Garth Brooks Talks Halloween on ‘Ellen,’ Sings ‘Callin’ Baton Rouge’

Garth Brooks had some fun on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today (November 1), talking Halloween, “Dive Bar” touring and how he got called out for not working hard enough by a 95-year-old former President.

Taking a seat on Ellen’s famous white couch, the country icon first explained why Halloween was one of the most-celebrated holidays at he and Trisha Yearwood’s house (his kids were able to run around and be like everybody else for once), and what it looks like when your wife dresses up like you for the day.

Then, Brooks and Ellen dug into to his sixth CMA Entertainer of the Year nomination — stemming largely from the ongoing Stadium Tour which found Brooks headlining massive football stadiums one night, and then slipping into a tiny dive bars the next.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but there’s no difference in the two,” he says. “The excitement is fabulous, and you get to play with the guys you did all the dive bars with — they’re the guys playing the stadiums and going back and forth — so everybody’s having a great time. I don’t think anybody’s having a better time than we are, right now, though.”

And later on, he tells a hilarious story about building houses for Habitat for Humanity with President Jimmy Carter in Haiti — and getting busted by the boss. Brooks was working to put up a metal roof in 115-degree heat, he explains, and once done he went underneath for a short break in the shade. But just then President Carter walked in, and Brooks bashfully admits he had this to say: “You need something to do, Garth?”

“I said ‘No, sir,’ and jumped right back out there again,” he continued. “You’re not gonna outwork him.”

To cap the show off, the superstar offered up a rare TV performance his classic hit, “Callin’ Baton Rouge” — but think of it more like a warm up for something much bigger. He and Blake Shelton will perform their “Dive Bar” collaboration live on the 53rd annual CMA Awards November 13.