"Anything Like Me" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley

Brad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....

. Originally included on his 2009 album American Saturday Night

American Saturday Night

American Saturday Night is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Brad Paisley. It was released on June 30, 2009, by Arista Nashville. Like all of his previous studio albums, it is produced by Frank Rogers. The first single, "Then," has become his fourteenth Number One on the Hot...

, the song was released in August 2010 as the lead-off single to a greatest hits album titled Hits Alive

Hits Alive

Hits Alive is the title of a greatest-hits album package released by American country music artist Brad Paisley. This album contains two CDs of a collection of Paisley's greatest hits spanning his entire career. The first disc contains studio versions, and the second disc contains live versions. It...

.

Content

The song is from the perspective of an anxious father-to-be who discovers that he and his wife will soon have a son, and instantly begins fretting over what will happen if his son is like he was when he was young. He envisions his son climbing a tree too tall, riding his bike too fast, and trying to melt a Tonka

Tonka

Tonka is an American toy company most known for its signature toy trucks and construction equipment.-History:On September 18, 1946 Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, Minnesota with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker , Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by...

 truck with a magnifying glass. As the song nears its end, he slowly becomes more optimistic, concluding that "there's worse folks to be like".

Critical reception

Janet Goodman of The 9513 gave the song a "thumbs up," saying that its humor would make it connect with listeners and comparing it thematically to "Letter to Me

Letter to Me

"Letter to Me" is a single by American country music singer Brad Paisley. It is the third single released from his 2007 album 5th Gear. The song spent four weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in February 2008, becoming his sixth consecutive Number One on that chart, as...

." Chris Neal of Country Weekly

Country Weekly

Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...

thought that the song was one of several to address Paisley's family. Reviewing the album for The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, Ben Ratliff thought that the song was "so much smarter" for expressing the anxiety associated with raising a son. Leeann Ward of Country Universe gave the song a B+ grade, saying that the strongest part of the song is the "understated production that is almost all acoustic with the electric instruments still being gentle and unobtrusive."

Chart performance

Chart (2010)	Peak position