This song is about Dierks being on the road and having a hard time with relationships. The lyric "So lovin' me might be a long shot gamble / So before ya go and turn me on / Be sure you can turn me loose / 'Cause I still got a lot of leavin' left to do" is a warning to any potential love interest that you shouldn't "fall for [him]" because he is on the road 365 days a year.[1]
Critical reception
Deborah Evans Price of Billboard reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "personality packed uptempo number" "with the driving lead guitar and macho-lover lyric." She goes on to say that the song is "reminiscent of Waylon Jennings at his charismatic outlaw best." On Bentley's vocals, she says that he "infuses the lyric with reckless, sexy charm."[2] In 2017, Billboard contributor Chuck Dauphin put "Lot of Leavin' Left to Do" at number eight on his top 10 list of Bentley's best songs.[3]
Music video
The music video was directed by Sam Erickson. It reached number 1 on CMT's Top 20 Countdown in the summer of 2005.
Chart positions
"Lot of Leavin' Left to Do" debuted at number 46 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs for the week of February 5, 2005. When the song peaked at number 3 on the June 4, 2005 chart, the Top 3 songs on the country chart were all by artists on Capitol Records. This was only the third time since 1990 that the same label had the Top 3 singles on that chart.[4]