In the canon of rodeo songs, few embody the magnetic pull of a life on the circuit, and the loneliness and pain that go along with it, quite like Garth Brooks’ “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old).” It’s right up there with George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning,” Judy Collins’ “Someday Soon,” and Chris LeDoux’s “Hooked on an 8 Second Ride” — and, for a guy who actually has a song titled “Rodeo,” it stands as Brooks’ best song about broncs and bulls.
On Thursday, Hayes Carll and Corb Lund dropped their version of the song, premiering exclusively on Rolling Stone Country. The Texas and Canadian songwriters, respectively, deliver “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” with all the world-weariness that it requires.
“This song has meant a lot to me over the years, and — even though I’m a long way from being a rodeo guy — this snapshot of a life on the road, the toll it takes on the heart, and the feeling of years stacking up in a young man’s game, resonates more and more,” Carll says.
“Hayes and I have been playing this tune together for a while now, and it’s a favorite of both of ours,” Lund says. “We recorded this stripped back, bare bones version during the National Finals Rodeo last year, which is fitting, as it’s almost a hymn to a lot of rodeo people we know.”
Carll and Lund’s collaboration arrives just before the singers launch an overseas tour on Saturday in Ireland. Carll dropped his latest album, We’re Only Human, in 2025. Lund is poised to released his new LP, Dark Horses, on Aug. 7 via New West Records.
Along with the song itself, Carll and Lund released a performance video from the studio. Watch it below.
