Put a tiger in your tank" on the wall. It was written in just a few weeks and released barely a month later, becoming Owens' sixth chart-topping hit on the Country Singles chart.

While the song helped Owens solidify himself as a leading voice in country music at the time, it also developed a reputation of its own. Many other artists covered the track in the years after Owens recorded it, including Dave Berry, Waylon Jennings, and New Riders of the Purple Sage.

The song uses its titular refrain as a metaphor for the narrator to discuss his relationship with a lover, whom he claims is taking over his life and leaving him "helpless". Its lyrics are vague and enigmatic, but Owens' heartfelt delvery makes it feel incredibly personal and real despite that.

While "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" remains one of Buck Owens' most well-known songs, it certainly wasn't his last hit. Alongside his band The Buckaneers, he would go on to have fifteen more chart-topping hits throughout his career, adding to the previous six for a staggering total of 21. He was later inducted in the Country Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame to recognize his contributions to not just the Bakersfield sound, but the country genre in general.