All Things Music

Hey there, reader. Hope your holiday season is looking merry and bright!

With the end of the year quickly approaching we wanted to share our song picks for October through December. Read on to find out what we’ve been listening to:

October

“Tennessee Orange,” Megan Moroney

Country newcomer Megan Moroney puts an interesting spin on this song about a forbidden romance between a Georgia Bulldogs and a Tennessee Volunteers fan. After much fan speculation about the identity of her musical love interest, Moroney shared she was wearing fellow country singer Morgan Wallen‘s Vols shirt in the single’s cover photo.

Standout Lyrics: I met somebody and he’s got blue eyes/He opens the door and he don’t make me cry/He ain’t from where we’re from/But he feels like home, yeah/He’s got me doin’ things I’ve never done/In Georgia, they call it a sin/And I still want the Dawgs to win/But I’m wearing Tennessee orange for him/I’m wearing Tennessee orange for him

“Over For You (Live In Melbourne),” Morgan Evans

Morgan Evans tries to make sense of a relationship ending on the live version of this absolutely heart-wrenching ballad.

Standout Lyrics: Maybe someday I’ll be okay/But right now I don’t know/You used to tell me everything/And that’s what hurts the most/It would be easier if I hated you/But I still miss the person/That I thought I knew and I/I would’ve let go if you wanted me to/How many times did you say you loved me/When it wasn’t true?/I’m just wondering/How long has it been over?/I’m still wondering/How long has it been over for you?

“Dear Miss Loretta,” Carly Pearce featuring Patty Loveless

Carly Pearce teams up with Patty Loveless to pay tribute to country music legend Loretta Lynn on this stellar track from her third studio album, 29:Written In Stone. Pearce sang the song at the Grand Ole Opry following Lynn’s passing and opened the performance with a personal voicemail she received from the late “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which made the tribute that much more emotional.

Standout Lyrics: Dear Miss Loretta/We both grew up too fast/And I wish you could tell me/How you made it last/I ain’t a coal miner’s daughter/But I’ve sung it all my life/I ain’t been a widow/But I’ve been an ex-wife/And I hear your truth/And I feel your pain/Now I know why you sang that way/Yeah, I know why you sang that way

November

“The Great War,” Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift delivers a lyrically rich track using war metaphors to describe a fight with her significant other on this track from the 3 a.m. edition of her tenth studio album, Midnights.

Standout Lyrics: You drew up some good faith treaties/I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone/You said I have to trust more freely/But diesel is desire, you were playin’ with fire/And maybe it’s the past that’s talkin’/Screamin’ from the crypt/Tellin’ me to punish you for things you never did/So I justified it

“Anti-Hero,” Taylor Swift

Swift tackles her personal insecurities on this catchy bop from her latest album.

Standout Lyrics: Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism/Like some kind of congressman?/(A tale as old as time)/I wake up screaming from dreaming/One day, I’ll watch as you’re leaving/And life will lose all its meaning/(For the last time)

“All I Want For Christmas Is You,” Morgan Evans

Evans puts a mellow spin on this Christmas classic from Mariah Carey.

Standout Lyrics: I won’t ask for much this Christmas/I won’t even wish for snow/I’m just gonna keep on waiting/Underneath the mistletoe/I won’t make a list and send it/To the North Pole for Saint Nick/I won’t even stay awake to/Hear those magic reindeer click/’Cause I just want you here tonight/Holding on to me so tight/What more can I do?/Baby, all I want for Christmas is you

December

“Jesus, I’m Jealous,” Mackenzie Carpenter

Mackenzie Carpenter expresses her jealousy and desire to fall in love on this country ballad. Every now and then a song comes along that is unique but embodies the tradition of country music storytelling so well — this is one of them.

Standout Lyrics: Is it okay to pray at a bar?/I know I probably shouldn’t be here/Watchin’ people fall in love/And orderin’ another beer/Look at her laughin’ and dancin’/Look at him holdin’ her hand/I should find it in my heart to be happy/But, Jesus, I’m jealous, just had to tell you/Watchin’ the two of ’em head over heels/I guess I was hopin’ I wouldn’t be lonely/And maybe by now I would know how that feels/He’s spinnin’ her ’round like she’s Cinderella/I shouldn’t be starin’, but hell, I can’t help it/Jesus, I’m jealous

“Fall In Love,” Bailey Zimmerman

Bailey Zimmerman melds country and rock on this angsty breakup song. A breakout artist, Zimmerman earned his first No. 1 at country radio with “Fall In Love.”

Standout Lyrics: Cause love’s a smoke ring wrapped around your finger/One second it’s a blessing, and the next it’s already gone/A broken heart, I’m a walking testimony/My confession is a lesson that I’m pouring out in this song/Oh-whoa-whoa, oh-whoa-whoa/You don’t wanna fall in love/Oh-whoa-whoa, oh-whoa-whoa/You don’t wanna fall in love

“‘Til You Can’t,” Cody Johnson

Cody Johnson pushes listeners to take chances and embrace a “live each day like it’s your last” attitude on the awesome lead single from his double album, Human.

Standout Lyrics: So take that phone call from your momma and just talk away/’Cause you’ll never know how bad you wanna ’til you can’t someday/Don’t wait on tomorrow ’cause tomorrow may not show/Say your sorries, your I-love-yous, ’cause man you never know/If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance/If you got a dream, chase it, ’cause a dream won’t chase you back/If you’re gonna love somebody/Hold ’em as long and as strong and as close as you can/’Til you can’t

And those are our October through December song picks. Let us know what you think of them and be sure to tell us what songs you’ve had on repeat these last few months.

You can also give them a listen via this playlist on our brand-new YouTube channel. Be sure to follow us while you’re there!

We’re moving The Pick from a bi-monthly to a quarterly basis starting in 2023 so we’ll be back with another list of what songs we’ve been listening to in March. Until then…music on, world off.