Champagne Taste (On A Beer Budget) vs. Full Of Cheer

An analysis of two Home Free songs, written by Tim Foust.

Home Free fans everywhere know the humor and sarcasm to expect from the group. From live concerts to social media posts to song lyrics, fans can almost always be guaranteed a chuckle.

On their first CD, Crazy Life, Home Free included a song called "Champagne Taste (On A Beer Budget)." On their second CD was it's unofficial sequel, "Full Of Cheer." We've found 4 similarities between the songs and 4 other things whose themes would be considered the "same difference" here in the Midwest.

The Writer

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Both songs were written by the group's bass, Tim Foust. Tim's humor is probably the darkest out of the entire group. He has even admitted that he enjoys kicking a hornet's nest on occasion. Figuratively, of course. So naturally, when you are listening to a song Tim wrote, you know it straight away.

Rob's Whistling

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Tenor Rob Lundquist could probably whistle the national anthem in 4-part harmony. Seriously, the man has some crazy skills. We really hope Tim keeps writing songs that feature Rob's insane whistling.

Alcohol

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Come on, what's a good country song without alcohol? From a "champagne" wife with a "beer" husband, to a bucket of celebratory nog, these two songs are among the ranks of "intoxicating" country tunes.

A High-Maintenance Woman

The bane of any man's existence is a woman he can't afford. One who spends money like it's going out of style. And what a great song that particular topic makes!

Who Goes Where?

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In Champagne Taste, the wife spends all the money and her husband is pretty sure he's about to get hauled off to debtor's prison. In Full Of Cheer, she leaves and he stays in their home. We just hope she took all the credit card debt with her.

Notable Places

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In Champagne Taste, the husband's concerned that he will never see his pretty wife again after going to jail, since she spends all her time at the mall across town. In Full Of Cheer, he is actually about to join an online dating site. We're hoping that maybe he'll put it in his profile that any ladies interested in him have to buy their own crap.

Her Mementoes

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In Champagne Taste, we learn that the wife has bought a Mercedes and a Jimmy Choo handbag. In Full Of Cheer, the only token she leaves behind is a goodbye note.

Let's see: high-end cars and handbags, versus ink and paper? We kinda think he got the short end of the stick when it comes to all these tokens.

Money

This is by far our favorite difference. In Champagne Taste, his wife has spent all the rent money on "stuff," and we're assuming she probably maxed out all the credit cards too. The husband is in a super tricky situation. Until Full Of Cheer when she leaves. He's literally leaping for joy over the fact that he's actually going to have money in his pockets again. The joy of being a free bachelor again - no wonder he is so full of cheer this Christmas season.

After the heartache that the husband went through in Champagne Taste, we're actually kind of glad to see him single again in Full Of Cheer. What better Christmas gift is there, anyways, than to finally be rid of someone who's bad news? But, we digress...

After these two great songs, we hope to hear another song about this dysfunctional pair. Maybe a reunion song where he gets to put her in debtor prison, or even a 4-part whistling medley about the Mercedes catching fire with the Louis Vuitton handbags inside. Either way, we look forward to whatever else Tim's devious mind cooks up.