Forever Texas

About

Written by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, Forever Texas was first performed live on The Ego Has Landed tour in 1999, more than a year before the release of Sing When You’re Winning. It became a fixture in Williams’ setlists during the 2000–2001 world tour, though it has not reappeared in later shows. The track captures his fascination with American pop culture, wrapping dark humour around a swaggering rock groove.

Driven by distorted guitars and a pulsing rhythm section, the song mixes bravado with bleak self-reflection. Its lyrics are among the album’s most confrontational: “The reason I’m doing you is because your friend said no” and “I’ve been suicidal since God knows when” expose an inner void beneath the rock-star posturing. Williams sings with irony but the tone remains unsettling, hinting at the hedonism and self-doubt of his late 1990s fame.

It’s about sleeping with someone you don’t care about. There’s no joy in it, no love, just another night in a life I didn’t really like living.Robbie Williams

Recorded with producer Steve Power, Forever Texas retains a raw, almost live energy. The title references the American South rather than any literal connection, reflecting Williams’ ongoing fascination with U.S. imagery as a metaphor for excess and escape. Musically it sits closer to rock than pop, showing Chambers’ ability to frame Williams’ voice within heavier textures.

Though rarely discussed, the song stands as a revealing snapshot of Williams’ state of mind at the turn of the millennium — confident on the surface, conflicted underneath. Its combination of rock attitude and emotional unease makes it one of the album’s darker, more complex pieces.