Luke Bryan is done apologizing for having fun. When the country superstar dropped "Fish Hunt Golf Drink" two weeks ago, the internet didn't just criticize it—they accused him of outsourcing to ChatGPT.
But according to Rolling Stone, the song is 100% human-made, written by Nashville hitmakers Chase McGill and Matt Dragstrem. They're pushing back hard.
When McGill and Dragstrem were asked how they crafted the fishing, hunting, golfing, and drinking anthem, they opened with a joke: "Drag just opened ChatGPT and…" before laughing. The point was clear: no AI could deliver what country songwriting requires.
"AI has never skinned a deer on a Chevy C-10 tailgate with their uncle," McGill said. He was defending his work by referencing his co-write on Morgan Wallen's "Skoal, Chevy and Browning," arguing that specificity and lived experience are what separate human songwriting from machine output.
The backlash was harsh. One viral comment mocking the song as "Wake up, coffee, fish hunt, Chat GPT" racked up over 30,000 likes. Bryan himself fired back: "Well, I'm learning that no one wants to just have fun anymore. I choose to have a damn blast! Either come along or go be blah."
McGill isn't bothered by the hate. "When the hate is strong, so is the BMI payment," he said, referencing the performing-rights checks songwriters receive for their work. Controversy, in other words, pays. The song arrived at a moment when any formulaic country track gets tagged as AI-generated, but this one has receipts.
Commercial country music relies on familiar symbols: trucks, whiskey, mud. It's an easy target for AI accusations. But McGill and Dragstrem are showing that formula is just country.
