Backside of Thirty

"Backside of Thirty"
Single by John Conlee
from the album Rose Colored Glasses
B-side	"Hold On"
Released	February 1979
Genre	Country
Length	2:33
Label	ABC
Writer(s)	John Conlee
Producer(s)	Bud Logan
John Conlee singles chronology
"Lady Lay Down" (1978) "Backside of Thirty" (1979) "Before My Time" (1979)

"Backside of Thirty" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist John Conlee. It was released in February 1979 as the third single from the album Rose Colored Glasses. "Backside of Thirty" was John Conlee's third country hit and second number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of eleven weeks on the country chart.

The song is about a working man whose dreams of family life and the American dream come undone after a particularly acrimonious divorce. With his ex-wife and young son having left him, the man bemoans his brokeness, despair and solace in the bottle. When friends ask him about how things are going, he puts up his bravado, saying things are fine, although he admits "my eyes tell a story that my lies can't hide."

Chart performance

Chart (1979)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	5

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Preceded by "Where Do I Put Her Memory" by Charley Pride

Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single May 5, 1979

Succeeded by "Don't Take It Away" by Conway Twitty