| The Fireman | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | George Strait |
| Album: | Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind |
| B-Side: | What Did You Expect Me to Do |
| Released: | May 6, 1985 |
| Recorded: | June 27, 1984 |
| Genre: | Country |
| Length: | 2:34 |
| Label: | MCA |
| Producer: | Jimmy Bowen & George Strait |
| Prev Title: | The Cowboy Rides Away |
| Prev Year: | 1985 |
| Next Title: | The Chair |
| Next Year: | 1985 |
"The Fireman" is a song written by Mack Vickery and Wayne Kemp, and recorded by American country music artist George Strait. It was released in May 1985 as the third and final single from his album Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind. It reached number 5 on the country music chart in the United States, and number 10 in Canada.[1]
The narrator is a man with charm and wit that can cool down any angry woman. He tends to go after women that have just been in fights with their significant other or have recently experienced a break up. He even heads over to his friend's place to "cool off" the friend's woman with "a little mouth to mouth."
Country music singer Alan Jackson covered the song from the television special George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert.
Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B− grade," calling it "more cocky than clever" and that "the strained metaphor that gives structure to the song errs too far on the side of ridiculous." He goes on to say that the only reason the song is "listenable at all is the fantastic Western swing arrangement and Strait’s in-on-the-joke delivery."[2]
. The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 336.