Song Meaning

The narrator witnesses a departure, seeing "4 wheels" and a waving figure through a windshield, immediately framing it as a "setback." This isn't presented as a devastating blow, but rather a recurring event, "ain't the first won't be the last." The dominant tone is one of resigned acceptance, a pragmatic shrug in the face of romantic parting. The core tension lies in the narrator's coping mechanism: embracing the "setback" by actively choosing to "set back and drink one." This isn't about wallowing; it's about a deliberate shift in perspective, turning a "goodbye to a good time." The lyrics suggest a conscious effort to reframe negative experiences into moments of self-soothing, even if temporary. The clever wordplay on "set back" is central. The narrator literally "sets back" to drink, but also acknowledges the situation as a "setback." This duality is reinforced by the progression from watching the "sun set" to smoking when the "moon shines," marking the passage of time and the deepening of their chosen solace. The repetition of "setback setback" in the chorus emphasizes this embrace of the term. What makes these lyrics hit is the raw, unvarnished honesty of the coping strategy. The narrator doesn't pretend to be unaffected, but instead finds a way to "get the all hell feeling all right" through simple, accessible pleasures. The bridge's escalating logic – "The more I drink the more I feel better" – highlights a self-aware, if slightly bleak, acceptance of their current state, finding comfort in the immediate rather than dwelling on the loss.