All Things Music

Happy Spring! Now that February is over and March is more than well underway, I’m back with another edition of my What I’ve Been Listening To series. Read on for my latest round of song picks:

February

“Lightning In A Bottle,” Carly Pearce

Carly Pearce sings about a romantic evening featuring wine and her guy on this sultry song from her self-titled second album (released in 2020). There’s nothing I love more than a good ole’ country love song, and this one is no exception. (Side note: Pearce recently sang “Lightning In A Bottle” at the Listening Room Cafe in Nashville with Hannah Ellis, who penned the tune, and she absolutely crushed it. Check it out here).

Standout Lyrics: Twenty dollar Cabernet/Was the same kind we always drank/Never knew it to go to my head like it did/When you were pourin’ more than you usually do/How’d you know that I need an excuse/To say the words I never thought I’d use ’til I did?/Oh, what are the chances that your heart was thinkin’/What my heart was thinkin’ when we got to drinkin’?/We caught lightnin’ in a bottle last night/You could feel the heat comin’ off the vine/Fallin’ for the first time, yeah, it just can’t happen twice/We caught lightnin’ in a bottle last night

“Waiting On You,” Lindsay Ell

I’ve always loved this track from Lindsay Ell but an acoustic version of the song that she released this February reminded me just how good it is. The track is catchy and fun, and Ell doesn’t hold back in telling her romantic interest exactly what she wants from him: to make a move and make her his girl.

Standout Lyrics: What’s not to like ’bout this new love thing?/Midnight kisses, slow dances in the rain/But you got my heart beating fast/Where this is going, baby, I can’t say/Every time you leave me, I just want you to stay/But I gotta know where you stand/Like the dry ground/Waiting for the rain to fall down/I’m a July sky, you’re a bottle rocket/I’m waiting on you/Like a sailboat wishing for the wind to blow/Like a fast car looking for the green to go/I’m right here, baby/Don’t keep me waiting on you

“You Should Probably Leave,” Chris Stapleton

Country singer Chris Stapleton takes caution when it comes to a romantic interest on his song, “You Should Probably Leave.” The only thing better than Stapleton’s vocal is the background instruments, particularly the guitar solo at 2:06.

Standout Lyrics: There’s still time for you to finish your wine/Then you should probably leave/And it’s hard to resist, alright, just one kiss/Then you should probably leave/’Cause I know you and you know me/And we both know where this is gonna lead/You want me to say that I want you to stay/So you should probably leave/Yeah, you should probably leave

March

“Cold Beer Calling My Name,” Jameson Rodgers featuring Luke Combs

Jameson Rodgers and Luke Combs team up on this carefree party song about saying cheers to the weekend and cracking open a cold one. I’m always down for a good collaboration and instantly liked this song when I recently heard it on my local country station.

Standout Lyrics: It’s been one of them clock it in, knock it out, clock it out/’Bout to kick off the weekend/There’s a stretch of blacktop, I ain’t never seen a cop/So I’m pushing it a little past ten/Pulled a little money from the bank, put it in the tank/Shined up the windshield glass/Don’t know where the night might lead, ain’t nowhere to be/But I gotta get there fast/There’s a cold beer calling my name/Feel a good time coming, got a new song humming/And the sunset’s doing its thing/Feeling lucky as a seven, yeah sometimes Heaven/Is a pocket full of payday green/And my baby putting sugar on me/Yeah, it’s sure been a pretty damn good day/And there’s a cold beer calling my name, yeah

“Dive” Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is a bit hesitant when falling for a female love interest on “Dive,” an upbeat yet emotional ballad from his album, “+” (pronounced “plus;” released in 2017). Ed recently teamed up with country singer Luke Combs to sing “Dive” at this year’s C2C Festival in Europe, and it made me fall in love with the song in a completely new way. (Side note: Ed and Luke are the collaboration team I never knew I needed. Cue the tears).

Standout Lyrics: So don’t call me baby/Unless you mean it/And don’t tell me you need me/If you don’t believe it/So let me know the truth/Before I dive right into you

“Sand In My Boots,” Morgan Wallen

Morgan Wallen sings about a summer love that didn’t last on this ballad from his double album, Dangerous (2021). Wallen scored his fifth #1 song with “Sand In My Boots” back in mid-February.

Standout Lyrics: I said, “Let’s go shoot tequila”/So we walked back to that beach bar/She said, “Don’t cowboys drink whiskey?”/So we drank bottom shelf/She said, “Damn, that sky looks perfect”/I said, “Girl, you’ve never seen stars/Like the ones back home” and she said/”Maybe I should see ’em for myself”/Yeah, but now I’m dodging potholes/In my sunburnt Silverado/Like a heartbroke desperado/Headed right back to my roots/Something ’bout the way she kissed me/Tells me she’d love Eastern Tennessee/Yeah, but all I brought back with me/Was some sand in my boots

And that’s a wrap on monthly song picks for February/March. Let me know what you think of them, give them a listen on Apple Music or Spotify, and let me know what songs you’ve had on repeat for the last two months. Until next time…turn off the world and turn up the music.